District attorney. The longtime civil rights lawyer torpedoed six other candidates in the democratic primary and then a republican career prosecutor in the general to win the highest lawenforcement post in philadelphia. This despite his very liberal views on policing, crime punishment, and his own lack of experience in prosecution though 1. 45 million fromhelp his case. Crystal ball here, george. Will people in the future see krasners election as a shift or as a blip . No, i think it is consistent with peoples commitmentublic process. You see voters all the time voting for change. I think Larry Krasner identified himself as the candidaten an issue a nuare very important to people i. E. , people sitting in jail with bails that they cant pay but havent been convicted of any crimes, and i think that in minority communities where he is talking about the prosecutorial process and the criminaljustice process being about reform and not just punishment. You know, about 15 or 20 years ago, it became just about punishment, not about reform and i think that to the extent that he provides real leadership, i think that he can be an example that people follow. Shift or blip . What do you think, guys . Its a shift. Its not a blip. I mean, you know, in other cities where theyve elected very progressive District Attorneys who dont necessarily cooperate with police, weve seen an increase in crime an increase in murders. We hope thats not the case in philadelphia. We saw our murder rates already going through the roof here in philly this year. The problem is, were gonna have the it seems like were gonna have the criminaldefense socialjustice type of advocate on both sides now of the room in the courtroom, and thats a problem. We need a d. A. Who the police know that when they go out and arrest someone, the d. A. s gonna have their back, and i dont think police think they have that now and thats a problem. Donna, what do you think . I think there are gonna be a lot of questions that present themselves over the term of his candi not candidacy his tenure as d. A. I think its important to remember, though, that as we were coming to the close of the obama administration, we started to see a remarkable phenomena among republicans and democrats. The Koch Brothers and other unlikely folks talked about the incarceration rate in the United States being way past what it ought to be for a civilized society. So i think this, in part plays into that phenomena, which is that theres an acknowledgement that we lock up way too many people for way too little crime. Im not talking about murder im talking about the other stuff. The lesser crimes. Yes. So, this dichotomy between blip or trend is gonna be determined based on what val said in terms of police bringing people in, not for minor crimes, but for serious ones. Well see how the Krasner Administration deals with that. That, i think, will play out in terms of quality of life and where theres enough of a timeline to see whether people want to continue down a certain road or whether they want to make an adjustment. Issue two and, you know, its interesting. We had this discussion when ed rendell was elected District Attorney. He was a reformer, and people were questioning whether he was gonna be tough on crime and be a reformer at the same time, and i think ed rendell proved that you can do both, and i think krasners got to demonstrate that, also. Yeah, but ed had a much different profile than krasner. No, he did. Remember, when ed got elected District Attorney, he was nobody. He had sued police 75 times. Right, right. We dont know what he would have done if the world had been the way it is today 35 years ago. You cant compare the two. He was then considered to be a reformer that everybody was concerned about. Issue two. Lets move along. Another black eye, unfortunately, of a year for philadelphia politics. We had two this is what has happened and what weve learned. Two democrats former congressman chaka fattah and former District AttorneySeth Williams were sent to jail for corruption. We have also learned the fbi had been wiretapping labor leader john dougherty, City Council President bobby henon. There you see Seth Williams there. Two aides for congressman bob brady have been charged with crimes over the past year. Up in allentown, voters reelected mayor ed pawlowski even though he is under federal indictment. Let me go to you on this, val. When will philadelphia in particular, shake its reputation as a place for corrupt politicians . This past year has not helped that case. Well, weve been asking that question now for about 30 or 40 years. I remember in the 70s i watched as our councilmen went to jail, a congressman went to jail in abscam. Another councilman, a state senator, another state senator was an unindicted coconspirator. You could go on and on and i remember when i started to get politically active, i asked my father, why do we keep voting for these folks . The crime gets worse schools get worse, the Neighborhood Work ethic is going down the tubes, and we keep voting for the same people over and over again and theyre going to jail. And that was in the 70s. We saw another round of that in the 80s and 90s, and here we are in the 2010s, and its still going on, and i think the people of philadelphia need to stand up and say why do we keep you know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. You know, one party corrupt, oneparty rule in philadelphia has led us to the largest poor city in the United States where our elected officials keep