Communication 200002

..Title 1 2 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 3 STATED MEETING 4 5 6 The Met Philadelphia 858 North Broad Street 7 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 6, 2020 8 10:02 a.m. 9 10 PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE 11 COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS 12 COUNCILMAN ALLAN DOMB COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER 13 COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN DEREK S. GREEN 14 COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN BOBBY HENON 15 COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. 16 COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL 17 COUNCILWOMAN CHERELLE L. PARKER COUNCILWOMAN MARIA D. QUINONES-SANCHEZ 18 COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS 19 20 MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK 21 22 - - - 23 24 25 2 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 MR. TALIAFERRO: Ladies and 3 gentlemen, please be seated. Welcome to 4 the investiture of members of Council, 5 the organization of the City Council, the 6 inauguration of the Honorable James F. 7 Kenney as Mayor, and the investiture of 8 members of the Judiciary, City 9 Commissioners, Sheriff, and Register of 10 Wills. 11 We ask that you please silence 12 all digital communicative devices, all 13 cell phones for the remainder of the 14 ceremony. Thank you. 15 Ladies and gentlemen, please 16 rise and bow your heads for the 17 invocation given by Monsignor Daniel 18 Sullivan from the Archdiocese of 19 Philadelphia. 20 MONSIGNOR SULLIVAN: Let us 21 pray. 22 Mighty and eternal God, you 23 have revealed your glory to all the 24 nations. God of power and might, wisdom 25 and justice, through you authority is 3 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 rightly administered, laws are enacted, 3 and judgment is decreed. 4 We pray today for James Kenney, 5 Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. We 6 pray for our City Council, the judges, 7 and all elected officials who are 8 entrusted to guard our welfare. May they 9 be enabled by your powerful protection to 10 discharge their duties with honesty and 11 ability. 12 May they all seek to preserve 13 peace, promote the common good, continue 14 to bring us the blessings of liberty and 15 equality. 16 We likewise remember in prayer 17 all of those who support the cause of our 18 common good. We pray for our police 19 officers, firefighters, and first 20 responders, whose sole mission is to make 21 Philadelphia our home, a place where all 22 of us can enjoy and share the many 23 blessings with which you have gifted us. 24 Today also we commend to your 25 powerful mercy all the citizens of the 4 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 United States. May we be preserved in 3 union and in peace and gratefully share 4 these blessings with all of our sisters 5 and brothers throughout the world. 6 Be with us, Lord, today and 7 always. 8 Amen. 9 (Amen.) 10 MR. TALIAFERRO: Ladies and 11 gentlemen, please remain standing as the 12 Philadelphia Police and Fire Departments 13 and the Prison System guards present the 14 colors, while the Philadelphia Boys Choir 15 and Chorale lead us in singing the 16 National Anthem. 17 (Colors are presented and the 18 National Anthem sung.) 19 MR. TALIAFERRO: Ladies and 20 gentlemen, you may now be seated. 21 And now citizens and friends, 22 please welcome City Council President, 23 the Honorable Darrell L. Clarke, to the 24 podium. 25 (Applause.) 5 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Good 3 morning. 4 (Good morning.) 5 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: We 6 can do better than that. I know there's 7 a little Eagles hangover, but it's all 8 good. They'll be back next year. 9 So I'd just like to thank 10 everybody so much for being here today to 11 welcome you to the inaugural proceedings 12 for the investiture of City Council, the 13 inauguration of the Mayor, and the 14 induction of the Judiciary and other 15 elected officials. 16 Our special guests joining us 17 today are Monsignor Daniel Sullivan, the 18 Reverend John Roberts, Reverend Martini 19 Shaw, Imam Muhammad Abdul-Aleem, Reverend 20 Naomi Washington-Leapheart, Rabbi Jill 21 Maderer, former Mayor John Street, my 22 mentor, former Mayor Bill Green, former 23 Mayor W. Wilson Goode, Congressman 24 Brendan Boyle, former Congressman Robert 25 Brady, the Honorable Rosalyn Robinson, 6 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 and the Honorable Kevin Dougherty and the 3 Honorable Patrick Dugan and the Honorable 4 Carolyn Nichols. 5 I also wish to acknowledge the 6 elected officials joining us in the 7 audience today as well as members of the 8 Honorary Inaugural Committee. 9 This being the day fixed by the 10 Philadelphia Home Rule Charter for the 11 organization of the Council of the City 12 of Philadelphia, the hour has arrived, 13 and we will now proceed with the 14 organization of Council and the 15 investiture of Councilmembers. 16 The first order of business 17 will be the election of a temporary 18 chairperson. Nominations are now in 19 order, and the Chair recognizes 20 Councilman Henon. 21 COUNCILMAN HENON: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. I nominate Councilwoman 23 Cherelle Parker. 24 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 25 Chair now recognizes Councilman Squilla. 7 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCILMAN SQUILLA: 3 Mr. President, I second the nomination. 4 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Are 5 there any other further nominations? 6 (No response.) 7 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 8 Hearing none, the Chair recognizes 9 Councilman Domb. 10 COUNCILMAN DOMB: 11 Mr. President, I move the nominations be 12 closed. 13 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 14 Chair thanks the gentleman. 15 The Chair now recognizes 16 Councilman Green. 17 COUNCILMAN GREEN: Mr. 18 President, I second that motion. 19 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: All 20 in favor of the motion say aye. 21 (Aye.) 22 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 23 Those opposed, nay. 24 (No response.) 25 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 8 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 ayes have it, and the nominations are 3 closed. There being no further 4 nominations, all in favor of the election 5 of Councilwoman Parker will say aye. 6 (Aye.) 7 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 8 Those opposed? 9 (No response.) 10 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 11 ayes have it, and Councilwoman Parker has 12 been duly elected temporary Chairperson. 13 Councilwoman. 14 (Applause.) 15 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Thank 16 you. Thank you, Councilman Clarke. 17 As the first order of business, 18 I appoint Mr. Michael Decker temporary 19 Clerk. 20 I will also at this time remind 21 all Bible holders to please follow the 22 program and make your way to the stage at 23 the appropriate time. 24 The next order of business is 25 the filing of the certificates of 9 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 election. The Clerk will call the roll. 3 I direct the Clerk to call the roll 4 beginning with the 5 Councilpersons-at-large in alphabetical 6 order and then to proceed with the 7 District Councilpersons in order of their 8 district, beginning with the First 9 District. 10 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Kendra 11 Brooks. 12 COUNCILWOMAN BROOKS: Present. 13 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Allan Domb. 14 COUNCILMAN DOMB: Present. 15 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Katherine 16 Gilmore Richardson. 17 COUNCILWOMAN RICHARDSON: 18 Present. 19 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Derek Green. 20 COUNCILMAN GREEN: Present. 21 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Helen Gym. 22 COUNCILWOMAN GYM: Present. 23 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. David Oh. 24 COUNCILMAN OH: Present. 25 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Isaiah 10 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Thomas. 3 COUNCILMAN THOMAS: Present. 4 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Mark Squilla. 5 COUNCILMAN SQUILLA: Present. 6 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Kenyatta 7 Johnson. 8 COUNCILMAN JOHNSON: Present. 9 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Jamie 10 Gauthier. 11 COUNCILWOMAN GAUTHIER: 12 Present. 13 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Curtis Jones, 14 Jr. 15 COUNCILMAN JONES: Present. 16 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Darrell 17 Clarke. 18 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 19 Present. 20 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Bobby Henon. 21 COUNCILMAN HENON: Present. 22 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Maria 23 Quinones-Sanchez. 24 COUNCILWOMAN SANCHEZ: 25 Presente. 11 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Cindy Bass. 3 COUNCILWOMAN BASS: Present. 4 CHIEF CLERK: Ms. Cherelle 5 Parker. 6 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Present. 7 CHIEF CLERK: Mr. Brian 8 O'Neill. 9 COUNCILMAN O'NEILL: Present. 10 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 11 Parker, a quorum of the members-elect is 12 present, and I have in my possession 13 certificates of election from the County 14 Board of Elections in Philadelphia 15 indicating their election on November 16 5th, 2019 for a term of four years, 17 commencing the first Monday of January 18 2020. 19 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Thank 20 you. 21 The investiture of members of 22 Council will now proceed. The 23 members-elect will rise to take the oath 24 of office, which will be administered by 25 the Honorable Kevin Dougherty, Justice of 12 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 3 (Applause.) 4 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: Will each 5 member please rise. Place your left hand 6 on the Bible, raise your right hand, and 7 repeat after me. 8 (Oath of office administered.) 9 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: 10 Congratulations. 11 (Applause.) 12 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: The next 13 order of business is the election of a 14 President of the City Council for 15 Philadelphia to serve for four years, 16 commencing January 6th, 2020. 