Reformers' Roundtable

WE MUST, INDEED, ALL HANG TOGETHER...OR, MOST ASSUREDLY, WE SHALL ALL HANG SEPARATELY -- Benjamin Franklin, 1776

Philadelphia Forward has convened what we call the Reformers' Roundtable -- a group of individuals and representatives of organizations seeking to make positive change in Philadelphia. We hope to use the Reformers' Roundtable to help build a constituency for change to articulate what we expect from our city, what we demand of our city government, and what we can do for Philadelphia. We will ignite a debate about how the city should be run, and ensure that the policies that can move Philadelphia forward receive priority in the political system.

The Reformers' Roundtable has been hard at work crafting a Compact that sets forth what we demand of our city government, and what we can do for Philadelphia.

(You can also read an interview with Brett Mandel in the Green City Journal about the Compact and the Reform Movement.)

Metro Reformer's Roundtable Column

The Philadelphia Metro, the local version of the world's largest global newspaper, now it includes the thoughts and opinions of the Reformers' Roundtable. Each Monday, Metro readers will be able to read the responses from members of the Reformers' Roundtable to significant issues of the day.

In the fall of 2005, the Reformers' Roundtable coordinated an effort to educate about the need for ethics reform in Philadelphia in support of a "VOTE YES ON ETHICS" campaign to support passage of a charter change to help end the pay-to-play culture in Philadelphia. Click here to see what the campaign accomplished. In A ROUNDTABLE WITH AN EDGE FOR NOV. 8 VOTE one of our regular attendees, Anne Mahlum, director of civic education for the Committee of Seventy, had this to say about our work:

MY FIRST thought when I was asked to attend a roundtable discussion by a few self-styled reformers was, "Ugh!" - another meeting where excitement and energy would fill the room and then evaporate when everyone returned to the offices where 10 voicemails and 162 e-mails anxiously demanded their attention.

But this Reformers Roundtable has turned out to be anything but typical.

After organizations got wind that this group had started to organize a "Vote Yes" campaign for the ethics question that will be on the bottom right corner of the Nov. 8 ballot, we found our table wasn't big enough to accommodate everyone who was interested. Some of the many organizations working on this campaign are Philadelphia Forward, the Pennsylvania Economy League, the Committee of Seventy, Neighborhood Networks, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, among others.

Coming from Washington, where it takes a consultant to help an organization decide where to order the morning bagels from, I have been highly impressed with the aggressive and inclusive approach of this coalition, where a comment from a 20-something student carries as much weight as a suggestion from a CEO.

Please email brett@philadelphiaforward.org if you want more information about the Reformers' Roundtable, or if you wish to join us at a Roundtable meeting.