Colin Kavanaugh | Keeping the conversation open

I love Pink Floyd. I'll shamelessly spend hours in my car on summer days listening to the British rock band. Give me a surround-sound system and the album Dark Side of the Moon, and I'll never complain about anything ever again. It's very easy for me to make connections between their lyrics and a number of situations, including the one between the district attorney's race in Philadelphia and the song Welcome to the Machine.

After 18 years, Lynne Abraham, the City's scandal-free, tough-on-crime district attorney, is retiring, opening up what is one of the most important positions in city government. Beyond prosecuting criminals, the district attorney sets the agenda for law enforcement across the city. Besides the City Hall distinction, the position is a springboard for future political ambitions: Former Philly district attorneys include Sen. Arlen Specter, Gov. Ed Rendell and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille. For this reason alone, it should be no surprise that six candidates are aiming for the spot. Among those six, five are Democrats angling to win the May 19 primary. The victor is sure to win the fall general election in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Last Tuesday, the Penn Democrats sponsored a moderated discussion among those leading candidates at Houston Hall, giving city issues some needed attention. The Penn Dems endorsed a candidate the following day because they were "hoping to bring light of the race to the Penn community," said vice president Michael Stratton, a Wharton sophomore.

Rather than bringing this race to light, though, they are burying it in a preemptive endorsement with the hopes of becoming better attached to the Philadelphia political institution. This endorsement comes too early, and it brings along negative consequences for student political participation at the municipal level.

And this brings me back to Pink Floyd's Welcome to the Machine. Despite the necessity of an open, campuswide discussion on the city's future, the group singled out Seth Williams. In a conversation last week, Stratton told me the Penn Dems hope to use the race as a "building block" to foster "connections within the political system" in Philadelphia - effectively grabbing their share of the city's machine politics. In a city where allegiances and alliances go a long way, I don't deny the practicality of finding a candidate, endorsing him early and following him as far as the political winds will take him.

The Penn Dems have a genuinely good track record of endorsing responsible, talented candidates. I have no reason to doubt this endorsement will be any different - Williams is a former inspector general with a decade of experience as an assistant district attorney. The group's members who voted likely did so to sponsor a candidate who impressed them. They have the right to do this.

But the Penn Dems cannot expect to foster open political discussion while simultaneously pushing a candidate endorsed three months before the primary election day. And this move makes them just another cog in the political wheel.

Students on campus have likely never heard of Seth Williams, Dan McCaffrey or any of the other candidates. Nor do most students know what the job of district attorney even entails. So if the Penn Dems intend to educate students and create dialogue, they should start with the issues central to this race - not the candidates' biographies or personalities.

The next district attorney is going to face serious challenges and the City should be using this election as an opportunity to discuss them. According to Penn Law professor Stephanos Bibas, who moderated the candidates' discussion last week, "budget cuts risk not only cutting the number of assistant DAs, and thus cases that the office can handle, but preventing innovative experiments such as drug courts and targeting gun hotspots."

With a shrinking budget and limited resources, we need a district attorney who can be an effective organizer and leader. Over the coming months, Penn students should take the opportunity to look at each candidate's position on the issues and form their opinions independently. I had hoped the Penn Dems could be counted on to help in that regard, but they took a premature action that limits the possibility of additional on-campus events and debates between these candidates. And that's a shame.

Colin Kavanaugh is a College sophomore from Tulsa, Okla. The Sooner, The Better appears on alternating Mondays. His email address is kavanaugh@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.