>> a bombshell from the philadelphia district attorney, throwing the campaign for his job in disarray. "inside story" starts right now. ♪ good morning, everyone. i'm matt o'donnell. it is sunday, february 12, 2017. lots to talk about on "inside story." let's meet our panelists for this week. harold jackson from the philadelphia inquirer, journalist. good morning, harold. >> morning, matt. >> christine flowers, attorney and journalist. good morning, christine. attorney ajay raju. >> good morning. >> good morning, ajay. and brian tierney, marketing executive. >> good morning. >> good morning, brian. so we just watched here the announcement from seth williams, which occurred back on friday. he will not seek reelection as district attorney of philadelphia. this would have been his third term if he won one. he spent some time listing his accomplishments, reforming how criminals are charged in the city, placing justice over just simply winning convictions, giving those who deserve it a

second chance. but he did admit that the ethics case against him, the largest fine in the history of the ethics board, which was exacted about a month ago, did become a distraction for him, so he won't seek reelection, and he also talked about how he as an orphan, as a child, went on to become the first african-american district attorney in the history of the city of philadelphia. harold, this a big surprise to you? >> it is a surprise, the announcement that he's not running. i'd been convinced that he would run in the next election. i didn't know how successful he would be. for all of us who remember seth running for election against lynne abraham the first time, the animosity between the two, because he had worked for her, and the promise and the goals that he had as a young district attorney. and he fulfilled a lot of that promise, but ethics matter, and i noted in his announcement he tried to make a big deal of the fact that there were so many questions about the ethics mistakes as opposed to the good that he had done in the office. but ethics do matter, and for the top law-enforcement official

in the city to have ethics problems, i think that him stepping away from the race was the right thing to do. >> $62,000 in fines for failing to report gifts and income and also accepting gifts that he should not have accepted. really, like, anyone -- >> right. so clear-cut. >> he must be kicking himself. >> right. it's so obvious that you're gonna get caught. it's so obvious this is gonna be known. why do it? or if you are gonna do it, then immediately report it. at least have that side of the argument. so, there's a certain -- as an outsider who lives in the burbs, has often worked in the city, though, all these years -- and i guess it's a little bit in the suburbs, too -- but there's a callousness, if you will, among elected officials about what is okay. yeah, you know, "oh, yeah, i should do that," instead of just reading the rules. if you take the trip, report the trip. that's it. >> harold and brian actually point out the two poles here -- ethics and judgment. seth is a smart man and an ambitious man, an accomplished man, and what i looked at when he was announcing that he wasn't

going to run for reelection, it seemed like the summation that a criminal defense attorney would give for his client when you're saying, "he may have done something wrong, but look at what he actually did as a mitigating factor." >> sure. >> and there's a world of mitigating factors for rufus seth williams. he really did revolutionize the d.a.'s office. by the same token, his judgment is really suspect with something that he simply could have just reported these gifts, and he didn't do it. the ethics issue that harold points out, i think is extremely important as well. and there's hubris there, too. a lot of the things that he said are true. he was in it for redemption, for diversionary programs which would -- redemption as opposed to punishment. >> sure. >> the one thing that sticks out in my mind, though, and i've written about it so many times is where was the redemption for monsignor lynn? he had that case. he went after -- and i think that that was for the optics of

it, and i think that that was for a sense of some kind of -- i don't know -- a notch on his belt with the catholic church. >> and this brings a whole new can of worms here to the table. >> it really does, and you wonder what's gonna happen with that case. >> i'm gonna go to ajay. this is a man who almost ran for mayor of philadelphia who basically told people, "you know, i probably could have won if i did run." was ambition a big part of what we have seen here with the downfall of him as a politician? >> i don't think seth williams is unique. i think we have a history of public corruption in this city. so the word "callousness" comes to mind. the idea that once you acquire this power, hubris, or you acquire this allergic reaction to humility and bouts of delusion once you have that bubble that you're living in. and i think seth, like many others before him, was caught in that trap. having said that, i think it does speak to proper judgment

that he recognized that the pathway was not clean, that the best thing for this city and the best thing for his office, best thing for the work that he truly believed in doing and a lot of the good that he did do, the best thing was for him to step down. that is proper judgment. we all -- you know, america loves a redemption story. america loves folks who have fallen and have the ability to get up and acknowledge that they made a mistake, and i thought the speech, for what it's worth, you know, was the first step to hopefully a new start. >> along those lines, is he finished, politically? >> i think he's, you know -- he didn't have a lot of institutional, it seems like, strength. like, it wasn't like he's brady's guy or this guy's guy, and then you have these other issues and then new crops behind. i'm not saying he couldn't have another opportunity, but i think it's less likely than you might think. one other observation -- lots of times you see this around elected officials. they're hanging around with really successful men and women who have private jets, beautiful vacation homes, et cetera, et cetera.

