Three Democratic ward leaders don't actually live in their wards, but the party rules say they must

Is there a second set of rules without a residency requirement, as some claim?

City Controller Alan Butkovitz is among three Democratic ward leaders who live outside their wards.

Three Democratic ward leaders, including a likely mayoral candidate and the chairman of the board that oversees city elections, are registered to vote in a ward other than the one they represent — an apparent violation of party rules, a City Paper investigation has found.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz, City Commission chairman Anthony Clark and longtime North Philly ward leader Gary Williams have been elected to the influential party posts in one ward, yet are registered to vote in another. The city Democratic Party rules, on file with the city Board of Elections, require a ward leader to be "an elector [registered voter] of the ward he is to represent."

Until recently, the number was four, but Anna Verna, former Council president, resigned her 36th Ward leader role in Point Breeze on Tuesday night. She votes in the 26th Ward.

During primary elections every four years, city voters elect two party committeepeople from their neighborhoods; those committeepeople, in theory, elect 69 ward leaders to represent their geographical area on the politically powerful Democratic City Committee, which sets the Democratic ticket in Philadelphia. Anyone who aspires to hold elected political office here will have a hard time doing so without the official approval of ward leaders.

They especially have power in special elections. For example, when the City Committee tapped Ed Neilson for May's special election to fill departing Councilman Bill Green's seat, they weren't so much endorsing a candidate as anointing the inevitable winner. Neilson won with 78 percent of the vote — the same percentage of city voters registered as Democrats.

Why does it matter if ward leaders don't live in their wards? Because residency requirements are a fundamental part of this ward system — and of representative democracy, for that matter. Citizens are supposed to be able to relay neighborhood problems to their committeeperson, who then passes it up to the ward leader, who then is supposed to act as the voice of the neighborhood in city government. If that ward leader lives somewhere else, even if it's nearby, how well can he speak for a neighborhood?

A review of voting records shows City Commission Chairman Clark, whose job is to certify elections, is ward leader of the 28th in Strawberry Mansion but registered in the 62nd in the Northeast. Former state Rep. Gary Williams, leader of North Philly's 32nd Ward, is registered in the neighboring 16th Ward.

And Butkovitz, who is widely expected to run for mayor in the May 2015 primary, is the leader of the Northeast's 54th Ward, but is registered to vote in the 53rd, a few blocks away. In 1994, a similar investigation by the Inquirer found seven Democratic ward leaders registered outside their wards, including Butkovitz, at the time a state representative. Then as now, he was registered in the 53rd and leader of the 54th.

When asked about this, a Butkovitz spokesman emailed a short statement: "Alan is proud of his recent re-election as ward leader of the 54th Democratic Ward under the rules set forth by the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee and is committed to continuing to represent the residences of Castor Gardens."

It isn't clear which "rules set forth by the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee" he means. The rules on file at the Board of Elections are unambiguous: Ward leaders must be registered to vote in the wards they represent. And the rules can't just be changed offhand — Pennsylvania Election Code states that party rules are not "effective until a certified copy ... has been filed in the office of the county Board of Elections."

But if Butkovitz thinks that "the rules set forth by the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee" are different from those filed at the Board of Elections, he isn't alone.

Williams said that the rules had been modified to remove the residency requirement after the last primary. The certified copy at the Board of Elections shows no such change.

Even City Commissioner Stephanie Singer had her doubts about the Board of Elections' copy of the rules, which she herself posted online. "It's not at all clear that these rules of the Democratic Party of Philadelphia are legitimate," she said, noting that the rules on file lacked an official seal or certifying signature.

Confused, we asked a handful of election-law attorneys whether the rules had been changed. "To be a ward leader, you have to live in the ward," said Larry Otter, the only lawyer willing to go on the record. Otter represents retired Municipal Court Judge Jimmie Moore, who is suing Williams for his seat as leader of the 32nd Ward.

So we checked with City Committee chairman Bob Brady. Brady's staffers and Deputy City Commissioner Fred Voigt confirmed the Board of Elections had the official rules — the ones with the residency requirement — and that no others exist.
"I'm vastly amused at the arguments being advanced [that other rules exist]," Voigt said. "What, are you kidding me? Do they think you're stupid?"
Still, Voigt cautioned that just because the rules seem clear and may be legally enforced by courts, there is no guarantee that a court will enforce them.

Moore's federal lawsuit might answer that question. At the 32nd Ward's reorganization meeting in June, Moore appeared to have won the leadership. Williams, however, successfully contested the results and was reinstated by the City Committee. Moore's suit alleges both electoral and procedural chicanery, including Williams' alleged ineligibility due to his residency outside the 32nd.

Moore also heard that the ward leader residency requirement had been removed, and that the rule change was made in conjunction with Williams' contest. "All the rules and bylaws are not published, and that's unfair," said Moore. "Too many people say, 'That's just the way it is.'"