17 Nominations are now in order, 18 and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman 19 Gilmore Richardson. 20 COUNCILWOMAN RICHARDSON: I 21 proudly and with great honor nominate 22 Darrell L. Clarke. 23 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Y'all can 24 clap. 25 (Applause.) 13 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Thank 3 you. 4 At this time, the Chair 5 recognizes Councilman Thomas. 6 COUNCILMAN THOMAS: Madam 7 Chair, I second the nomination. 8 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Are there 9 any further nominations? 10 (No response.) 11 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Hearing 12 none, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman 13 Gauthier. 14 COUNCILWOMAN GAUTHIER: Madam 15 Chair, I move the nominations be closed. 16 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: The Chair 17 recognizes Councilwoman Brooks. 18 COUNCILWOMAN BROOKS: Madam 19 Chair, I second that motion. 20 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: All in 21 favor will say aye. 22 (Aye.) 23 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Those 24 opposed, nay. 25 (No response.) 14 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: There 3 being no further nominations, all those 4 in favor of the election of the Honorable 5 Darrell L. Clarke as President of the 6 City Council of Philadelphia will say 7 aye. 8 (Aye.) 9 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Those 10 opposed, nay. 11 (No response.) 12 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: The ayes 13 have it. However, the temporary Clerk 14 will call the roll. 15 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 16 Bass. 17 COUNCILWOMAN BASS: Aye. 18 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 19 Brooks. 20 COUNCILWOMAN BROOKS: Aye. 21 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Domb. 22 COUNCILMAN DOMB: Aye. 23 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 24 Gauthier. 25 COUNCILWOMAN GAUTHIER: Aye. 15 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 3 Gilmore Richardson. 4 COUNCILWOMAN RICHARDSON: Aye. 5 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Green. 6 COUNCILMAN GREEN: Aye. 7 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman Gym. 8 COUNCILWOMAN GYM: Aye. 9 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Henon. 10 COUNCILMAN HENON: Aye. 11 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 12 Johnson. 13 COUNCILMAN JOHNSON: Aye. 14 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Jones. 15 COUNCILMAN JONES: Aye. 16 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 17 O'Neill. 18 COUNCILMAN O'NEILL: Aye. 19 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Oh. 20 COUNCILMAN OH: Aye. 21 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 22 Parker. 23 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Aye. 24 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 25 Quinones-Sanchez. 16 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCILWOMAN SANCHEZ: Aye. 3 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 4 Squilla. 5 COUNCILMAN SQUILLA: Aye. 6 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 7 Thomas. 8 COUNCILMAN THOMAS: Aye. 9 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 10 Clarke. 11 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Aye. 12 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: The ayes 13 are 17 and the nays are zero. Councilman 14 Clarke, having been unanimously chosen by 15 the members of Council, I declare that 16 Councilman Clarke is the duly elected 17 President of this body. 18 Let's give our President a 19 round of applause. 20 (Applause.) 21 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: I appoint 22 Councilwoman Gym, Councilman Jones, 23 Councilman Johnson, and Councilwoman Bass 24 to escort Council President Clarke to the 25 rostrum. And joining Council President 17 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 at the rostrum will be Nita Wroten. 3 The oath of office will be 4 administered by the Honorable Rosalyn 5 Robinson, Judge of the Court of Common 6 Pleas. 7 (Applause.) 8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Place your 9 left hand on the Bible and raise your 10 right hand and repeat after me. 11 (Oath of office administered.) 12 JUDGE ROBINSON: 13 Congratulations. 14 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 15 Thank you. 16 (Applause.) 17 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: It is my 18 honor and my privilege to present to each 19 of you President of the City Council of 20 Philadelphia, the Honorable Darrell L. 21 Clarke. 22 (Applause.) 23 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Good 24 morning. 25 (Good morning.) 18 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: It's 3 an exciting day, and this will be an 4 exciting year. 5 I want to thank everybody who 6 has come here today for the investiture 7 and the organization of City Council. 8 This is truly democracy in action, and I 9 hope that you find today not only a 10 pleasurable one but an interesting one, 11 and it will be that. 12 We are proud to bring this 13 inauguration to The Met Philadelphia for 14 the first time and celebrate the 15 continuation of the North Broad Street 16 Renaissance. 17 (Applause.) 18 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Its 19 Chair, Ken Scott, sitting right in front 20 of me. 21 They strategically placed you, 22 Ken. I asked that to be done. 23 So before we begin, I just want 24 to take one moment to express my sincere 25 gratitude and appreciation to four very 19 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 special people not only to me but of all 3 of us, Councilmembers who are concluding 4 their term. They leave a legacy that 5 will be truly written in stone - 6 Councilman Bill Greenlee, Councilwoman 7 Blondell Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Al 8 Taubenberger, and Council Lady Jannie 9 Blackwell. 10 Let's give them a hand. 11 (Applause.) 12 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: They 13 were awesome. 14 And to the newest members, you 15 got some pretty big shoes to fill. So I 16 want to acknowledge the four newly 17 elected members being sworn in today - 18 Councilwoman Kathy Gilmore Richardson. 19 (Applause.) 20 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 21 Councilwoman Kendra Brooks. 22 (Applause.) 23 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 24 Councilwoman, I see you brought the crowd 25 that you had at your inauguration party 20 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Saturday night. 3 And Councilwoman Jamie 4 Gauthier. 5 (Applause.) 6 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: And 7 probably the only person that I can't 8 beat in basketball on the stage, 9 Councilman Isaiah Thomas. 10 (Applause.) 11 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 12 Lastly, I just want to say it is truly an 13 honor to have allowed me and a privilege 14 to have served as your Council President 15 for the last four years. I want to thank 16 my members for again giving me this 17 awesome opportunity. You guys, thank you 18 all so much. We look forward to 19 continuing some very good things for the 20 City of Philadelphia. So to all of you, 21 thank you so much. 22 (Applause.) 23 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Now 24 the work begins. 25 So four years ago, I stood on 21 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 stage at the last inauguration and I made 3 a number of pledges as we sought new ways 4 to grow our city's economy while helping 5 more Philadelphians participate in that 6 growth, and we made some progress. 7 I said we would unveil a 8 comprehensive energy strategy to help 9 homeowners, businesses, City government 10 increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and 11 create 10,000 jobs over the next decade. 12 And I got kicked three, four times by my 13 staff that said, Darrell, what in the 14 world are you saying. 15 But I meant it. No, we didn't 16 get 10,000 new jobs yet, but I'm happy to 17 say that with the Philadelphia Energy 18 Authority and the Office of 19 Sustainability of Philadelphia, we have 20 more than 1,000 new jobs in the very, 21 very awesome energy-efficient projects 22 coming on board. 23 (Applause.) 24 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: More 25 Philadelphians have actually installed 22 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 solar systems in their homes, and over 3 $100 million has been invested by 4 companies and government agencies to 5 retrofit their buildings to become more 6 energy efficient. 7 Our comprehensive energy 8 strategy is saving energy, reducing 9 utility costs and, more importantly, 10 creating jobs. 11 We promise to continue our 12 efforts to ensure equitable growth 13 throughout Philadelphia and make sure 14 every neighborhood is a community of 15 choice. That is very important. 16 And while we have made much 17 progress, we still have much more work to 18 do. 19 Our Philly First Home 20 initiative -- this was really, really a 21 special program, which provides one-time 22 grants to help first-time homebuyers 23 afford the down payment and closing costs 24 of their home -- is working extremely 25 well. And if anybody bought a home 23 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 recently, you understand what a challenge 3 that is. 4 So as a result of that, in six 5 months, this program has helped nearly 6 900 homebuyers achieve their dream of the 7 most significant investment in one's 8 lifetime, buying a home in the City of 9 Philadelphia. 10 (Applause.) 11 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: This 12 program is also helping to stabilize our 13 middle neighborhoods and returning money 14 to the City. 15 Now, frequently we spend money, 16 and it doesn't necessarily come back. In 17 this program, in return of 8 million in 18 grants, the City actually realized $4.5 19 million to the City in real estate 20 transfer tax. That's nearly a 60 percent 21 return on investment. That's a win-win 22 for everybody. 23 But this is no time to rest on 24 our laurels. We must build on all of the 25 positive momentum happening in 24 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Philadelphia, particularly in our 3 downtown area. From the Comcast 4 Technology Center to the FMC Tower in 5 West Philly, our skyline is growing, our 6 economy is booming. Look out, New York, 7 we're coming for you. 8 (Applause.) 