that's where they're getting their fundraising support and other friendship, also genuine. they start to feel like, "i'm entitled to the jet, the apartment at the ritz-carlton," and you're not. you're doing really well, but you're a public servant making low six figures. you can't afford a this and a this and a this. "i'm working the same hours and traveling with these guys," and that line really does start to blur, and we've seen it many times. >> all right. so, among the democrats running -- michael untermeyer, rich negrin, joe khan, and teresa carr deni -- one republican -- beth grossman -- who's the front-runner? probably no one right now? >> i think it's tough to say, but i would think that rich negrin, considering that managing director of the city -- high visibility, almost every neighborhood knows him. you know, when you look at the at least prosecutorial chops, you also have joe khan and others, so i think it's going to be an interesting race now that seth has left the podium, because it now becomes a race of

ideas, and whoever comes up with a clear and a new vision. it's no longer a race about integrity. it's now a race about future ideas. >> we could see a couple more people get into the race, too, now that this happened. >> i would imagine we could, but i think that that's exactly right, that it will become a race of ideas. again, recalling young seth, when he ran against lynne abraham, he was an unknown. he had worked in her office, but beyond that, no one knew him. but he had ideas, and they resonated with the public, so i think you're absolutely right. if someone has the right idea, that name recognition might be overcome by the fact that here's someone new and fresh. >> and i think we still have room for new candidates, and i would not be surprised if a very prominent african-american candidate now coalesces and there's a candidate from that front. now this is a wide-open race all of a sudden. >> and the landscape really has shifted with this now. i think, you know, that the republican candidates would have been thrilled before, because you have this incumbent democrat, and they really could have just gunned for him.

you know, this is time for the gop to come and take its place. now it completely shifts things, and, i mean, i think, to the disadvantage of the gop in a sense, because now you don't have -- it's like nixon. you don't have seth to kick around anymore. >> it could end up being a very exciting race and could be one of ideas, too, right? let's move on to governor wolf. he announced his budget proposal, his third of his governorship in harrisburg. among the highlights -- increase in spending for education and pension costs, holds the line on personal income taxes. this is a governor who wanted to raise taxes. now he doesn't really want to do it, but he want to hike some fees for state police, marcellus drilling, some business taxes, wants to streamline and consolidate state services to try and fill this $3 billion budget gap. it's very significant. then you have state senator scott wagner, who's a potential foe for wolf in this year's governor's race. warns state residents, "don't be fooled. this budget raises spending. this is, you know, tax-and-spend democrats here."

looking back to wolf's first proposal a couple years ago, very activist, very confrontational. i mean, how would you describe this one, brian? >> well, he definitely came in activist, confrontational, an aggressive chief of staff, as well -- bad relationships right from the get-go. lots of times, when you get elected, you feel like, "i am the governor," but you have to remember every state rep is, "i am the state representative from this county. i'm representing somebody, too, and i have to find ways to work together." so beginning very controversial, no budget -- changes the chief of staff, changes the tone, because i think he realizes, "for me to have a possibility of getting reelected, i have to be the successful businessman, kind-of-a-nice-guy tom wolf," and that's what he's trying to do, and this budget begins to do it. i think you're hearing from some of the republicans the same sort of...and, "let's try to find a way to work together," et cetera, et cetera, many of whom probably a little concerned by wagner, who they think is a little extreme, to be honest with you, if you shut some doors up in harrisburg. so i think there's a good chance. unfortunately, for all of these

