Philly councilwoman Marian Tasco says it’s time to retire

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One of Philadelphia’s strongest female politicians is leaving at the end of her term. 

City Councilwoman Marian Tasco says after 30 years working in Philadelphia City Hall it’s time to retire. 

“I’m getting a little older and certainly at the point of my life you kind of look at it’s time to go and turn the reins over someone to someone who has the strength and tenacity to continue the work we’ve done,” she said. 

Tasco says that person is State Rep. Cherelle Parker.

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“[Parker] worked here in this office she knows the district she’s worked the district and we won’t miss a beat because our philosophies are the same,” Tasco said. 

Parker released a statement calling Tasco “a personal inspiration.”

The 77-year-old Tasco technically retired once before…for one day in 2011 to collect a $475,000 dollar payment from the controversial DROP early retirement program.  She insists that she did intend to leave council back then.

“I had decided that I was going to leave and circumstances dictated that I should stay and then of course we took a hit because people wanted to make something out of it.  There was an effort by some of the media in our community to clear council out and I just happened to be one of the council members that they couldn’t rile.”

Some council members who “retired” and took DROP payments only to run for another term lost those re-election bids, but not Tasco.

She says she wants to be remembered for fighting off predatory lenders and fending off an attempt to sell the Philadelphia Gas Works.  

Tasco has been on city council since 1988 and was a city commissioner before that for three years.  She says she wants to continue to be active in the community and possibly even on the gas commission.

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