First African American mayor shares vision

Former Philadelphia Mayor Rev. Wilson Goode could easily rest on the laurels he has already attained, but this Philadelphia Inquirer 2006 Citizen of the Year says there is still a lot of work to be done.

In light of the upcoming mayoral elections, Goode paid a visit to the Fels Institute of Government yesterday afternoon to speak about how far Philadelphia has come and where he sees the city going in the future.

Goode said that he hopes Philadelphia will no longer be viewed as "that place" between Washington, D.C., and New York.

And, overall, Goode is optimistic about the economic future of Philadelphia.

"Philly stands in a strong position in terms of competing with other cities," he said.

When asked about his views concerning Penn's slated expansion plans, Goode said he supports Penn's presence within the city and that, as one of the city's largest employers, "Penn has been a good neighbor to the people of Philadelphia."

In addition to highlighting the progressive developments in Philadelphia, Goode also noted that many challenges stand in the way of Philadelphia reaching its full potential.

"Philadelphia is in need of first-rate education that meets students where they are and invests the resources necessary to take them to the next level," Goode said.

In Philadelphia, teacher retention is at an all-time low, with teacher turnover occurring, on average, every three years. According to a 2005 policy brief by the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University, it is estimated that between 48 and 54 percent of the students who started ninth grade between 2000 and 2005 graduated. Thus, over 40 percent of all Philadelphia students dropped out of high school.

Matt Weed, a 2006 Penn graduate and current Philadelphia resident, agreed with Goode's stance on education and remarked that, "statistically speaking, the city of Philadelphia is more segregated than it was during Brown vs. Board of Ed."

Weed added that, in addition to increasing public school funding, the issue of racial segregation within Philadelphia schools needs to be addressed.

A 1966 Fels graduate, Goode has a long history in politics and an even longer history in the city of Philadelphia.

Arriving in Philadelphia in 1954, Goode broke racial barriers in state and local government with his appointments as chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (1978) and managing director of the City of Philadelphia (1980).

In addition to being the first African American to be elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1983, Goode served as the Deputy Secretary of Education under former President Clinton.

When asked which candidate would get his vote in the upcoming mayoral election, Goode responded, "I will cast my vote for those who have concrete ideas about how to deal with the issue of education."

Goode currently serves as a senior advisor of Public/Private Ventures, where he oversees Amachi, a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents.

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