budget plans, they kick the pension down the road in a major way. >> that's what senate majority leader jake corman says. >> it's huge. >> it doesn't address it at all. >> no, and it's something that -- like, it's not like our kids' kids. i mean, this is something in the next 5 to 10 years is gonna eat a big chunk of the budget of the state away, and we just have to deal with it now. >> and he seemed surprised that there's not enough attention bought to it. it's a $70-billion elephant in the room, the pension problem. and it's almost like buying more blankets because the draft is so cold instead of fixing the windows. we have to deal with the bigger problem, not just throw more money into ointment solutions, and i think -- >> it's laughable. >> i think it needs to be discussed a lot more than it is. >> it's laughable to be talking about, what ajay said, to be talking about, "oh, we saved $2 billion here, and we saved $545 million here," and you've got this giant pension problem. actually -- and now i'm gonna contradict myself -- one of the things i really liked about the budget -- you know how pennsylvania in general is always attacking philadelphia for sucking the money out of the commonwealth? well, one of the proposals that

i really liked was the tax, the $25-a-head tax on those citizens who live in municipalities that use the state police as their local criminal-justice authority. >> which has been a big problem. >> it makes a lot of sense. >> it makes a lot of sense. you know, if we have to pay for our own police force, let the guy in butler, let the guy in tioga, let the guy in beaver. >> that is a $70 million -- in a big budget, that is small change. >> a little drop in the bucket. >> so, the last year that you can ever try and figure out pension reform would be an election year, right? >> it's a very complex issue, which is why they don't really want to deal with it. it's one that they can't come to an agreement with. you know, this budget represented progress for governor wolf. it represented progress for him as a governor. he went away from the confrontational style he had the first go-around. he tried to propose some things that might be mutually acceptable. but, again, there's an element missing here. he pretended this budget, without any prior conversation with the republicans, which he could have done -- he could have actually gone before the republicans and had jake corman

beside him and say, "i've already gotten his support on these specific cuts and consolations." none of that was done. there's still not the interaction we need to see between these two sides of the aisle of government where we can really get something done here. so i'm not sure, you know, what will happen with this budget. i imagine that most of the cuts and consolidations will be approved. we'll see what happens to the new spending it has. >> these discussions happen, but it's not just pennsylvania. if you look at the macro picture nationally -- in 1910, the size of government compared to gdp was only 6%. today it's approximately 40%. $1.4 trillion in entitlements. it costs $460 billion to manage that entitlement. that's a 35% tax on a 35% tax. the problem is that the government is too big. you have too many people, so you have to create other real or perceived boogeymen to protect the public from this thing, and the justification for the government is to remain that size, and that's the issue. there are a lot of redundancies. there are a lot of inefficiencies of government. we're not digitized, so there are a lot of things that are done manually. if you really wanted to take a

scalpel to it, it is really about consolidation, eliminating redundancies, and there's money out there. we're not doing the macro picture. >> and combining some of these departments. this, i think, resonates in that sense. >> in the bureau of prisons -- >> so you think wolf could be successful in doing what he wants to do. >> no. i'm saying the opposite. i think right now there is -- you can say these things. we can have the democrats and the republicans debate back and forth. the size of the government -- there is no incentive for either side to eliminate that, because their whole survival depends on keeping that status quo. >> john micek with pennlive made a really good comment about pennsylvania being a feudal society with 60, however many, counties we have, 66 little -- >> 2,500 municipalities, 500-plus departments. >> and everyone wants to hold on -- as brian said, everyone wants to hold on to their piece of the pie, their power. >> and no one wants to work together. >> no, no. >> and to go back to your original point -- with all of that consolidation, it still won't solve the pension problem. >> right. >> so, with governor rendell, with governor corbett, and now with governor wolf, is he suddenly realizing, "mm, the

state legislature holds a lot more power than i thought they did"? >> i think this is -- the budget was a person who understands that he has a reelection, and this was also an attempt to make sure that you're less ideological, and as to brian's point, that you're presenting yourself as a person who is fighting for reelection with dim chances of winning that. >> and, in fact, good things said about him by gop leaders, so, i mean, i think that there was some success there. you know, wagner aside, some gop leaders actually came out and said that they thought that he was working with them. >> he needs a win. on one of these issues, he needs something that he can point to the public and say, "i won," and right now, he can't do that. >> you can't have an extended period where they don't have a budget, and it's late in -- >> and this is doable. under governor rendell, he spoke to the republicans, and when governor ridge was in there, he talked to the democrats. i mean, it's not a bad way to get things done. don't you find in every endeavor that i can think of, you have to have a relationship with somebody on the other side of

the table. for some reason, certain elected officials... >> life is about compromises. >> ...act like they've been elected king. you haven't been. you're elected the governor. >> commercial break now. we'll be right back. >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. remarkable change isn't easy, but for those who take charge, it comes naturally. explore temple's impact. visit temple.edu/impact.