9 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Our 10 world-class academic institutions - 11 Temple, Penn, Drexel, La Salle, and St. 12 Joe's - are producing thousands of 13 college graduates, ready to take on the 14 world, and increasingly these graduates 15 are staying in Philly, drawn to our 16 neighborhoods, our affordability, our 17 vibrant arts and culture, and restaurant 18 scene that continues to grow. 19 That momentum is real, and we 20 should take a moment to celebrate it. 21 But this is not the only story 22 happening in the City of Philadelphia. 23 We also are home to 400,000 people living 24 in poverty. I want you to take that in 25 for a moment. That's one in every four 25 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 person in the City that's living at or 3 below the poverty rate that is hovering 4 around 24 percent. 5 That's unacceptable to me, and 6 I assume that it's unacceptable to all of 7 you in this room. 8 So City Council took its first 9 steps to address the significant problem. 10 Council released a report. It's called 11 Narrowing the Gap. You can go to 12 phlcouncil.com, a shameless plug, to look 13 at that document, and it talks about 14 strategies aimed at alleviating poverty 15 in the City, and it utilizes best 16 practices from around the country and 17 around the globe. 18 Next, Council created a Special 19 Committee on Poverty Reduction and 20 Prevention, and we put top people in 21 charge - Councilmember Quinones-Sanchez, 22 Eva Gladstein of the Kenney 23 Administration, Sharmain Matlock Turner 24 of the Urban Affairs Coalition, and my 25 good friend, Mel Wells of One Day At A 26 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Time. 3 This past fall, the Special 4 Committee met at City Hall and in 5 neighborhoods around Philadelphia, 6 hundreds of citizens and stakeholders 7 participating, lending their best ideas 8 to create jobs and develop additional 9 strategies. 10 I want you to get this next 11 one. Philadelphians are currently 12 eligible for over $450 million in federal 13 and state benefits. That's $450 million. 14 But for various reasons, they're not 15 receiving those benefits. We're working 16 with experts to develop an actionable, 17 and I say actionable plan, to get these 18 benefits to eligible Philadelphians. 19 Can you imagine the impact on 20 poverty when we obtain several hundred 21 million dollars in benefits for 22 Philadelphians? It will be significant. 23 Soon the Special Committee will 24 meet again to issue a complete set of 25 actionable recommendations for the City 27 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 to help lift 100,000 people out of 3 poverty by 2024, and we believe in 4 setting goals. 5 As I like to say, in the 6 1960s -- and I'm not sure I was around 7 then. Somebody told me about it. I know 8 folks will be on that Twitter trying to 9 figure out how old is this guy. 10 Our country, we rallied 11 together to send a man to the moon, and 12 everyone - academics, engineers, 13 political leaders, everybody - worked 14 together and America achieved its 15 moonshot. 16 This is our city's moonshot. 17 We must resolve this very, very troubling 18 problem. 19 So I'm calling on everyone - 20 the business community, our top 21 universities, colleges, non-profit 22 organizations, City government, and all 23 of our citizens - to work together to 24 achieve this goal. That's an effort 25 worthy of a world-class city. 28 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 And that is just the beginning 3 of what we can do and must do working 4 together. 5 So last year much attention was 6 paid to the City's effort to attract 7 Amazon to Philadelphia. And we didn't 8 win; they made a mistake. But we did 9 learn what happens when the business 10 community and local government works 11 together. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania 12 put together a very competitive bid for 13 Amazon. And you know what? We didn't 14 get it, but it taught us a lot. 15 We need to keep working 16 collaboratively - the Mayor's Office, the 17 City Council, the business community, the 18 Chamber of Commerce, our academic and 19 non-profit leaders - to attract more 20 companies and jobs to the City of 21 Philadelphia. 22 And we may not have gotten 23 Amazon, actually No. 5 on the Fortune 500 24 list, but why can't we work together and 25 attract companies from the Fortune 1,000 29 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 list? That will be a goal. 3 (Applause.) 4 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: And 5 one good example is our growing 6 healthcare sector. Companies like 7 Independence Blue Cross, Penn Medicine, 8 Temple Health all employ thousands of 9 people in Philadelphia. But what about 10 all of the other companies emerging in 11 the biosciences and life sciences field? 12 This is what we need to do, go 13 aggressively. As aggressively as we went 14 after Amazon, we should go aggressively 15 after those particular fields. 16 So we need to work together, 17 and it means jobs and opportunity for all 18 of our citizens. 19 So while we're talking about 20 collaboration, I want to do this. Let's 21 put to rest once and for all any notion 22 that City Council is somehow 23 anti-business. 24 City Council represents a wide 25 array of constituencies, from domestic 30 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 workers to the largest corporations in 3 the City. Every constituency deserves 4 equity and fairness under the law, and 5 Council works to balance those interests 6 every day in each bill or piece of 7 legislation that we introduce. That is 8 our job. 9 We are for workers and we are 10 for job-creating companies and for equity 11 and opportunity for every individual and 12 industry in the City. 13 So when we work together, we 14 achieve these goals. When we stand 15 divided, we achieve none of them. 16 Our recent reform to the City's 17 tax abatement is a good example. And I 18 had to bring up something controversial 19 today, because it's in my nature. 20 So some stakeholders wanted us 21 to take no action to reform the abatement 22 program, and it's credited with helping 23 to ignite a building boom in the last 24 decade in the City of Philadelphia that 25 was unprecedented. And other 31 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 stakeholders wanted us to do away with it 3 in its entirety. 4 But what Council did was get to 5 work. Our staff carefully studied the 6 history and the impact of the abatement, 7 and in the end, we altered the abatement 8 for new residential construction over the 9 next decade, and we project that it will 10 generate over $300 million in additional 11 revenues for our public school and 12 essential City services. We kept the 13 abatement in place for commercial 14 activity, because that creates jobs. 15 So we did the appropriate 16 balancing act and we made sure that we 17 continue to be competitive. So that's 18 what we do when we work together. 19 So as we focus on an economic 20 agenda that creates good-paying jobs for 21 everyone in our City, we must also pay 22 attention to a growing gap between the 23 jobs created by our technology economy 24 and the skills possessed by our adults in 25 our city. 32 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 This skills gap is one of the 3 many issues associated with income 4 inequality in Philadelphia, and we must 5 narrow that skills gap. 6 We need more adult education 7 classes and curriculum for citizens 8 across our city. The Community College 9 of Philadelphia is playing a role, but we 10 need more access to classrooms for adults 11 who want to work but need to learn the 12 skills to get the technology and 13 healthcare jobs of today. 14 On a recent trip to Baltimore, 15 I met with Mayor Young and I learned what 16 they're doing on this particular issue. 17 By the end of the year, 75 percent of 18 Baltimore's public schools will be 19 community schools, and over half of them 20 offer robust financial literacy, job 21 training, and workforce development for 22 adults living in that neighborhood. 23 That's important. 24 Our expansion of community 25 schools in Philadelphia is encouraging, 33 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 and I want to thank the Mayor. 3 Mayor, thank you so much, from 4 that time we rode on that little 5 rickety -- I don't know what you call it, 6 on that river in Cincinnati when we saw 7 the first community school and we were 8 holding our breath. Thank you for 9 keeping your commitment for this 10 community school initiative. We really 11 appreciate that. 12 (Applause.) 13 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: And 14 another issue that arises from a lack of 15 economic opportunity is crime. And 16 although violent crime declined slightly 17 in Philadelphia last year, unfortunately 18 shootings and homicides did not. 19 More than 100 people, 100 20 people younger than the age of 18, were 21 shot in 2019. We're talking toddlers, 22 we're talking children, we're talking 23 infants. That is totally unacceptable. 24 So Council has done a few 25 things, but we're going to need all of 34 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 you. Council has taken action to protect 3 our citizens, prohibiting guns at 4 playgrounds, making it more difficult to 5 allow individuals who have protection 6 orders to get weapons. We funded, with 7 the Administration, a significant amount, 8 millions of dollars, to ensure that we 9 have violence prevention programs in the 10 City of Philadelphia, meaningful 11 programs. And, most importantly, in 12 2020, we will support our new police 13 commissioner, Danielle Outlaw. 14 (Applause.) 15 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: But 16 as she said herself last week, she cannot 17 do this alone. She needs all of our 18 help. We need all of your help. So 19 together we can make our neighborhoods 20 safer, but we must work together. 21 These issues all intersect with 22 each other, 400,000 people living in 23 poverty, a growing skills gap for people 24 who want to work but they lack the skills 25 needed in today's economy, a lack of 35 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 hope, too many guns on our street, too 3 many people willing to use them. 4 So to every citizen out there 5 watching this inauguration who might 6 think cynically that nothing will ever 7 change, I simply say this: There is 8 nothing we cannot achieve if we work 9 together. 