betraying us and going to jail, and its got to stop. Donna, george, a retort here . Well, a couple things. I would draw a line of demarcation between the people that have questions raised about their political circumstances and their actions and people that have actually been convicted. So let me start with that definition. On the conviction side i mean, its tragic. I mean, i was more heartbroken i think, than most to watch the demise of Seth Williams, who i admired greatly, and so to play off something that you just said, val, yes, its true that why do we continue to do the same things with respect to electing people that end up in these terrible circumstances . I dont think any of us could have predicted that thats who Seth Williams would become. With respect to some of the other investigatory actions, you know, john doughertys not an elected official. John leads a union, and hes a community leader. In fridays newspaper, he wrote a very remarkable, detailed optimisticaboutthefuture oped that i urge people to read, beginning with what the city did to attract amazon, and they played a role in that. So, again, i think its really important to draw a line of distinction between people who have been convicted and have gone to jail, but i would mention one other thing. Larry platt, sitting in this chair a number of weeks ago, talked about the criminalization of politics, and one of the things that troubles me mightily is that when there is an issue that has no place else to go except the courts, thats where it gets resolved, and its a litigious circumstance versus a circumstance in which you weigh something in terms of, is this a blackorwhite circumstance . Is this the situation where someone should actually be charged . Let me get ed on this and well go to george. I think vals right. If you have i dont care which party, but if one party is closing in on seven decades of absolute control over the political situation within your polis, its not a healthy situation. These things tend to happen. Well, you know, everybodys concerned about the singleparty rule in the city. Nobodys concerned about the fact that theres singleparty rule in the county, and its been that way for a very long time but at the end of the day, i dont really think the issue is corruption. I think its just another one of the factors that people believe that politics and politicians are not working in their interest, and its why people are dropping out of the political process voting less and less not just in cities, but in counties and in small communities all over because theyre losing confidence and faith in the political process. Whether youve been sent to jail or not sent to jail, theyre just losing confidence and dont see real leadership in the political arena. Issue three the bill cosby mistrial. You remember that . A jury of seven men and five women deadlocked on charges that the philadelphia entertainer sexually assaulted a former temple employee 13 years ago. The victim, andrea constand, testified during the trial. The trial lasted a week while the buildup of the trial lasted many, many months. Montgomery county District Attorney kevin steele vows to try cosby again. That retrial is set to maybe start sometime in the spring of 2018. Ed, steele obviously does not regret his decision to try cosby in the first place. Will he end up regretting retrying him . Matt, this is so difficult because the further away you get from the time in which the bad conduct occurred or the criminal conduct occurred, the more difficult it is to get that conviction, and, look, you need 12 to come in and say, yes, and it appears as if in the last case, two people had some doubt, and i dont know that time is going to fix that. So, from a political standpoint, retrying it, d. A. s not going to suffer for that but whether he gets a conviction, i think its a different matter. Its an issue of taxpayers, as well very costly. The security was immense around the Montgomery County courthouse. Yeah, and i think this will bleed a little bit into the me too movement because i think one of the things that were gonna see more of now are women that have been sexually harassed in the workplace and other circumstances in which there is a power dynamic. I think theyre gonna come forward sooner. I think that they will have collaborating testimony, if not direct evidence. Ct evidence is probably pretty hard to come by, but with respect to the cosby trial, its sort a case in point about whyhat situation should have never happened. That should not have festered for years. There shouldnt have beenople that stood on the sidelines and were afraid to take that on, and, instead, what i think will happen Going Forward, whether or not i think thats an open questio but will thjudge allow into evidence the factre were other women who were lining up with similar complaints . He didnt let it happen the last time. Its like the kate steinleould not introduce into evidence the fact t wh and ented th illegally five times. The judge said you cant bring that in. You cant bring that into evidence. Real quick. What do you think, val, george chances of Going Forward the second time . I think its gonna be difficult to convict him a second time, and i think its unfortunate that theyve decided to try him a second time cause there is a cost. I think bill cosbys behaviors reprehensible. There is no excuse for it, but spending time and energy and effort on a guy s old are other more pressing things that you could be focusing your time and attention on and i do think a little bit