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Description
From the Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council held May 24, 2018:
Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown's (At Large) floor speech from the end of the Stated Meeting.
A
Chair
recognizes
councilor
Myrtle's,
Brown,
Thank,
You
council
president,
my
mother's
name
was
Sadie
Toni
Reynolds.
She
raised
my
brother
and
sisters
on
pearls
of
wisdom
that
we
now
call
sadie
isms
recently.
As
recently
as
last
Thursday
following
City
Council
I
was
reminded
of
one
of
my
mothers
Sadie
isms
when
you
care
deeply
about
an
issue
or
an
injustice
when
a
matter
taps
or
tugs
at
your
heartstrings
in
a
visceral
way
do
not
be
silent,
recognize
that
silence
is
betrayal.
A
Today,
I
rise
to
raise
my
voices
I
will
not
allow
any
woman
to
be
thrown
the
blame
of
years
of
mistakes
and
efficiencies,
miss
handlings
mistakes
or
lack
of
oversight.
When
she,
an
african-american
woman,
has
finally
been
given
a
seat
at
the
table.
Thank
you
to
Mayor
Jim
Kenney
for
recruiting,
identifying
and
hiring
competent
women
with
impeccable
credentials
and
exceptional
experience.
Our
city,
treasurer
Roger
Johnson,
is
no
exception.
Our
city
treasurer
has
served
as
an
investment
banker,
financial
advisor
and
bond
issuer
and
her
stellar
20-year
career.
A
She
has
also
worked
in
a
municipal
finance
department
at
loupe
capital
markets
in
Philadelphia
and,
moreover,
also
served
as
our
city
assistant
to
the
director
of
finance
and
debt
management.
Throughout
her
career,
our
city
treasurer
has
managed
over
7
billion,
that's
billion,
with
a
B
in
transactions
with
complex
technical
and
analytical
experience.
A
Therefore,
she
has
a
proven
record
of
leadership
and
excellence
working
in
both
the
government
and
private
sector.
My
mother
would
say
she
has
earned
her
stripes
I,
commend
our
city
treasurer
or
her
commitment
to
being
completely
transparent
in
our
government
I.
Thank
her
for
not
only
bringing
the
issue
of
the
unreconciled
bank
accounts
to
our
attention,
but
also
releasing
an
RFP
to
find
a
third
party
to
resolve
the
problems
that
were
present
long
before
she
was
appointed
to
her
posts.
A
Let
me
be
clear
so
to
ensure
that
there
is
no
interpretation
or
misinterpretation
of
my
intent.
I
have
chosen
to
speak
up
and
speak
out
as
an
advocate
for
a
highly
qualified
woman,
with
an
unblemished
record
of
performance
prior
to
deciding
and
choosing
the
opportunity
to
serve
the
citizens
of
our
city.
Let's
review
the
facts.
Ratio
Johnson
assumed
her
position
in
January
2016.
The
city
has
known
about
these
issues
as
far
back
as
2014
during
another
administration,
when
several
employees
in
the
Treasury
office
responsible
for
daily
bookkeeping
suddenly
left
their
jobs.
A
Fact,
findings
revealed
that
Johnson
is
the
only
treasurer
to
reconcile
payroll
records
since
2010
as
anyone
probed
why
her
predecessors
did
not
address
the
missing
27
million.
My
homework
tells
me
that
ratio
Johnson's
predecessors
did
not
reconcile
payroll
for
seven
years
based
on
homework.
The
good
news
I
have
to
report
is
that
one
of
her
predecessors
has
fully
acknowledged
that
the
discovery
itself
is
the
result
of
her
diligent
work.
Thank,
You,
Rob,
turbo
control
of
Reinhart
stated
that
and
I
quote
not
reconciling
accounts
is
an
inducement
for
wrongdoing.
End
quote
really.
A
However,
if
there
was
any
wrongdoing,
it
was
not
a
ratio.
Johnson's
watch,
miss
Johnson
inherited
this
unresolved
financial
issue.
The
operative
word
is
inherited.
In
fact,
as
best
as
I
can
tell,
Razia
is
the
only
professional
who
took
steps
to
clean
up
this
mess
that
other
professionals
failed
to
address.
Miss
Johnson
identified
the
problem.
Miss
Johnson,
did
not
run
away
from
the
discovery.
Miss
Johnson
identified
the
best
course
of
action
to
resolve
the
problem
and,
as
I
tell
my
daughter,
all
the
time.
Look,
the
line
in
the
mouth
and
say
I
will
not
be
eaten.
A
Miss
Johnson
has
now
proceeded
to
fix
the
problem.
It
is
now
fair
that
we
allow
the
city
treasurer
to
solve
the
7-year
problem
when
the
city's
behalf,
it
is
now
appropriate
that
we
allow
the
city
treasurer
and
the
designated
third
party
to
complete
their
assignment
accurately,
not
rapidly
but
accurately.
Yes,
it
is
absolutely
appropriate,
as
we
as
members
of
City,
Council,
probe
and
quire
about
the
processes
within
city
departments,
drill
down
and
ask
the
tough
questions
that
we
all
do
every
day
about
how
we
spend
our
taxpayers
dollars.