10 Working together, we can lift 11 100,000 people out of poverty. 12 Working together, we can create 13 access to adult education that narrows 14 the skills gap and helps individuals get 15 on track to find jobs paying a living 16 wage. 17 Working together, we can 18 support our new police commissioner and 19 her efforts to reform our criminal system 20 and make all of our neighborhoods safer 21 for all our citizens. 22 Let that be our moonshot. 23 Now, I'm not suggesting the 24 challenges that lie ahead are easy. I am 25 saying that solving these problems is 36 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 essential to our future as a city that 3 serves every citizen in the City of 4 Philadelphia. 5 President Obama said this -- 6 man, do I miss him, I'm telling you. 7 (Applause.) 8 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: I'm 9 talking about changing something to allow 10 a third term. Oh, my God. 11 I'm sorry. I'm going off 12 script. I couldn't help it. 13 So when you think about the 14 challenges we face -- this is what 15 President Obama said -- these are 16 challenges that require us to look 17 forward, not backwards. That's 18 important. You got to look forward. 19 So let's look forward and craft 20 solutions that make Philadelphia a more 21 thriving, inclusive, and a safer city for 22 everyone. 23 So today I want to thank 24 everyone who has come to The Met 25 Philadelphia, North Broad Street, right 37 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 in the heart of North Philadelphia for 3 this awesome inauguration, and I want to 4 thank all of you for continuing to love 5 our City of Philadelphia. 6 God bless you all. Thank you 7 so much. 8 (Applause.) 9 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 10 Thank you. Thank you. Now back to 11 business. 12 The next order of business is 13 the election of the Chief Clerk of the 14 Council of the City of Philadelphia. 15 Nominations are now in order, and the 16 Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill. 17 COUNCILMAN O'NEILL: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. I nominate Mr. Michael 19 Decker. 20 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 21 Chair thanks the Councilman. 22 And the Chair recognizes 23 Councilwoman Gym. 24 COUNCILWOMAN GYM: 25 Mr. President, I second that nomination. 38 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 3 Thank you, Councilwoman. 4 Are there any further 5 nominations? 6 (No response.) 7 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 8 Hearing none, the Chair recognizes 9 Councilman Johnson. 10 COUNCILMAN JOHNSON: 11 Mr. President, I move that the 12 nominations be closed. 13 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 14 Thank you, Councilman. 15 The Chair recognizes 16 Councilwoman Bass. 17 COUNCILWOMAN BASS: 18 Mr. President, I second the motion. 19 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 20 Thank you, Councilwoman. 21 It's been moved and properly 22 seconded that the nominations be closed. 23 All those in favor of that 24 motion will say aye. 25 (Aye.) 39 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 3 Those opposed? 4 (No response.) 5 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 6 ayes have it, and the motion is carried. 7 There being no further nominations, all 8 in favor of the election of Mr. Decker as 9 Chief Clerk of the Council will say aye. 10 (Aye.) 11 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 12 Those opposed? 13 (No response.) 14 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 15 ayes have it. However, the Chief Clerk 16 will call the roll. 17 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 18 Bass. 19 COUNCILWOMAN BASS: Aye. 20 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 21 Brooks. 22 COUNCILWOMAN BROOKS: Aye. 23 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Domb. 24 COUNCILMAN DOMB: Aye. 25 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 40 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Gauthier. 3 COUNCILWOMAN GAUTHIER: Aye. 4 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 5 Gilmore Richardson. 6 COUNCILWOMAN RICHARDSON: Aye. 7 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Green. 8 COUNCILMAN GREEN: Aye. 9 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman Gym. 10 COUNCILWOMAN GYM: Aye. 11 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Henon. 12 COUNCILMAN HENON: Aye. 13 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 14 Johnson. 15 COUNCILMAN JOHNSON: Aye. 16 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Jones. 17 COUNCILMAN JONES: Aye. 18 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 19 O'Neill. 20 COUNCILMAN O'NEILL: Aye. 21 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman Oh. 22 COUNCILMAN OH: Aye. 23 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 24 Parker. 25 COUNCILWOMAN PARKER: Aye. 41 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 CHIEF CLERK: Councilwoman 3 Quinones-Sanchez. 4 COUNCILWOMAN SANCHEZ: Aye. 5 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 6 Squilla. 7 COUNCILMAN SQUILLA: Aye. 8 CHIEF CLERK: Councilman 9 Thomas. 10 COUNCILMAN THOMAS: Aye. 11 CHIEF CLERK: Council President 12 Clarke. 13 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: Aye. 14 The ayes are 17; the nays are 15 zero. Mr. Decker, having received a 16 unanimous vote of the members of Council, 17 I now declare Mr. Michael Decker duly 18 elected Chief Clerk of the City Council 19 of Philadelphia. 20 (Applause.) 21 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 22 Councilman Squilla and Councilman Oh will 23 please escort Mr. Decker to the rostrum. 24 The Honorable Judge Dougherty will 25 administer the oath of office to 42 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Mr. Decker. 3 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: Mr. Decker, 4 place your left hand on your Bible, raise 5 your right hand, repeat after me. 6 (Oath of office administered.) 7 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: 8 Congratulations, sir. 9 (Applause.) 10 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 11 Thank you. 12 Mr. Decker, I see you were a 13 little slow on the draw. You got all 14 choked up from that nomination. It's all 15 good. 16 Mr. Decker is an awesome 17 fixture in the City Council of 18 Philadelphia. 19 (Applause.) 20 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: At 21 this time, I will name the officers of 22 the City Council. Please be advised that 23 by a vote of the democratic members of 24 Council, the Honorable Cherelle Parker 25 was elected Majority Leader, the 43 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr. was elected 3 Majority Whip, and the Honorable Mark 4 Squilla was elected Majority Deputy Whip 5 of the Council. 6 (Applause.) 7 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 8 Thank you. 9 The next order of business is 10 the introduction of a resolution 11 concerning the rules of government of the 12 Council of the City of Philadelphia, and 13 the Chair recognizes Councilwoman 14 Quinones-Sanchez. 15 COUNCILWOMAN SANCHEZ: Thank 16 you, Mr. President. I offer the 17 following resolution. 18 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 19 Chief Clerk will read the title of the 20 resolution. 21 CHIEF CLERK: A resolution to 22 provide rules for the government of the 23 Council of the City of Philadelphia. 24 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 25 Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. 44 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 COUNCILMAN JONES: Thank you, 3 Mr. President. I move that the rules, as 4 set forth in this resolution, be adopted 5 the temporary rules of the Council of the 6 City of Philadelphia until the permanent 7 rules are adopted. 8 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 9 Thank you. The Chair thanks the 10 Councilman. 11 The Chair recognizes Councilman 12 Henon. 13 COUNCILMAN HENON: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. I second that motion. 15 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: All 16 in favor of the motion will say aye. 17 (Aye.) 18 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 19 Those opposed? 20 (No response.) 21 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 22 ayes have it, and the motion is carried 23 and the rules contained in this 24 resolution have been adopted temporarily. 25 The resolution will be placed on the 45 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Final Passage Calendar for consideration 3 at our next session of Council. 4 The organization of the Council 5 of the City of Philadelphia and the 6 investiture of the City Council members 7 are complete, in accordance with the 8 provisions of the Home Rule Charter. 9 The Council is honored by the 10 presence of the Reverend John Roberts. I 11 ask you all please to rise, and I invite 12 Reverend Roberts to lead us in prayer, my 13 minister, Reverend Roberts. 14 REVEREND ROBERTS: The Bible 15 says any two touching in the green asking 16 anything in his name, that he would do 17 it. 18 I want to ask that you will 19 take your neighbor by the hand. 20 Our Heavenly Father, we thank 21 you again for not only did you wake us 22 up, but you helped us to get up. You 23 gave us a portion of health and strength 24 where we were able to bathe ourselves and 25 put our own clothes on without any 46 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 assistance. And you brought us safely to 3 this place on today. 4 I ask now that you would bless 5 everyone under the sound of my voice. 6 Thank you for our President of City 7 Council, my brother and friend, Darrell 8 Clarke, for those that will be working 9 along with him in City Council. 10 I pray now even for the great 11 Mayor of this city and all the elected 12 officials that I know. Thank you so much 13 for bringing us together. 14 You are a God who cares about 15 all of us, because all lives matter to 16 you. 17 Now, if you bless us, we'll be 18 blessed. If you help us, we'll be 19 helped. If you touch us, we'll be 20 healed. 21 Bless this day and make us a 22 blessing to the day, for you said in your 23 word how good and how pleasant it is for 24 brethren to dwell together in unity. For 25 united we stand, but divided we fall. 47 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Now we ask, oh God, that you 3 would bless all of us today. Give us 4 wisdom and knowledge and understanding, 5 these great leaders of this city. You 6 said in your word that when the righteous 7 are in authority, the people rejoice, but 8 when the wicked rule, the people mourn. 