of a celebrity for the District Attorney. Val, you want to wrap this up . I tend to agree with george. You know, the real question isng to allow more than one . They just allowed one woman who had r story in and thats the big questio i think if they allow two to conv but i dont going down that road at this issue four Sexual Harassment and the me too movement, which we just mentioned. Several highprofile male figures in the United States have lost their jobs in disgrace over sexualmisconduct claims. Locally, pennsylvania Governor Wolf asked for the resignation of two local lawmakers daylin leach, thomas caltagirone, who both face sexualmisconduct accusations. The head of the statesboard of education larry wittig, resigned overmisconduct donna, your opinion on this. Have we reached a peak of this me too movement . Has it gone too far . Does it need to go further ill . I dont think weve reached the peak of thises gonna be more. I thr between men with women that are in a power dynamic of some kind. Whether who has tremendous influenceover the outcome of someones professional circumstance, i think were gonna see more of it. I think were experiencing a cultural shift, and its an i i guess the thing th troubled me the most is, you know, women of a certainage know what this all looksd it. Ive had conversations wither of male colleagues and friends who, in those candid momensitive questions, and theyre shocked by the response, which includes and usually myresponse is, go and see what their come back theyre like, oh, my god. W did i not know this . And its like, yeah, we dont tell you about that. We just dont tell you. Yeah, i sorry val. So i think t is gonna be more of it, and i dont think and i do think, ultimately we will reach sort of a cultural equilibrium, but its not over yet. Yeah, i took it as a teaching moment with my daughter, is about to head into the workforce in about ar. It is understandable, but amazing to me as a man that so many women sit on this and not come forward. I hope this will allow a culture where women feel that they can come forward with these types of cla on the governmental level, kudos to state representative warren kampf for introducing a bill that says that State Government should not be using state funds to settle these claims. Absolutely. Let them come out into the light of day instead of being swept under the rug. We got to go to break. Well be right back. By the way, this is ginger ale not champagne. Well be right back. [ laughs ] 6abcs inside story is presented by temple university. El broke, homeless, selling my body to get high, locked up, a slave to heroin that was my life. Married, a homeowner a professional, recovering and thriving thats my life now. I got help. You can too. New years means a new day for those struggling with addiction. Dont suffer. Dont wait. Choose help. Call 844 reachnj or visit reachnj. Gov back with inside story. Raising our glasses of ginger ale to 2018. Getting on with more issues here the top issues of 2017. Issue five here gridlock in harrisburg persists. Surprise, surprise. Democrat Governor Wolf and the Republicancontrolled Legislature kind of, sort of passed a budget, but kind of sort of didnt fund it completely. Complicating matters is wolfs looming reelection campaignd the budget but didnt fund it completely. Complicating matters is the h of republicans lo face him and replace him. Its gonna be a tough year. Years usu people dig in with their base, no, it wont get any better. Americas most liberal governor when he propos tax increases in pennsylvania history, taxing everything from diapers to fune an put a tax on day care, which is what he proposed . George. You know, i think that both sides are gonna try to get a budget this year cause its in both of their interest to get a budget this year and not be fighting about budgets in the primary cycle in the general electio cycle. I think that Governor Wolf has not done as good a job as he could do getting his record out. I th than people give him credit for, and what he understands,and wh republicans need to, at some point, understand that the problems that confront pennsylvania, many of are structural. We have a structural deficit keep pushing it down the road, and the problem in that, at least from my perspective, and t the fact is that the governor had a pretty responsible deal with the Senate Republicans last year. It was the senate house members who could not come to the party and solve the problem, and as long as the republicans themselves cannot, which is, theyre having great difficulty up there themselves kind of creating a clear agenda, thats gonna continue the problem. I want to jump ahead with ed and donna here. Phil murphy, o c christhe ends up d ho is going fi its gna have a oleseheave toback and revisit a whole bunc of thi i think hes got a great opportunity to change the dynamic in the state capital because christie is so loathed. I mean, i dont ever remember a governor leaving with such an incredibly low favorability and christies commentary on the way out i mean i find it very amusing that hes probably emptying out the state treasury on psas on the opioid crisis. Prediction. Hes gonna be working against the pharmaceutical companies as litigating that case. Ed. Murphys biggest problem is going to be the fact that his state will not be passing along its tax burden to the federal government anymore. State and local taxes are gonna be capped at 10,000. New jersey is a very hightax state when it comes to property taxes, and people are gonna start feeling