Library supporters shelve protest
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Library supporters were ready to protest service cuts in Philadelphia, until they found out there was no City Council session this week.
Zachary Hershman of the Coalition to Save the Libraries says they scheduled a rally for Thursday, only to find out that City Council doesn't schedule a session for the Thursday before Memorial Day. He was upset when he found out.
"We were definitely taken by surprise with the scheduling, but Council routinely puts themselves on vacation at every opportunity and when you look at it in the context of how they handle the DROP program, you know that the whole system is biased towards handouts and special privileges for City Council members."
The protest was postponed a week, and Hershman say they will go to City Council to be sure their case is heard…..when someone is there to hear them. Council members justify their non-session days to catch up on work or to go into their districts to meet with constituents.
When there is no session in City Council, it certainly does not mean they are on "vacation." Last week, there were public hearings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That doesn't sound like any vacation to me. The stated session is not the legislative process, but only the END of the process. The real work is in hearings and discussions among members, constituents, etc. Also, City Council's schedule of stated meetings is set at the beginning of the year and is published prominently on the City's website and elsewhere. You'd think if you were planning a protest, you would have checked the schedule. I guess it's just easier to make up stuff and complain!