9 Wipe the tears away. Put 10 rejoicing down in our hearts and in our 11 souls for these great leaders of this 12 great City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly 13 Affection. 14 I ask that you would do this, 15 bind us together, make us one in the 16 spirit. 17 We ask this in Jesus' name. 18 And as always, Lord, thank you for 19 listening. 20 Amen. 21 (Amen.) 22 (Applause.) 23 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 24 Thank you, Reverend Roberts. 25 At this time, I invite the 48 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Saint Thomas Gospel Choir to perform 3 "This is the Day." The choir is directed 4 by Walt Blocker. 5 Saint Thomas Choir. 6 (Saint Thomas Gospel Choir 7 performs.) 8 (Applause.) 9 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: All 10 right. That's right. I heard that. 11 So today we are also honored by 12 the presence of the Reverend Martini 13 Shaw. Before we proceed with the 14 induction of the Mayor of the City of 15 Philadelphia, I invite Reverend Shaw to 16 lead us in prayer. 17 REVEREND SHAW: Let us pray. 18 Almighty and eternal God, the 19 God of Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, Sarah, 20 Muhammad, and Jesus, this morning, oh 21 Lord, we give you thanks, we give you 22 praise, we give you honor as we lift in 23 prayer our beloved and diverse City of 24 Philadelphia, a city founded and grounded 25 in both brotherly love and sisterly 49 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 affection. 3 As we begin this new year of 4 2020, we pray for unity where there is 5 division and separation. We pray for 6 peace where there is discord and turmoil. 7 We pray for love where there is hatred 8 and antipathy. We pray for light where 9 there is darkness and uncertainty. We 10 pray for order where there is disorder 11 and chaos. We pray for justice where 12 there is injustice and inequality. We 13 pray for healing where there is sickness, 14 pain, and suffering. We pray for joy 15 where there is sadness and despair. We 16 pray for the eradication of all forms of 17 racism and sexism and ageism. We pray 18 for an end to xenophobia, homophobia, and 19 all other phobias that divide and plague 20 our city and poison our nation. 21 We pray that we may strive for 22 justice and peace among all people and 23 respect the dignity of every human being. 24 Unite us, oh Lord, that we may be more 25 loving and compassionate, more giving and 50 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 welcoming, that we may be a haven of your 3 blessings. 4 And, oh Lord, bless our Mayor, 5 bless our City Council, bless all those 6 elected to public office that they may 7 serve with integrity, dignity, and 8 faithfulness. 9 May the spirit of brotherly 10 love and sisterly affection always guide 11 our thoughts and inform our actions. 12 In the name of the omnificent, 13 omniscient, and omnipresent God who is 14 able to do exceedingly and abundantly 15 above all that we can ask or imagine, 16 Lord, hear our prayer. 17 Amen. 18 (Amen.) 19 (Applause.) 20 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 21 Thank you so much, Reverend. 22 We will now proceed with the 23 induction of the Mayor of the City of 24 Philadelphia. The Chair appoints 25 Councilman Green, Councilman O'Neill, 51 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez, and 3 Councilman Oh to escort the Honorable 4 James F. Kenney, Mayor of the City of 5 Philadelphia, to the rostrum. The Chair 6 also invites Mrs. Barbara Kenney to join 7 him at the podium. 8 The Chief Clerk will read the 9 certificate of election of the Honorable 10 James F. Kenney as the Mayor of the City 11 of Philadelphia. 12 CHIEF CLERK: Jim Kenney, at an 13 election held November 5, 2019, you were 14 duly elected Mayor of the City of 15 Philadelphia for a four-year term, 16 commencing the first Monday of January 17 2020. 18 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 19 Honorable Kevin Dougherty, Justice of the 20 Pennsylvania Supreme Court, will 21 administer the oath of office to the 22 Mayor. 23 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: Place your 24 left hand on the Bible, raise your right 25 hand. 52 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 (Oath of office administered.) 3 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: 4 Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. 5 (Standing ovation.) 6 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 7 Thank you. 8 The members of City Council, 9 reverend clergy, elected officials, 10 distinguished guests, ladies and 11 gentlemen, I have the distinct honor to 12 present to you His Honor, the Mayor of 13 the City of Philadelphia, the Honorable 14 James F. Kenney. 15 (Applause.) 16 MAYOR KENNEY: Good morning. 17 (Good morning.) 18 MAYOR KENNEY: I want to begin 19 by thanking my family for their support, 20 especially my mother, Barbara. 21 I want to take a moment to 22 honor my father who is no longer with us, 23 but is still by my side today and every 24 day. 25 (Applause.) 53 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 MAYOR KENNEY: I want to thank 3 Council President Clarke and my friends 4 in City Council for having me, as after 5 all, this is your Council session. 6 I want to specifically 7 congratulate the new members of City 8 Council. This new generation of 9 thoughtful, conscientious leaders will 10 help make this city a better place for 11 decades to come. 12 I congratulate our 13 distinguished judges, our City 14 Commissioners, Sheriff Bilal, and 15 Register of Wills Gordon on taking their 16 oaths of office today. 17 I want to acknowledge former 18 Mayor Goode and Mayor Green, also Mayor 19 Street, Congressman Boyle, Councilman 20 Evans, also Councilman Brady, and I want 21 to recognize the members of our 22 Administration who are here and the many 23 more who are working throughout the City 24 right now. Whether they're sanitation 25 workers out in the cold making sure our 54 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 streets are clean or police officers and 3 firefighters racing to save someone's 4 lives, it's these individuals who make 5 this city run, and we owe them all of our 6 thanks. 7 (Applause.) 8 MAYOR KENNEY: It has been a 9 real honor to serve as your Mayor these 10 last four years, and I'm very grateful to 11 have earned another term to build on that 12 progress that we've made together. 13 In 2016, we embarked on a 14 mission to tackle some of Philadelphia's 15 biggest challenges - a struggling public 16 education system, an inequitable criminal 17 justice system, intergenerational 18 poverty, record-setting public health 19 crises, and much more. 20 Our goal was clear - to 21 increase equity and opportunity so all 22 Philadelphians, regardless of their zip 23 code, can reach their potential and lead 24 fulfilling lives. 25 We've been driven by our 55 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 guiding principles of courage, 3 compassion, and collaboration. 4 Courage to do what is hard, 5 compassion to always put our most needy 6 people first, and collaboration because 7 we know that making real impact is only 8 possible when we work alongside residents 9 and have partnerships that span the 10 public, private, and non-profit sectors 11 of our city. 12 Over the last four years, we 13 have made significant progress. 14 Philadelphia is a dynamic, diverse city 15 with a strong economy. Our job growth 16 outpaces the national average. 17 Unemployment and poverty are at their 18 lowest rates in a decade. Our reputation 19 as a welcoming city fuels population 20 growth, and overall our neighborhood 21 schools are improving. 22 Think for a second about how 23 just several years ago few could have 24 imagined us gathered here today in this 25 century-old, brilliant, ornate building 56 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 which was held together for years only 3 through the valiant work of the Holy 4 Ghost Church community. And I thank them 5 for saving this building. 6 (Applause.) 7 MAYOR KENNEY: Now this venue 8 serves as an anchor of the renaissance 9 underway here on North Broad Street. And 10 it's symbolic of the renewed energy that 11 is happening on many of our commercial 12 corridors. 13 Yet despite this progress, we 14 know that huge challenges remain. These 15 challenges are grounded in economic and 16 racial inequality that have been building 17 for decades. 18 We must continue to confront 19 our greatest challenges and capitalize on 20 new opportunities with the courage, 21 conviction, and resilience that we as 22 Philadelphians possess. 23 I know it's possible because I 24 have seen it firsthand. I've seen it 25 through the eyes of our three- and 57 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 four-year-old children who are 3 experiencing a nurturing and rigorous 4 learning environment of our City-funded 5 pre-K programs. 6 I've seen it in the faces of 7 families whose lives have been changed 8 forever because we were able to help them 9 buy their first home. 10 And over the past four years, 11 I've seen it at countless community 12 meetings, rallies, marches, and festivals 13 where residents from diverse backgrounds 14 and neighborhoods gather to voice 15 concerns, fight for causes, enjoy our 16 amenities, and celebrate all that makes 17 Philadelphia unique. 18 Today we'll release a report 19 that outlines our renewed priorities for 20 this next term. There are five key areas 21 where we plan to focus our energies. 22 First, and let me be very 23 clear, nothing is more important to our 24 Administration than creating a safer and 25 more just city for all of us. 58 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 It's no secret that the hardest 3 part of this job for me has been 4 addressing the senseless and unspeakable 5 violence that happens on our streets 6 every day. 7 Talking to moms and dads, 8 brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles of 9 the young men and women cut down on the 10 streets of Philadelphia has left deep 11 scars on our communities and, frankly, on 12 me personally also. 13 These young people, like little 14 Nikolette Rivera, who was murdered in her 15 living room this past October as she was 16 held in her mother's arms, will never 17 meet their potential, a loss that impacts 18 all of us in this room and every single 19 Philadelphian. 