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>> back with "inside story." toomey votes yes while racking up the calls and the faxes. the pennsylvania republican voted to confirm betsy devos as education secretary. devos opponents had targeted the senator's office through phone calls and faxes -- many, many of them -- in the hopes of denying confirmation of the school-choice advocate. a gofundme campaigned organized to buy toomey's no vote raised $72,000 out of its goal of $60,000. but in the end, toomey joined his party, defending devos' qualifications, saying she has devoted her adult life to giving poor children more school options. so why did everyone target toomey? why was he the one, it seems? >> well, because there was the thought that he was one of the two or three possible gop votes that might vote against her, that might, you know, shift the balance, 'cause it was that close. mike pence had to break the tie. >> sure. >> so he was one that was reported as being a possible, you know, shift.

my problem with this is that there is this almost nationalized attempted now to stymie pat toomey and to freeze him and to not allow him to do the job that he was elected to do. there are pennsylvanians who are angry at him and the women who go the tuesday for toomey, the toomey tuesday women who go outside of his office and stand there with the signs and everything. and toomey has come out and said this. there has been a concerted national effort -- there's that group. what's it called? indivisible. i think it's an online plan, blueprint for "how do you resist donald trump?" and toomey is looked at as someone who is in donald trump's camp now, so there's almost a national attempt to go after him, and that's why there are thousands and thousands and thousands and millions of faxes. >> and i'll add to this, too. why betsy devos, you know? when you about think about it -- i mean, you had the ceo of exxon who maybe had been a buddy of

putin's and that kind of got a little bit of a stir. and all these other contra-- wilbur ross. what was it about devos? it's 'cause she is really strong on school choice, so it was the teachers unions who see themselves and the teachers unions' presidents who see themselves threatened by this kind of change. because 2/3 of the kids want to get out of a public school. >> her opponents tell me, "no, no. it's not about school choice. it's because she's not qualified." >> they are absolutely focusing on this one vulnerability, and because you've got -- >> it's an important vulnerability, through, brian. >> i think she's gonna be terrific. the fact that we -- it is the department of education. it's not the department of education for teachers unions and their leadership. >> but it's public education, which she seemed to have no familiarity with whatsoever. >> it's the department of education. it's education in all parts. it should be encouraging all kinds of experiments, public education being one of them. but if public education educates more poorly than a cheaper alternative, to go to a charter school, then we need to educate our children and say that comes

first. >> charter schools are public education, too, so i'm not arguing you in that point, but she seemed to not be familiar with any element of that. >> you're gonna take one interview that she had. but let's face it -- who can organize on a dime like this and get all this done? a union. that's it. and it's a teachers union. that's who's behind this. they run ads in the new york times every week. >> brian makes a good point about this. what about ben carson? ben carson was confirmed without a lot -- you know, a lot of fanfare. qualification for hud? >> it seems like democrats sensed a vulnerability. they thought this was the one that they could take down. >> and it hit the money trail of teachers unions, which is a huge bag of money that comes up to every dnc headquarters and, . please accept money from back of truck. we're going to the next state." >> i think brian is speaking the truth. there is a little bit of that, but, you know, talk about random coincidence. i had a scheduled call with senator cory booker the day of the vote, and there was a lot of nervous energy whether or not they would have the third republican that would -- we need it in order to kill that

nomination, and they didn't. they knew that they only had two, so they knew that pence would come in. i think this was an attempt by a much larger body trying to derail the nomination and confirmation. it did not work, but it is -- there are a powerful force. >> let's move on to another one. we got to move on to another confirmation here. >> okay. >> alabama senator jeff sessions now the attorney general, the nation's top law enforcer. mayor jim kenney went and actually issued a statement about this, voicing his concerns. one part over policing, another about voting rights, saying he has concern that sessions is gonna reverse the reform that has strengthened the police-community trust in philadelphia, and also to enforce discriminatory voting laws that serve only to disenfranchise millions of voters. surprised that kenney would get in on this, and should the citizens of philadelphia share his fears? >> i'm not sure why he decided to, but, you know, i'm from alabama. i've been familiar with jeff sessions for a long time, and so i have some personal feelings about this.