A
This
is
our
duty
as
elected
members
of
this
legislative
body,
however,
and
fulfilling
this
duty.
We
should
also
be
fair
and
judicious
as
we
seek
the
answers
to
our
legitimate
questions
fact,
since
the
news
has
been
made
public,
there
have
been
departures
from
the
finance
and
treasurer's
office
to
anyone.
Look
behind
the
facts
that
anyone
care
to
look
at
any
of
the
past
history,
our
colleague
councilman
DOM
and
others
have
compared
the
urgency
of
chief
financial
officers
and
accountants
in
the
private
sector
and
business
to
that
of
Miss
Johnson's
team
legitimate.
A
Many
of
us
are
aware
that
many
businesses
in
the
private
and
non-practical
manage
CFO
transitions
very
delicately
and
often
a
lot
several
months
for
onboarding,
shadowing
and
Intel
sharing
between
the
departing
and
incoming
financial
officers.
I
witnessed
this
up
close
and
personal
at
the
Urban
League
of
Philadelphia,
with
the
trans,
dear
leadership
and
the
Philadelphus
visitors
and
convention
bureau,
with
the
transition
of
their
controller.
A
The
position
and
Left
Behind
limited
information
with
limited
help
for
the
transition,
be
that
intentional
or
unintentional
fact.
Miss
Johnson
discovered
the
lack
of
reconciliations
in
May
of
2016
five
months
after
she
started
and
was
working
without
the
help
and
guidance
of
her
predecessor.
There
have
been
many
criticisms
of
Miss
Johnson
and
most
of
them
have
come
from
white
men.
Everyone
has
the
luxury
to
seize
the
opportunity,
to
criticize
to
cast
judgment,
to
have
an
opinion.
That's
easy!
No
one
gets
to
dispute
the
facts.
A
So,
if
we're
going
to
throw
the
net,
let
us
cast
the
net
wide
and
include
everyone
who
had
a
role
and
sharing
the
responsibility
of
this
long-standing
unresolved
financial
matter
before
January
2016.
When
my
shia
johnson
arrived
fact
what
so
many
people
have
failed
to
disclose
that
surely,
after
johnson
took
her
post
as
treasurer
in
2016
and
after
she
discovered
the
lack
of
reconciliations,
she
left
for
leave
maternity
leave
to
take
care
for
a
newborn
child.
A
She
did
not
return
until
December
of
2016
several
months
later,
due
to
the
fact
that
the
city
of
philadelphia
did
not
implement
the
opportunity
to
work
from
home
until
January
2018
just
four
months
ago,
ratio
Johnson
was
not
able
to
adequately
address
these
issues
and
neither
did
anyone
above
her
pay
grade.
Despite
knowing
of
the
discoveries.
I
repeat,
we
can
all
have
an
opinion.
No
one
can
argue
the
facts.
A
Therefore,
in
my
personal
opinion,
this
is
yet
another
example
of
the
disguised
discrimination,
mistreatment
and
lack
of
policies
in
place
to
ensure
the
success
of
pregnant
professional
women
and
other
mothers
across
professions
in
our
city.
Now,
I'm
not
surprised
because,
as
I
tell
my
daughter
all
the
time,
women
must
walk
on
water
to
be
considered
equal
black
and
brown
women
have
to
walk
on
water
excellently
and
fly
flawlessly
to
be
equal.
A
Rashida
Johnson
does
not,
unlike
the
women
in
this
city
council,
she
has
what
my
mother
calls
gumption
I
called
moxie,
and
what
my
daughter
calls
keeping
it
100
telling
it
like.
It
is
miss
Johnson's
credentials,
experience,
work,
ethic,
dedication,
honesty
and
integrity
should
not
be
challenged.
I
cannot
be
silent
because
silence
is
betrayal
in
closing
control
of
reinhardt
who's.
Also
working
mother
said
there
is
a
culture
change
that
needs
to
happen
on
the
financial
management
of
the
city.
A
I
agree,
however,
certainly
not
to
the
detriment
of
working
mothers,
pregnant
mothers,
black
and
brown
women
women
period
on
the
chill
and
the
children
that
these
women
come
from.
Perhaps
the
culture
change
needs
to
start
with
us,
those
in
leadership
to
accommodate,
encourage
and
treat
working
mothers
with
impressive
credentials
of
all
socio-economic
backgrounds.
With
the
same
yardstick
we
measure
others
fact,
a
large
number
of
gender
blinded
studies
conducted
within
various
workforces
show
that
women
are
often
held
to
impossible
standards
and
put
in
positions
to
take
the
blame
for
others.
A
A
There
is
such
an
interest
in
things
being
equal
and
such
a
weary
acceptance
that
it
is
not
in
quote
so
I
stand
today
to
say:
I
am
NOT
weary
of
standing
up
and
advocating
for
yet
another
woman,
most
especially
competent
and
qualified
women
with
unblemished
careers
when
they
have
been
unrightfully,
belittled
and
accused
of
oversights,
non-disclosures
and
mistakes
created
when
someone
else's
watch.
Mr.
president,
we
can
all
have
an
opinion.
No
one
can
dispute
the
facts.
Thank
You.
Mr.
president,
thank
you
country.