20 And it will take all of us 21 working together to make the progress we 22 know is possible. 23 Our Administration will deploy 24 every tool and resource at our disposal 25 to make sure more families do not suffer 59 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 the same fate. 3 We are committed to reducing 4 shootings and homicides and fighting for 5 commonsense gun control so these 6 tragedies can end once and for all. 7 (Applause.) 8 MAYOR KENNEY: Along with our 9 new Police Commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, 10 we will transform community relations and 11 make the reforms necessary to restore 12 trust and accountability between the 13 Department and its residents, especially 14 in black and brown communities. 15 (Applause.) 16 MAYOR KENNEY: While most 17 police officers perform their duties with 18 compassion and integrity, those who fail 19 to meet the standards of professional 20 conduct or demonstrate racist or sexist 21 behaviors must and will be held 22 accountable. 23 (Applause.) 24 MAYOR KENNEY: All the while, 25 we will implement with urgency our 60 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 violence prevention strategy, the 3 Philadelphia Roadmap to Safer 4 Communities, which combines proven 5 data-driven and community-informed 6 approaches that have successfully reduced 7 violence in other major cities. 8 And we'll continue to partner 9 with grassroots community groups each 10 step of the way, because those closest to 11 the challenges often have the best 12 solutions. 13 Since 2015, we have been taking 14 a comprehensive approach to criminal 15 justice reform to safely reduce our 16 prison population and to close the House 17 of Correction. 18 (Applause.) 19 MAYOR KENNEY: A century-old 20 dungeon that was a constant reminder of 21 what mass incarceration really looks 22 like. 23 As a result, 3,000 fewer 24 Philadelphians are behind bars. And we 25 closed that prison ahead of schedule. 61 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 (Applause.) 3 MAYOR KENNEY: We will continue 4 this work to reduce our jail population, 5 focusing on reducing racial and ethnic 6 disparities that persist in our system. 7 (Applause.) 8 MAYOR KENNEY: Next, to ensure 9 our young people reach their full 10 potential, we must follow the rest of the 11 civilized world and make the investments 12 necessary to improve the quality of 13 education available to all of our kids. 14 (Applause.) 15 MAYOR KENNEY: This isn't just 16 the right thing to do. Our city's future 17 depends on it. 18 For years, we watched as the 19 School District of Philadelphia was cut 20 to the bone, with significant capital 21 investments trimmed, nurses, counselors, 22 and librarians let go, and barely enough 23 money to keep the lights on. 24 But it's a new era, and we will 25 not fail another generation of our 62 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 children. 3 (Applause.) 4 MAYOR KENNEY: Together we 5 regained control of our schools by 6 establishing a local Board of Education, 7 and we matched it with more, along with 8 Council, with more than a billion dollars 9 in City funding. 10 Now is the time to deliver on 11 the promise of local control. This means 12 working with the District and Harrisburg 13 to prioritize investments to ensure all 14 our kids and school staff have safe and 15 welcoming facilities equipped with modern 16 technology. 17 It means that all students are 18 exposed to career-connected activities so 19 they're actually prepared for college and 20 careers. 21 (Applause.) 22 MAYOR KENNEY: It means our 23 dynamic teachers are properly supported 24 so they can set high standards for 25 student success. 63 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 And fulfilling the promise of 3 local control means greater access to 4 quality supportive services so children 5 and families' social, behavioral, and 6 health needs are met. 7 Over the next four years, we'll 8 continue growing our City-led PHLpreK, 9 community schools, and out of school time 10 initiatives that have become lifelines 11 for students and their families. 12 We'll drastically expand 13 behavioral health supports across all 14 schools. 15 (Applause.) 16 MAYOR KENNEY: Building on this 17 success, we will create a new Office of 18 Children and Families and a Children and 19 Families Cabinet charged with working 20 across City departments to ensure that 21 all policies, resources, and services for 22 children and families are aligned, 23 coordinated, and developed in close 24 partnership with the School District of 25 Philadelphia. 64 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 (Applause.) 3 MAYOR KENNEY: In the second 4 term, we will also tackle new education 5 priorities like working with the 6 Community College of Philadelphia to help 7 more high school students transition to 8 college and allow for more to attend CCP 9 tuition free so they can successfully 10 graduate. 11 (Applause.) 12 MAYOR KENNEY: In Philadelphia 13 and across the nation, the rising cost of 14 higher education and childcare as well as 15 food insecurity and spiraling student 16 debt is harming too many students' 17 ability to graduate. And I know this 18 keeps many parents and students awake at 19 night. 20 Yet if Philadelphia is to be a 21 talent magnet for new companies and serve 22 the rapidly changing needs of our labor 23 market, we must do more to help residents 24 gain a credential or post-secondary 25 degree. 65 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 That is why our Administration 3 will be focused on creating a more 4 accessible and affordable Community 5 College for Philadelphians. 6 (Applause.) 7 MAYOR KENNEY: Last year we 8 asked City residents to rate our services 9 and tell us their priorities. 10 Overwhelmingly people were most concerned 11 with the condition of our streets. So 12 let me say that we've heard you loud and 13 clear, and making our streets safer and 14 cleaner will be another major priority. 15 (Applause.) 16 MAYOR KENNEY: You're welcome. 17 We've made tremendous progress 18 with a $200 million capital investment 19 for repaving, and we've more than doubled 20 the miles of streets paved since the year 21 2015. But we still have a long way to 22 go. 23 This term we will return our 24 roads to a state of good repair and 25 ensure that all users of our roadways are 66 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 safer by adding 40 miles of protected 3 bike lanes. 4 (Applause.) 5 MAYOR KENNEY: And we will 6 support SEPTA's ambitious redesign of the 7 bus network so that Philadelphians can 8 more quickly and efficiently get to their 9 jobs and other places. 10 (Applause.) 11 MAYOR KENNEY: And for cleaner 12 streets, we will continue to ramp up 13 illegal dumping enforcement and build on 14 our successful street sweeping pilot 15 program by expanding street cleaning to 16 every neighborhood and commercial 17 corridor by the year 2023. 18 (Applause.) 19 MAYOR KENNEY: Yes, you heard 20 that right, every neighborhood, which 21 will even require folks to move their 22 cars. 23 (Applause.) 24 MAYOR KENNEY: While we're 25 improving the condition of streets, we 67 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 will also remain focused on creating 3 inclusive and resilient neighborhoods and 4 making sure that our economic growth 5 extends far beyond Center City. 6 We'll continue our historic 7 investments in housing affordability, 8 homeless services, and homeownership. 9 This will help stabilize Philadelphians 10 struggling amid poverty and grow our 11 middle class. 12 To gain quality jobs, we'll 13 increase entrepreneurial support for 14 businesses owned by people of color, 15 women, and immigrants. 16 (Applause.) 17 MAYOR KENNEY: And implement a 18 robust business and job growth strategy. 19 And we'll continue our 20 extensive efforts to save more lives from 21 the opioid overdose and help 22 neighborhoods like Kensington recover 23 from the traumatic toll the opioid crisis 24 has inflicted on our communities. 25 (Applause.) 68 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 MAYOR KENNEY: The opioid 3 crisis is a national epidemic, but it's 4 clear to me that cities like ours are on 5 the front line of this battle. We must 6 step up to solve it, as we've been doing 7 the past few years. 8 While some in Harrisburg and 9 those working at the behest of the 10 President are more concerned about 11 scoring political points, we are focused 12 on saving the souls suffering from 13 addiction. 14 (Applause.) 15 MAYOR KENNEY: And, yes, that 16 means supporting the creation of overdose 17 prevention sites to save lives and give 18 more people an entry point to treatment. 19 (Applause.) 20 MAYOR KENNEY: And that's not 21 the only thing our city needs to lead on. 22 We will continue doing everything we can 23 to address the climate crisis by 24 delivering on the Paris Climate Agreement 25 and meeting our own ambitious climate 69 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 goals. 3 (Applause.) 4 MAYOR KENNEY: Finally, to 5 restore equity to our neighborhoods, 6 we'll continue the phenomenal progress of 7 Rebuild by revitalizing 72 parks, 8 recreation centers, playgrounds, and 9 libraries. 10 (Applause.) 11 MAYOR KENNEY: After decades of 12 disinvestment, these public spaces are 13 finally getting the attention our 14 residents, especially our kids, deserve. 15 (Applause.) 16 MAYOR KENNEY: I'm extremely 17 grateful to everyone involved in Rebuild, 18 from the staff, non-profit partners, 19 diverse businesses, and apprentices who 20 are on their way to building careers in 21 the trades. 22 I also want to thank the 23 community members who participate in the 24 design process, funders like the fabulous 25 William Penn Foundation -- thank you so 70 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 much -- and City Council for enacting the 3 beverage tax. 4 (Applause.) 5 MAYOR KENNEY: Got a hand for 6 the beverage tax. 7 And our last major priority 8 this term is grounded in our work to make 9 a more diverse, efficient, and effective 10 government that delivers better customer 11 service to residents and businesses. 12 We plan to look at every policy 13 and program through a racial equity lens 14 so we can better address the racial 15 disparities that have plagued communities 16 of color for far too long. 17 (Applause.) 