Philadelphia City Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez said Monday that she plans to introduce legislation next year limiting outside employment for Council members, a reform measure in response to Councilmember Bobby Henon’s conviction on federal corruption charges.
Quiñones-Sánchez said she is still working on the legislation, which would restrict but not entirely prohibit outside employment, require transparency, and include caps on outside salaries. She made the announcement as she gathered outside City Hall with State Rep. Jared Solomon, a Democrat from Northeast Philadelphia, and members of government watchdog groups to announce a petition for reform.
“I think folks know that after what we all witnessed and lived it’s about time that we make some bold decisions,” said Quiñones-Sánchez, a Democrat.
A federal jury convicted Henon and union leader John Dougherty this month of bribery charges, finding that Dougherty bought Henon’s loyalty with a $70,000 annual union salary from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Prosecutors said Henon used the power of his office to influence legislation in City Hall that advanced Dougherty’s agenda. Henon is paid $136,000 yearly as a councilmember.
Both men face years in prison when they are sentenced in February and have maintained that they did not break the law.
» READ MORE: Inside the hushed debate over whether the ‘Johnny Doc’ case was a crackdown on corruption — or unions
Quiñones-Sánchez and...
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