Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson went where apparently no councilmember has gone before, emulating Barack Obama, Jerry Seinfield and Snoop Dogg by opening herself up to an AMA or “Ask Me Anything” interview session on Reddit this week.
Shortly after the new council ended its first full meeting session on Thursday, the newly re-elected Gilmore Richardson sat down and started responding to queries and comments that members of the online site’s r/philadelphia community had been posting for the previous couple days.
Gilmore Richardson, a Democrat who became council’s majority leader this month, answered a host of questions about trash, SEPTA, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, homelessness, and other hot-button issues — while declining to directly address perhaps the hottest issue of them all. More on that below.
The choice to go on Reddit may reflect a greater level of internet savviness in Gilmore Richardson or her staff than is common among councilmembers.
As she noted in her introductory note for the AMA, when she first won her At-Large council seat in 2019, she was the youngest woman ever elected to citywide office in Philadelphia, as well as being the youngest Black woman elected to council.
While her colleagues generally have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, few if any seem to have ventured into Reddit’s text-heavy and sometimes intense discussion forums, making Gilmore Richardson something of a social media pioneer as well. She created her Reddit account earlier this month.
Perhaps the only other Philadelphia elected official who has done a Reddit AMA is state Sen. Art Haywood, who nine years ago took questions about his bill on investigating police killings of civilians. Eryn Santamoor, a former deputy mayor, did an AMA during her first run for council in 2019.
Wage tax cuts, litter, SEPTA safety, and a dream project
Many of Gilmore Richardson’s answers were straightforward, diplomatic statements of steps the city has previously taken to address various problems and what she hopes to do in the coming year.
When one commenter complained that reliance on the wage tax “nearly bankrupted the city in the height of the pandemic,” she said she was prepared to “dive into our business tax structure” and said she has twice proposed wage tax reductions.
A question about litter elicited a response saying that the city last year expanded the Taking Care of Business program to hire people to pick up along commercial corridors. She added that she will “be making this a priority” during upcoming budget discussions.
Asked about improving safety on the Market-Frankford Line, she described SEPTA’s increased security efforts, while adding, “As a frequent SEPTA rider and mother of a high schooler who takes SEPTA every day, I know that’s not enough and that we have much more to do.”
“As a Girls High girl, I know how important the Chestnut Hill West line is and I will be advocating with my district council colleagues to sustain it,” she also wrote, referring to concerns among Northwest Philly residents that the train line could be shut down to save money.
“I also have concerns about the Bus Revolution plan, which I feel negatively impacts underrepresented communities,” she added.
Other answers referenced her new bill to increase oversight of the financially troubled Office of Homeless Services; praised PPA executive director Rich Lazer for boosting parking enforcement; agreed with the need for more tree planting (“Did you hear about my tree bill?”); and expressed support for the proposed Roosevelt Boulevard Subway, composting and efforts to improve Black maternal health
She also named one of her dream projects — “to create a charter commission to update our Home Rule Charter from 1952” — and answered this question: “If you could get one thing passed right now without needing approval from other members what would it be?”
“Term limits 👀,” she answered.
Allegations of “incompetence, corruption, and apathy”
Gilmore Richardson’s chatty openness had its limits. On a couple particularly contentious issues, she answered defensively or didn’t directly answer at all.
One of them is councilmanic prerogative, an unofficial practice in which members and city agencies defer to a district councilmember on zoning and land use decisions, effectively giving them control over much of what is built in their district and who gets to build it.
“The city’s zoning code has been abused to an absurd degrees by district councilmembers for decades to facilitate corrupt land deals, line the pockets of donors / connected individuals, and hold back development from districts to preserve that district’s councilmans voting base and power,” wrote one commenter, AbsentEmpire. “What if anything will you do to help fight to end the corrupt practice of councilmanic prerogative?”
“You can’t be for us without us,” responded Gilmore Richardson, who as an At-Large member does not have councilmanic prerogative powers. “Local communities must be engaged in decision-making processes about land use and community development. My district council colleagues work very closely with community groups and RCOs to understand the needs and specifics of individual projects.”
The very first AMA question and several that followed asked about Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, who was elected Council President by his colleagues this month.
Questioners noted that Johnson faced federal bribery charges, of which he was found not guilty in 2022. One person also recalled that, according to witness in a 2014 judicial corruption case, Johnson called Judge Willie Singletary to get someone’s parking ticket canceled. He was offered immunity to testify but did not end up appearing on the witness stand.
“How on earth did you and the rest of the council elect Kenyatta Johnson to the presidency of the council? It makes City Council look corrupt and unserious,” wrote one user, twb5025.
“How do you feel about…Kenyatta Johnson becoming council President?” wrote lasion2. “Why should we trust any of you when all we’ve seen is gross incompetence, corruption, and apathy?”
“Thanks so much for your question,” Gilmore Richardson responded. “I am looking forward to working with our Council President and the new Council team. I understand you may feel like we can’t be trusted, but my mom used to say, you listen to what people say but you watch what they do. I ask that you judge me on my record of service and who I am and who I will always be and that is Katherine Gilmore Richardson.”
The article has been updated with Sen. Haywood’s AMA.