18 MAYOR KENNEY: For example, 19 we'll reform burdensome fines and fees 20 and bring fairness to more residents, and 21 we'll provide more support to returning 22 citizens so they can contribute to our 23 society in a meaningful way. 24 (Applause.) 25 MAYOR KENNEY: We also plan to 71 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 embed data, evaluation, and 3 human-centered design in more City 4 operations. 5 These are among the top 6 priorities for this term, and everything 7 we do, every policy, every program, aims 8 to lift at least 100,000 Philadelphians 9 out of poverty. 10 (Applause.) 11 MAYOR KENNEY: Our approach to 12 reducing poverty focuses on providing 13 support to those in need now, helping 14 Philadelphians raise their incomes, and 15 enacting policies and investments that 16 will break the cycle of intergenerational 17 poverty for good. 18 I want to again thank the 19 incredibly talented and dedicated members 20 of the cabinet and staff who have been 21 instrumental in pushing forward our 22 progressive agenda these past four years. 23 City government would not run 24 without the 30,000-plus public servants 25 who work on behalf of residents every 72 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 day. No words can adequately express my 3 appreciation for all of you. Thank you 4 for showing up and doing the work with 5 compassion and integrity. 6 And thank you to the residents 7 of our great city who continue to voice 8 their opinions and concerns and tell us 9 what they want to see. We hear you. 10 As Mayor, I recognize that 11 thousands of Philadelphia children are 12 kept awake at night by difficult concerns 13 that no child should bear - a parent 14 losing a job, an empty stomach, 15 overcrowded classrooms, or gunfire right 16 outside their window. It should not be 17 that way. 18 I want all Philadelphia 19 children to sleep soundly at night and 20 wake in the morning with the desire and a 21 quality education to go out and conquer 22 the world. 23 (Applause.) 24 MAYOR KENNEY: More than 25 anything else, that is the goal that will 73 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 drive our Administration over the next 3 four years. And with your help, I'm 4 confident we can achieve it. 5 Thank you, God bless you, and 6 Happy New Year. 7 (Standing ovation.) 8 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 9 Thank you. Again, Mr. Mayor, 10 congratulations. 11 I now invite the Imam Muhammad 12 Abdul-Aleem to offer a prayer for the 13 City. 14 (Applause.) 15 IMAM ABDUL-ALEEM: Peace be 16 upon you and with God's name, the 17 merciful benefactor, the merciful 18 redeemer. 19 I'd like to begin this prayer 20 for the City. I want to make first a 21 comment that when I was given this 22 beautiful and very humbling opportunity, 23 I thought of a prayer that was given by 24 the great prophet Ibrahim, where he 25 prayed to God for a city of safety and 74 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 security. So God willing, I want to 3 share with you some of the things that we 4 have written about in relationship to 5 those verses in the Quran, and I hope 6 that the invitation given by Council 7 President and our Mayor and City Council 8 that we will honor you giving us this 9 opportunity. 10 So this prayer is, our merciful 11 benefactor, our redeemer who opens for 12 all people a way to good conscience and a 13 good life. 14 Grant to the City that it may 15 continue to be a prosperous city and as 16 the people of faith taking pride in human 17 dignity, industry, and service. 18 Let us pray that this great 19 city pursuing liberty and justice in the 20 face of injustice be an inspiration to 21 other cities and to this nation to move 22 towards social and economic justice for 23 all. 24 Grant that this city always 25 have a heart for charity, compassion, 75 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 repentance, and mercy for the weak and 3 the less fortunate among us. 4 Grant that we as human beings 5 always have more hope than trouble and 6 ever-growing goodness and in wisdom. 7 Bless us to always cherish our 8 freedom and the noble essence of our 9 common human essence. 10 Grant that we, the citizens of 11 this city, understand better our brothers 12 and sisters in the City and around the 13 world, and reject unsuitable racism for a 14 global community of brotherhood and 15 peace. 16 Bring all our citizens, 17 government, and members of all the 18 branches of government together, those of 19 great means and small means, to 20 appreciate more our city's pledge of 21 liberty, peace, and justice for all. 22 Bless all citizens. Share in 23 the responsibility to make our city work 24 for all of us. 25 Bless our homes and our 76 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 schools. Bless the parish and our 3 troubled youth, our burdened 4 neighborhoods to never be without hope or 5 direction. 6 Bless marriage and family life 7 in our city. Bless us as citizens of 8 this great city to keep the best of our 9 ways. Bless us as citizens to live up to 10 the noble name of the City of Brotherly 11 Love and Sisterly Affection. 12 Bless us with the spirit of 13 love and unity as we work together to 14 make our city a shared freedom space. 15 Bless us in our neighborhoods 16 to return the neighbor back to the hood. 17 Bless us to establish the City 18 as the city of safety and security for 19 all citizens. 20 Bless us to have more pride in 21 industry and self-reliance. 22 Bless the workers of our city, 23 those in uniform and those not in 24 uniform. 25 Bless the efforts of this 77 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 leadership body and all efforts to make 3 progress for jobs and more opportunity 4 for us in this great city for us. 5 Bless us to understand this 6 great time in which we live, the time of 7 the human being. Bless us to wake up to 8 human life and stop the senseless 9 violence that goes on in our 10 neighborhoods. 11 Bless us to better appreciate 12 the environment and our relationship to 13 Mother Earth. 14 Bless our leaders with the 15 patience and the wisdom to lead us in 16 these challenging times. Increase our 17 elected officials - our Mayor, our City 18 Council President, every member of the 19 City Council, City Commissioners, the 20 Sheriff, the Register of Wills, and every 21 member of the justice system - with the 22 excellence of the human spirit and the 23 excellence of intellect of statesmen that 24 we may build a better world for us all. 25 Bless us to learn to live 78 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 together as human beings in service to 3 God. 4 Ameen. 5 (Applause.) 6 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: So 7 to celebrate the inauguration of Mayor 8 James F. Kenney, the Saint Thomas Gospel 9 Choir will perform "Total Praise." The 10 choir again is directed by Walt Blocker. 11 (Saint Thomas Gospel Choir 12 performs.) 13 (Applause.) 14 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: I 15 know this event was free today, but that 16 was worth the price of admission. 17 (Applause.) 18 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 19 Thank you. 20 I now invite the Reverend Naomi 21 Washington-Leapheart to offer a reading 22 in celebration of the inauguration of 23 Mayor James F. Kenney. 24 (Applause.) 25 REVEREND WASHINGTON-LEAPHEART: 79 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 Good morning. 3 (Good morning.) 4 REVEREND WASHINGTON-LEAPHEART: 5 It is my joy to serve the City as the 6 Director for Faith-Based and Interfaith 7 Affairs in the Mayor's Office of Public 8 Engagement, and it's my honor to this 9 morning offer a word of encouragement to 10 all of you as you begin this new term of 11 leadership and of service. 12 As I prepared for today, I 13 couldn't help but think about how this 14 date, January 6th, happens to connect to 15 another important celebration on my 16 religious calendar. Today many 17 Christians observe the holiday of 18 Epiphany. We call it Epiphany because 19 the word is derived from the Greek word 20 that means appearance. 21 On this day, we celebrates the 22 first time the divine presence physically 23 appeared to human beings. 24 According to our sacred text, 25 the clue that revealed the location of 80 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 this divine presence was a star in the 3 night sky. In other words, an ordinary 4 light led the people to an extraordinary 5 light. 6 One of my spiritual practices 7 for Epiphany is to have someone else 8 choose for me something called a star 9 word. A star word is something that can 10 operate like a guiding light in my life 11 throughout the year, and my task is to 12 make sense of this word, this mysterious 13 word. 14 So I ask questions like what 15 does this word mean to me, how can it 16 reveal my direction, how can it reveal 17 what I'm supposed to do and be. 18 Well, I asked the same person 19 who chose my star word last year to send 20 me a list of star words, and this morning 21 I selected a star word for you, all of 22 you who are making a commitment to 23 leadership. Your star word is craft. 24 Craft. 25 Now, I don't know how this word 81 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 will show up for you over and over this 3 year. I don't know how it will be a 4 guiding light to you. I don't know what 5 it might personally mean for you, but I 6 offer it to you today, craft. 7 Perhaps this word is inviting 8 you to approach your role or your 9 position or your task like a wood worker 10 approaches the delicate precise work of 11 making something out of a shapeless block 12 of wood. 13 Perhaps the word is inviting 14 you to let your imagination run free, 15 like a child who can take two and a half 16 crayons and some old-school Elmer's glue 17 and some orange M&Ms and create something 18 beautiful that you want to hang on your 19 refrigerator. 20 Perhaps this word is inviting 21 you to, like a chef, craft new recipes 22 for justice and wellness and wholeness 23 for the residents of this city, using 24 whatever we got in our cupboards to make 25 something good, something that will fill 82 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 us up, something that won't leave us 3 hungry. 4 Perhaps this word is inviting 5 you to carve out of your schedules and 6 your workload time to rest, time to 7 refresh, time to be a full human being, a 8 partner, a parent, a family member, a 9 friend. 