that pinch immediately. Hes going to have to deal with the effect of losing that deductibility, and its gonna be tough. Philadelphia soda tax issue six. It went into effect on the first day of 2017. It feels like its been in effect for many years, but its been a year. The soda industry has been fighting for its repeal ever since. Mayor kenney branded it as a way to pay for prek, which has kind of stalled due to ongoing litigation over this. Revenue fell short of projections towards the middle of the year. Some are drinking healthier liquids, some are not. Donna, do you think the tax is gonna be enough to fund prek, which is supposed to be fully in effect by 2020 . Do you think the tax is gonna survive . I think the tax will survive. You made the most important point, matt, which is that this is hung up with the courts. I mean, the Supreme Court has not decided whether or not theyre gonna hear this case. If they hear the case, and theres a definitive direction, then that will settle the matter in terms of being able to roll it forward. So, do i think they will be able to do everything that theyve set out to do . The one thing that i do know is that theyve already built the template for what concept is gonna be, and that iole series othat are tied in with of these proposals. But the next big hurdleecision. Oda tax. Soda tax. Its a beverage tax. And thats the problem. Not to be smart, but that is a problem, and i think that effects on the Business Climate in the city and also what it does to people who run Grocery Stores is the sort of thing thats gonna come back and bite us. Val, george . Im beyond the soda tax. My issue is Early Childhood education and rebuild, our great programs. But the fact is that both of them Early Childhood education will if its successful, benefit the community 20 years downd rebuild, if its successful, will benefit the community several years down the road when the building boom is taking place in philadelphia right now. You need participation. Val. Yeah, i agree with george. I think we should be focusing on Early Childhood education. The tax is in effect. You know, nst it. I dont feel Like Fighting about it anymore now that its in there. I wish it would bring in more revenue, but the problem is, you tax something, you get less of it. The more you tax it, the less you get, and im afraid theres not gonna be enough there. All right. I think weve got about 30 seconds until we get a break. When we come back, well do some resolutions. You guys into that . Yeah. So, this is a question, maybe a yes or no. Will nick foles arm make everyone forget about Carson Wentzs knee . No. No. No. But he can still win. Hes coaching them from the sidelines, which i think is wonderful. Im an eagles fan and i told my son when he was about 8 he goes, why are you so pessimistic about the eagles all the time . I said, cause ive been doing this for 40 years. Something always happens. We got to go to break. Well be right back. 6abcs inside story is presented by temple university. Inside story resolutions for 2018. Starting off first, george. My resoluon is to continue to work hard and aggressively on the rep and the democratic side that that rising tide really it only lifts the boats of the people who are in a boat. Those who are poor, those who are struggling are in the water. The rising tide will drown them if were not intentional about helping those individuals. Thanks, george. Ed. This is a bit of a pushback against the coarseness of the culture and the politics. Too much of it is the extremes. Im going to wind up watching and listening to less opiniondriven political talk, reading more history and i cant wait for columbo and monk to be back on hallmark channel, so. [ laughter ] thank you, ed. Donna. So, on the personal side, less sugar, more zumba. Okay. On the political side im gonna spend time reflecting on two of my favorite poet philosophers wordsworth, who is the author of happy warrior. And i want to go back and reread the critical attributes of a happy warrior because thats who i intend to try to be. But also rilke, who talks about living the questions. I want to live the questions as a happy warrior. Thank you, donna. Val. My wife, carolina, runs congreso. We spent Christmas Eve with our boys, going through the neighborhood handing out toys. We needed two armed we needed two Police Officers to go with us in that neighborhood, and i was really to see the looks on those faces and knowing that a lot of these kids are gonna be subject to some terrible things on the streets really troubled me, and one of my resolutions is as Republican Party chairman is talk more about those kids and what we can do to help those neighborhoods. Okay. Thank you, val. And mine is kind of simple but maybe not. Look at screens a heck of a lot less. That was one of mine, too. And just try to look at the stuff out there cause i feel like aliens will come down to this planet, and theyll see everyone like this and theyll go to the next one. We dont want that to happen. Happy new year, everyone raising our glass to 2018. After reports of multiple documents down what were learning about this active situation a man arrested at a hotel hours before a new years eve celebration. What police found inside. A water main break in philadelphias fox chase section flooded several homes, we have a look at the problems on this cold afternoon. Frigid accu Weather Forecast and more next on action news. Action News Delaware valleys leading news program. With greg hall, nidia han and meteorologist chris sowers