Black Clergy In Philly Disapprove Of Ouster Of DA Candidate Because Of Unverifiable Income Sources

Not that they'd drop their support for Seth Williams around anything related to his effectiveness on locking criminals up. (Note: I do not know if Williams would be a good DA or not. If the Philly Concerned Black Clergy is anything like the Atlanta Concerned Black Clergy and Detroit's - leftists who work against the long term best interests of the Black community for short term gain then anyone who they support I am against because he is a threat to these interests. I hate to do 'guilt by association' but in this case it it well deserved.)

Black Clergy Of Philadelphia Support Seth Williams for DA Despite His Removal From The Ballot

Philadelphia. A murder plagued city who's financial future is of an unknown quantity needs to get its house in order. Like any death spiral - the presence of crime and failing schools causes the 'quality citizens' to vacate the city limits for the suburbs, putting more pressure upon those who remain to pay taxes while seeking to keep the level of civility up. Philadelphia is one of the 3 cities that I am intimately aware of as having a strong "Black Flight Progressive" base. This is where Black Progressives exit an otherwise progressive stronghold where what should be a favorable situation on paper because the stars are aligned in their favor. With Philly being an 85% Democratic city per their voting history - one would think that this would be the best of times for Philadelphians. Instead those who remain behind too often do so at their own risk.

When will we see the various "Concerned Black Clergy" organizations NOT defend Black mayors who are headed to jail (Atlanta's Bill Campbell and Detroit's Kilpatrick) but INSTEAD standing up for law and order and civility in the name of the Lord himself?

They prove themselves to be "Speak Truth To Power" organizations EXCEPT that "the Power" in the city are people who they like and they are all too quiet in speaking out against the key problems that beset the city. Instead they are speaking out against entities that try to keep a balance of power with these too frequently corrupt city administrations. For some reason their "concerns" are not about the corrupt power base but the fact that a "favorable Black man" is in trouble with the justice system. I say "favorable" because if you are not Black and not Progressive the "Concerned Black Clergy" will tell you "you've gotta find your own Jesus who will support you. Mine don't like you".

Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, a group of hundreds of pastors whose support can influence a close election, yesterday endorsed Seth Williams in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia district attorney.

The announcement comes at a crucial time for Williams. He was ordered off the ballot Friday when a Common Pleas Court judge ruled that he had failed to identify all sources of income on the "statement of financial interests" he filed last month with his nominating petitions.

After hearing testimony on a rival candidate's lawsuit challenging Williams' nomination, Judge Allan M. Tereshko disqualified Williams for not disclosing as income more than $10,000 he received from his campaign committee.

Williams, whose appeal to Commonwealth Court is pending, maintains that the money was reimbursement for campaign expenditures. He contends that it is documented on a separate, publicly available campaign-finance report and that Tereshko must have misread the law when he equated reimbursed expenses with income.

However, the judge's seven-page ruling stated: "[T]he definition of income as proposed by the Candidate is not the one that the Legislature defined."

As the only candidate who has made a previous run for Philadelphia D.A., Williams laid claim to front-runner status in the five-way Democratic primary, to be decided May 19.

The legal challenge has the potential to distract Williams' focus and disrupt his fund-raising, but he said yesterday that he would get back on the ballot and that efforts to knock him off would backfire because supporters now were "galvanized even more." He is continuing to campaign.

"Though the decision to remove him from the ballot was a travesty of justice, we vow to stand for Seth," said the Rev. Terrence Griffith, director of the Black Clergy's political action committee. "Friday's ruling was nothing more than a cheap political trick."

The Rev. Steven Avinger, pastor of Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church in Southwest Philadelphia, said in an interview that the organization of African American religious leaders - representing 450 churches - decided Thursday to endorse Williams. The announcement of the endorsement was expected to be made closer to primary day, but was moved up "because of the controversy" over Williams' removal from the ballot, Avinger said.

Williams' legal appeal is to be heard on an expedited basis, although oral arguments have not yet been scheduled