Philly Council votes down resolution honoring ‘Porngate’ email recipient

A member of Philadelphia City Council found out the hard way Thursday that not every resolution is a “slam dunk.” 

City Councilman David Oh introduced a resolution to honor Patrick Blessington for his work as a prosecutor, most recently in the Philadelphia district attorney’s office. 

The trouble is, Blessington was one of those named in the “Porngate” scandal where offensive e-mails were passed among government employees in Harrisburg.That upset Councilwoman Helen Gym. Even though he may have only received those emails, she said, he didn’t speak up either.”Men simply cannot remain silent or passive when faced with such emails that came through. They have to speak up. People have to push back, or the behaviors will persist as they did in the state.”Blessington was required to undergo sensitivity training, but did not lose his job as some on council had demanded.Oh said he just wanted to recognize Blessington for years of service.”At the end of the day, I believe the person was unjustifiably vilified and his conduct made out to be far worse that it actually is.”The resolution was rejected by a vote of 15-2 — highly unusual since most resolutions are approved overwhelmingly.