10 May you craft what you need to 11 be well. 12 Now, crafting is not easy, but 13 it is in some ways an element of the work 14 that you're vowing to do today. You are 15 crafting and creating all the time. 16 Leadership, as Nayyirah Waheed 17 would say, is flower work. She writes 18 this: Flower work is not easy. 19 Remaining soft in the fire takes time. 20 And so I leave you with the 21 word "craft." May it be your light. May 22 you know that sometimes leadership is 23 art, just like it's science. It is 24 always creating. 25 May leadership be for you a 83 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 work of art, and may this word "craft" 3 reveal to you what you need for this term 4 of service. 5 And remember, lastly, that 6 sometimes you will be someone else's 7 star. So lead them to the light. 8 Congratulations to you all and 9 God bless you. 10 (Applause.) 11 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 12 Thank you. Thank you so much, Reverend. 13 At this time, the Chair invites 14 the newly elected officials to take the 15 oath of office in the presence of the 16 Council, the Mayor, and other 17 dignitaries. Would the retention judges 18 of the Common Pleas Court please rise and 19 take the oath of office. The Clerk will 20 read the certificates of election for the 21 retention judges of the Court of Common 22 Pleas. 23 CHIEF CLERK: Ida Chen, Roxanne 24 E. Covington, Glynnis D. Hill, Karen 25 Shreeves-Johns, Diane R. Thompson, Donna 84 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 M. Woelpper, and Sheila Woods-Skipper, at 3 an election held November 5, 2019, you 4 were duly retained Judge of the Court of 5 Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for a 6 ten-year term, commencing the first 7 Monday of January 2020. 8 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 9 Thank you. 10 The Honorable Judge Dougherty 11 will administer the oath of office. 12 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: To my 13 colleagues and friends, please put your 14 left hand on the Bible and raise your 15 right hand. 16 (Oath of office administered.) 17 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: 18 Congratulations. 19 (Applause.) 20 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 21 Chair now invites the newly elected 22 judges of the Common Pleas Court to 23 please rise and take the oath of office. 24 The Clerk will read the certificates of 25 election for the newly elected judges of 85 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 the Court of Common Pleas. 3 CHIEF CLERK: Carmella 4 Jacquinto, Crystal B. Powell, at an 5 election held November 5, 2019, you were 6 duly elected Judge of the Court of Common 7 Pleas of Philadelphia County for a 8 ten-year term, commencing the first 9 Monday of January 2020. 10 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: And 11 Judge Dougherty will -- 12 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: Welcome to 13 the First Judicial District. 14 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 15 Judge, please administer the oath of 16 office. 17 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: Would you 18 please place your left hand on the Bible 19 and raise your right hand. 20 (Oath of office administered.) 21 JUSTICE DOUGHERTY: 22 Congratulations, Your Honors. 23 (Applause.) 24 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 25 Thank you. 86 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 The Chair now invites the 3 retention judges of the Municipal Court 4 of Philadelphia to stand and take the 5 oath of office. The Clerk will please 6 read the certificates of election for the 7 retention judges of the Municipal Court 8 of Philadelphia. 9 CHIEF CLERK: Martin S. 10 Coleman, Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde, at an 11 election held November 5, 2019, you were 12 duly retained Judge of the Municipal 13 Court of Philadelphia County for a 14 six-year term, commencing the first 15 Monday of January 2020. 16 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 17 Thank you. 18 The Honorable Patrick Dugan, 19 President Judge of the Philadelphia 20 Municipal Court, will administer the oath 21 of office. 22 JUDGE DUGAN: Please take your 23 Bibles in your left hands, raise your 24 right hands, and repeat after me. 25 (Oath of office administered.) 87 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 JUDGE DUGAN: Congratulations, 3 judges. Congratulations. 4 (Applause.) 5 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: The 6 Chair now invites the City Commissioners 7 to stand as their names are called. They 8 are Lisa Deeley, Omar Sabir, and Al 9 Schmidt. The Chief Clerk will now read 10 the certificates of election for the City 11 Commissioners. 12 CHIEF CLERK: Lisa Deeley, Omar 13 Sabir, and Al Schmidt, at an election 14 held November 5, 2019, you were duly 15 elected City Commissioners of 16 Philadelphia County for a term of four 17 years, commencing the first Monday of 18 January 2020. 19 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 20 Thank you. 21 The Honorable Carolyn Nichols, 22 Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, 23 will administer the oath of office. 24 JUDGE NICHOLS: Please take 25 your Bible in your left hand and raise 88 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 your right hand and repeat after me. 3 (Oath of office administered.) 4 JUDGE NICHOLS: 5 Congratulations. 6 (Applause.) 7 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 8 Congratulations. 9 The Chair invites the newly 10 elected Sheriff of Philadelphia, Rochelle 11 Bilal, to stand and take the oath of 12 office. The Clerk will please read the 13 certificate of election for the Sheriff 14 of Philadelphia. 15 CHIEF CLERK: Rochelle Bilal, 16 at an election held November 5, 2019, you 17 were duly elected Sheriff of the City of 18 Philadelphia for a four-year term, 19 commencing the first Monday of January 20 2020. 21 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 22 Judge Carolyn Nichols will also 23 administer the oath of office. 24 JUDGE NICHOLS: All right. 25 Please place your left hand on the Bible 89 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 and raise your right hand and repeat 3 after me. 4 (Oath of office administered.) 5 JUDGE NICHOLS: 6 Congratulations. 7 (Applause.) 8 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 9 Congratulations. 10 The Chair now invites Tracey 11 Gordon, Register of Wills, to stand to 12 take her oath of office. The Chief Clerk 13 will read the certificate of election for 14 the Register of Wills. 15 CHIEF CLERK: Tracey Gordon, at 16 an election held November 5, 2019, you 17 were duly elected Register of Wills of 18 the City of Philadelphia for a four-year 19 term, commencing the first Monday of 20 January 2020. 21 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 22 Judge Nichols will please administer the 23 oath of office. 24 JUDGE NICHOLS: Please place 25 your left hand on the Bible and raise 90 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 your right hand, repeat after me. 3 (Oath of office administered.) 4 JUDGE NICHOLS: 5 Congratulations. 6 (Applause.) 7 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 8 Congratulations. 9 For our final musical selection 10 today, the Girard Academic Music Program 11 Concert Choir will perform "This is Me." 12 The choir is directed by Christina 13 Blankenship. 14 (Girard Academic Music Program 15 Concert Choir performs.) 16 (Applause.) 17 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: That 18 was truly lovely. 19 As we conclude the ceremony 20 today -- before I say that, I'm not 21 supposed to say this, that after the 22 session today, there will be a lot of 23 activities in City Hall, third, fourth, 24 and fifth floor. The Councilmembers will 25 be doing their thing. 91 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 The reason why I wasn't 3 supposed to announce it, because we only 4 bought enough food for so many people. 5 So it's first come, first served. 6 Also, I believe the Mayor has a 7 concert tonight. Tickets are probably 8 gone, but I'm saying it anyway. 9 So I want to thank the 10 Inaugural Committee for their hard work 11 for today's ceremony. I also want to 12 thank our clergy members for being with 13 us and offering their prayers for us and 14 for our city. 15 The Chair now invites Rabbi 16 Jill Maderer to give a final benediction, 17 and I ask that all members and guests 18 please stand for the benediction. 19 RABBI MADERER: Today, we who 20 call God many different names and we who 21 choose not to call to God at all, we 22 Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and 23 Buddhist Philadelphians of diverse 24 neighborhoods, races, sexual 25 orientations, genders, countries of 92 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 origin, and languages, today we honor 3 democracy, and we rededicate ourselves to 4 the preservation of democracy, our 5 democracy which is threatened with every 6 act of hate, every system of inequity, 7 every disrespect of difference. 8 This Hanukkah, heeding my 9 tradition's mandate to be public with my 10 faith, to be visible with my Judaism by 11 displaying the lights of the holiday, I 12 set my hanukkiah, my Hanukkah Menorah, in 13 the window just a few blocks from here. 14 Even amid a week of 15 anti-Semitic attacks, I had faith in my 16 neighbors and in their solidarity. 17 It is for all of us to create a 18 city where we have faith in one another, 19 where we stand with each other, 20 especially with our most vulnerable 21 populations, where we do not only defend 22 our own particular group but where we 23 stand with each other in solidarity. 24 Holy one of blessing, be with 25 our city's elected officials that they 93 1 1/6/20 - STATED MEETING 2 may stand with us. Give them the 3 strength, vision, and courage to 4 demonstrate again and again that the 5 people can count on them. And give us 6 the strength to demonstrate that our 7 leaders can count on their citizens, that 8 they can count on us. 9 God, be with us and inspire us 10 to be with each other. 11 Amen. 12 (Amen.) 13 (Applause.) 14 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CLARKE: 15 Thank you, Rabbi Maderer. 16 Would the visitors and guests 17 kindly be seated for the conclusion of 18 the session. 19 The Chair now recognizes 20 Councilman Jones. 21 COUNCILMAN JONES: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. I move that the Council 23 stand adjourned until Thursday, January 24 23rd, 10:00 a.m. 25 (Duly seconded.) ..End