PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Cherelle Parker has ended Philadelphia’s long-standing policy of awarding a percentage of city contracts to businesses owned by women, minorities or disabled people.
The “set aside” for disadvantaged businesses was first passed by City Council in 1982. It had so much support that it survived a mayoral veto. But the Supreme Court struck it down in 1993. After that, a series of mayoral executive orders preserved the practice, often enforced by close scrutiny from council.
In September, the mayor’s office quietly let it go in the face of unprecedented federal backlash to any program that promotes diversity.
Council members are not happy about the recent policy change, but they understand the reason.
“Our mayor’s walking a fine line in terms of making sure we’re not sued but continuously making sure we’re advocating and fighting for those most vulnerable from an economic development standpoint.
Last month, the 40-year-old networking event, Minority Enterprise Development Week, was rebranded Micro-Economic Development. The city solicitor says the Parker administration is working on a new policy to incentivize contracting with small and local businesses. So far, there is no word on when the new policy will be finished and go into effect.
Councilman Curtis Jones says he’ll try to find a way to restore the old policy.