Inquirer Editorial: FBI probe of union boss Dougherty should serve as a wake-up call to Mayor Kenney

Mayor Kenney was right to nudge aside his appointee to the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment after a brief seven months on the job.

But the ouster of South Philadelphia chiropractor James Moylan as the chairman of the zoning board raises some broader questions about the early state of the Kenney administration. Such as what exactly was a chiropractor doing heading the zoning board in the first place?

One possible reason may be that the city's Byzantine zoning code is a pain in the neck. Another more likely explanation, however, may stem from Moylan's close ties to International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 98 boss John Dougherty.

Moylan and Dougherty's relationship goes back at least 20 years. Dougherty coaxed Moylan to move his family to the Pennsport section of South Philadelphia and set up his chiropractic office there. And Dougherty's union paid Moylan more than $20,000 between 2011 and 2012 as a political consultant to "get out the vote," U.S. Labor Department records show. In 2011, Moylan became president of the Pennsport Civic Association, a post once held by Dougherty. Moylan resigned from the position prior to joining the zoning board.

Dougherty was instrumental in getting Kenney elected last November, which served as an embarrassment to the mayor last month when federal agents raided the homes and offices of both Dougherty and Moylan. Kenney reportedly asked Moylan to resign out of concern that the zoning board's business would be overshadowed by the federal investigation.

The FBI also conducted a number of other searches, including inside the City Hall office of Councilman Bobby Henon, who was the political director of Dougherty's union before being elected to Council in 2011. No one has been charged with doing anything wrong. But the federal investigation has cast a cloud over City Hall as political observers wait for the next shoe to drop.

The zoning board has long been packed with politically connected cronies who have little expertise when it comes to complex zoning matters. One former board chairman, David Auspitz, was best known for having owned the Famous 4th Street Deli in Queen Village, a popular hangout for pols and insiders on Election Day.

The FBI investigation should be a wake-up call for Kenney, who came into office in January with great promise and scored an early victory by getting City Council to pass a soda tax to fund pre-kindergarten and other programs - something his predecessor proposed, but failed to accomplish.

Even before his election, there were nagging concerns about Kenney's ties to Local 98, which has a long history of influence-peddling and bullying. It would be a shame to see Kenney's union ties damage what Mayor Michael Nutter's emphasis on ethics did to change the perception that City Hall only works well for practitioners of the putrid art of pay-to-play.

Philadelphia has blossomed in recent years. Many parts of the city are booming. But much work remains to be done, especially when it comes to crime, schools, and taxes. Tackling those problems requires Kenney's full attention absent the distraction of a federal investigation of his friends.

Source: Philly.com