he seemed to suggest that they were questionable. i suppose that -- you know, that he's taken the oath of office, that he will fulfill the duties of that office. i think people should be concerned about him. >> anyone want to counter that? >> i mean, and, you know, i give a lot of authority and, you know, the voice to harold coming from alabama. as far as sessions is concerned, don't have anything really specific to say to that. but my column this week is about how elizabeth warren somehow decided to make this all about her on the senate floor. she's got an eye to 2020. for her to get up there and start trying to -- you know, basically saying, well, she couldn't read coretta scott king's 30-year-old letter against sessions, and then it all became about, "oh, they're silencing the woman in the office." >> can i ask you this? >> real quick. >> what does any of this have to do with jim kenney? i swear to god. our city of philadelphia... >> [ laughing ] i know. >> ...the addiction issues, the

homeless issues, the violations of building codes going on, parking lots not paying their full fee of taxes -- all those things. >> we got to go. "inside story's" c-- >> and he's worried about this. holy cow.

>> "inside story" is presented by temple university. remarkable change isn't easy, but for those who take charge, it comes naturally. explore temple's impact. visit temple.edu/impact. >> inside stories of the week. we start with harold. >> yes, there's so much division in the country right now. i want to reference a column i did for philly.com, in which i'm trying to aim some information at one particular group -- the pro-choice and the pro-life, you know, antagonists there. i'm urging them to get together on a banner of pro-child or pro-family, and let's see if we can get more services, more involvement and providing what's necessary for mothers, for pregnant women, for children, and for families, and try to resolve some of those issues that keep those two groups apart. >> thanks, harold. christine? >> it's a brilliant column. go see it philly.com. we talked about school choice.

we talked about betsy devos and the controversy, and i want to give a plug to my nephew's school -- saint katherine of siena school. it is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. we just celebrated catholic schools week. so in the midst of all of this controversy on school choice, there are really, really good examples of a choice. >> thanks, christine. ajay. >> matt, last weekend, the american heart association held its heart ball, raising a record $2 million, and we highlighted the disparity between the rich and the poor in our city, especially when it comes to health. if you live in a rich neighborhood, your life expectancy is 80 years. but in a poorer neighborhood, life expectancy drops to 60 years. that's a 20-year death sentence for being poor in philadelphia. hopefully that money raised will go to close that disparity between the rich and the poor. >> thanks, ajay. brian. >> my inside story's a plea for leadership. we've got some great things going on at comcast, independence, blue cross, other companies, aramark -- that are doing certain things, one-offs. we've got some development around east market, which is great. we're working with those folks. that's fantastic. but there's an overall lack of

leadership, and i'd love the mayor and the business community itself to do less on things like, you know, your h.r. forms and less on sanctuary cities, and more on, "what are the big ideas to brings jobs so that we have a great city, philadelphia, 20, 30 years from now?" and that's lacking right now. >> brian, christine, ajay, harold, thanks for joining us. thank you for joining us. that's "inside story" for this weekend. we'll see you next week, and i'll see you monday morning on "action news" at 4:30 a.m. bye-bye! >> i'm nydia han along with gray hall. >> it is a miserable day outside, meteorologist chris sowers will tell you what to expect in the coming hours and days ahead with the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast. >> north korea launches a ballistic missile test, responds from president trump as he meets with the japanese prime minister. an airport evacuated in germany as an unknown hazardous

material injuries 60 people. those stories and more next on "action news."

fios is not cable. we're wired differently. so we wired the wagner's house with 150 meg internet. which means that in the time it takes mr. wagner to pour a 20oz. cup of coffee, tommy can download 40 songs, and jan can upload 180 photos. 12 seconds. that's the power of fiber optics. get 150 meg internet with equal upload and download speeds, tv and phone for just $79.99 per month for the first year. cable can't offer speeds this fast at a price this good. only fios can. february 12, i'm nydia han along with gray hall. >> here's some of the stories we're following on "action news" president trump responds to north korea following a