More on Cohen: looking backward and foreward

Yesterday was the funeral for Philadelphia City Councilman and longtime liberal activist David Cohen (see prev. here), and apparently hundreds turned out for the occasion, and speeches included US Rep. Brady and Mayor Street as well as Cohen's family members. The Inquirer includes a visual retrospective with photos from key events over the last few years.

Other articles look ahead to how the empty Council seat should be handled.

• A short Inquirer piece by Tom Fitzgerald speculates that Council Chair Anna Verna will leave the seat open until the 2007 ciy elections for a variety of reasons:

  ...partly to keep the rough balance of pro- and anti-administration votes that exists on Council, and partly to avoid handing the reins to Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who came close to unseating Verna last year.

  That piece also speculates about who might be considering (or considered by others for) the seat.
  
  
• A Daily News Opinion piece argues that waiting for 2007 is preferable also because it precludes the selection of the next candidate by party power-brokers (a candidate who would then run for election as an incumbent), instead making use of the normal primary process. They note, however, that the Committee of Seventy is likely to recommend a special election next May, concerned over the presence of an even number for expected discussions about ethics and other pressing issues. Interesting considerations.