The political fallout from the conviction and resignation of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah continues to mount.
The 11-term congressman now joins a growing list of former local legislators who had nearly 200 years of collective experience in state and federal government, and the connections and relationships with power that accompany veteran politicians.
State House members Michelle Brownlee, Harold James, Ron Waters and Louis Williams Bishop, and former state senator LeAnna Washington all fell from grace over the last two years after succumbing to corruption charges. Between the five there was 116 years of political experience and savvy.
Add in the service of retiring state Rep. Mark Cohen, who’s served 42 years at the state capitol, and state Rep. Dwight Evans, who served 36 years before winning the nomination for Fattah’s seat in Congress — and that’s an eye–popping 184 years worth of legislative know-how leaving state government
The bottom line could mean a drop in federal and state resources coming into the area. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee said losing Fattah will hurt.
“In Washington, seniority means a lot and Chaka had seniority,” Brady said. “I’ve known him for 35 years and I would have never thought that he would have done anything wrong. He did a whole lot of good in this city, the region and the United States.”
Fattah was the Democratic lead of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for setting specific expenditures of money by the federal government. As such, it is one of the most powerful committees in Congress and its members are seen as influential.
But not everyone agrees Fattah’s absence will translate into less resources for the area.
Richardson Dilworth, director of Drexel University’s Center for Public policy and professor in the university’s politics department, said the loss of Fattah “will be a mixed bag,” noting he did bring some money back to the district, but wasn’t known as a political closer.
“Anytime you lose anyone on the appropriations committee, it’s a bad thing,” Dilworth said. “But Chaka was not known for being particularly good at fundraising and he didn’t stump for people all that much.
“In that respect, I don’t know how influential he was in Congress,” he added. “He was never in the news nationally for anything and he hasn’t been a big leader in Congress, outside of his seniority.”
Fattah drove millions of dollars and other resources to the region’s education and medical research sectors and is the author of the federal GEAR UP program, a college readiness program.
Over the past 16 years, the program has received more than $4.8 billion in federal funds and served some 13 million students nationally from sixth to 12th grade.
In Philadelphia, GEAR UP supports programming for more than 5,000 students throughout the city. It is unclear who will steer that program after Fattah.
Also unclear will be the stewardship of the College Opportunity Resources for Education program, a Philadelphia–only initiative created by him that is providing almost $27 million in scholarships to over 14,500 students.
Evans, the presumptive favorite to win Fattah’s seat, would assume control of the district, and Dilworth said that isn’t a bad thing.
“He seems more genuinely policy-focused, and seems to have more of an intellectual policy bend than Fattah had, and he will start as a junior member of Congress, which is a good step,” Dilworth said. “It seems like he’s got the raw material to be a good member of Congress and and a good representative for the district.”
The drain continues with Cohen, who was sworn into office on in 1974. He lost the 202nd district Democratic primary to Jared Solomon and announced his political retirement soon afterwards.
When it comes to Cohen, Dilworth said, constituents and poll watchers should consider much more than just his seniority.
“It would take some convincing of me that Cohen had much in the way of sway in the House,” Dilworth said. “He certainly had the seniority, but even within the Democratic caucus, I don’t know if he was particularly influential.
“I also don’t know that Cohen was so influential that he steered money back to his district, not more than we’d expect,” he added. “It’s not like we’re losing a Dwight Evans or [former state senator] Vince Fumo.”
State House members Michelle Brownlee, Harold James, Ron Waters and Louis Williams Bishop, and former state senator LeAnna Washington all fell from grace over the last two years after succumbing to corruption charges. Between the five there was 116 years of political experience and savvy.
Add in the service of retiring state Rep. Mark Cohen, who’s served 42 years at the state capitol, and state Rep. Dwight Evans, who served 36 years before winning the nomination for Fattah’s seat in Congress — and that’s an eye–popping 184 years worth of legislative know-how leaving state government
The bottom line could mean a drop in federal and state resources coming into the area. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee said losing Fattah will hurt.
“In Washington, seniority means a lot and Chaka had seniority,” Brady said. “I’ve known him for 35 years and I would have never thought that he would have done anything wrong. He did a whole lot of good in this city, the region and the United States.”
Fattah was the Democratic lead of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for setting specific expenditures of money by the federal government. As such, it is one of the most powerful committees in Congress and its members are seen as influential.
But not everyone agrees Fattah’s absence will translate into less resources for the area.
Richardson Dilworth, director of Drexel University’s Center for Public policy and professor in the university’s politics department, said the loss of Fattah “will be a mixed bag,” noting he did bring some money back to the district, but wasn’t known as a political closer.
“Anytime you lose anyone on the appropriations committee, it’s a bad thing,” Dilworth said. “But Chaka was not known for being particularly good at fundraising and he didn’t stump for people all that much.
“In that respect, I don’t know how influential he was in Congress,” he added. “He was never in the news nationally for anything and he hasn’t been a big leader in Congress, outside of his seniority.”
Fattah drove millions of dollars and other resources to the region’s education and medical research sectors and is the author of the federal GEAR UP program, a college readiness program.
Over the past 16 years, the program has received more than $4.8 billion in federal funds and served some 13 million students nationally from sixth to 12th grade.
In Philadelphia, GEAR UP supports programming for more than 5,000 students throughout the city. It is unclear who will steer that program after Fattah.
Also unclear will be the stewardship of the College Opportunity Resources for Education program, a Philadelphia–only initiative created by him that is providing almost $27 million in scholarships to over 14,500 students.
Evans, the presumptive favorite to win Fattah’s seat, would assume control of the district, and Dilworth said that isn’t a bad thing.
“He seems more genuinely policy-focused, and seems to have more of an intellectual policy bend than Fattah had, and he will start as a junior member of Congress, which is a good step,” Dilworth said. “It seems like he’s got the raw material to be a good member of Congress and and a good representative for the district.”
The drain continues with Cohen, who was sworn into office on in 1974. He lost the 202nd district Democratic primary to Jared Solomon and announced his political retirement soon afterwards.
When it comes to Cohen, Dilworth said, constituents and poll watchers should consider much more than just his seniority.
“It would take some convincing of me that Cohen had much in the way of sway in the House,” Dilworth said. “He certainly had the seniority, but even within the Democratic caucus, I don’t know if he was particularly influential.
“I also don’t know that Cohen was so influential that he steered money back to his district, not more than we’d expect,” he added. “It’s not like we’re losing a Dwight Evans or [former state senator] Vince Fumo.”
dwilliams@phillytrib.com
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