Squad Goal: an aspirational term for what you’d like your group of friends to be or accomplish.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, PoliticsPA, Delaware County Daily Times, and a handful of other publications, Katie McGinty received the endorsement of several elected officials yesterday. Even McGinty herself tweeted about one particular endorsement, City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown.

What was not reported in these stories, however, is that Brown was fined $48,834 for campaign finance violations while her campaign manager was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

Brown put campaign contributions into her personal bank account.
McGinty also received the endorsement yesterday of City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. Blackwell, “the most outspoken critic of ethics bills in council,” was fined $3,250 for accepting a total of $32,000 in contributions from donors that exceeded the legal limits.

Keep it up Katie McGinty.

SquadGoals

[tweet src="https://twitter.com/KatieMcGintyPA/status/674249424072261632"]

BACKGROUND:

In 2013, The Philadelphia Board Of Ethics Exposed Brown For Using Campaign Funds For Her Own Personal Finances.

“The Philadelphia Board of Ethics recently exposed McDaniel, along with Councilwoman Brown for using the campaign funds for their own personal finances.” (Luann Cahn and Lauren DiSanto, “Former Philly Campaign Manager Admits To Stealing $100K,” NBC10, 2/14/13)

The Ethics Board Fined Brown $48,834 For Making Material Misstatements And Omissions In Her Campaign Finance Reports, Accepting Excess Contributions, Failing To Properly Deposit Contributions, Accepting Prohibited Gifts And Failing To Disclose Transactions.

“City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and her campaign have been slapped with a $48,834 fine for a series of ethics violations. The Ethics Board announced today that Reynolds Brown made material misstatements and omissions in her campaign finance reports, accepted excess contributions, failed to properly deposit contributions, accepted prohibited gifts and failed to disclose transactions on 2010 and 2011 financial interest statements.” (Jan Ransom, “Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown To Pay $40,000-Plus For Ethics Violations,” Philadelphia Daily News, 1/28/13)

• Brown Put Campaign Contributions Into Her Personal Bank Account.

  “Brown reported herself to the Philadelphia Board of Ethics in March 2012 after McDaniel used a bogus expense to disguise the repayment of a $3,300 personal loan from her political action committee from Chaka ‘Chip’ Fattah Jr. Brown, in a settlement with the Board of Ethics, admitted to dozens of problems with her campaign finance reports, including putting contributions into her personal bank account.” (Chris Brennan, “Blondell Reynolds Brown’s Campaign Treasurer Sentenced To One Year In Federal Prison,” Philadelphia Daily News, 5/14/13)

Brown’s Former Campaign Manager And Treasurer Was Sentenced To A Year In Federal Prison For Stealing More Than $100,000 From Her PAC.

“John McDaniel, former campaign manager for City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, was sentenced this afternoon to one year and a day in federal prison for stealing more than $100,000 from her political action committee.” (Chris Brennan, “Blondell Reynolds Brown’s Campaign Treasurer Sentenced To One Year In Federal Prison,” Philadelphia Daily News, 5/14/13)

In 2012, City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell Was Fined $3,250 For Accepting A Total Of $32,000 In Contributions From Four Donors That Exceeded The Legal Limits.

“City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and former Council candidate Bill Rubin have been fined by the city’s ethics commission for accepting contributions above the legal limit. In the same settlement announcement released this week, the Philadelphia Board of Ethics said that three political action committees had also been fined for giving contributions that exceeded the city’s annual limit of $2,600 per person and $10,600 per PAC. Blackwell was fined $3,250 for accepting four contributions last year totaling $32,000 from four donors that exceeded the limits. Laborer’s District Council PAC gave $12,500, exceeding die limit by $1,900. Genesis IV gave $12,000, $1,400 over the limit. Scott Orens gave $5,000, exceeding the statute by $2,400 and Dr. L.H. Brown gave $3,000, or $400 more than he was allowed.” (Eric Mayes, “Ethics Commission Levies Fines,” The Philadelphia Tribune, 5/20/12)

In 2005, Blackwell Was The “Loudest Foe Of The Two-Year Effort To Enact New Ethics Rules In The Wake Of The City Hall Corruption Scandal.”

“By unanimous votes yesterday, City Council smoothed the way to create Philadelphia’s first independent ethics board and empower it to investigate complaints, conduct ethics training, and post campaign-finance information online… All of those measures passed overwhelmingly, with the exception of an effort to prohibit the awarding of competitively-bid government contracts to big political donors. A tie vote of eight to eight means that bill will not become law. But a separate measure to ban big donors from receiving city financial assistance worth over $50,000 passed by 15 votes to one, with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell the lone holdout. ‘They penalize people who need a chance to participate,’ Blackwell said of the bills, which also required that contract bidders and financial aid recipients disclose which consultants they hired in addition to their political donations. She said the paperwork requirements would be particularly hard for small and minority businesses. Blackwell, however, voted in favor of the bills creating and empowering the ethics board–a dramatic change for a woman who has been the loudest foe of the two-year effort to enact new ethics rules in the wake of the City Hall corruption scandal. She was the only Councilmember to oppose a charter change prohibiting the awarding of ‘no bid’ city contracts to big political donors, which voters approved by 87 percent in a referendum last month.” (Michael Currie Schaffer, “City Council Passes Ethics Bills,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/1/05)

• Blackwell Was “The Most Outspoken Critic Of Ethics Bills In Council.”

  “If there’s a convincing sign that the tide has turned on ethics reform, it’s the conversion of City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, the most outspoken critic of ethics bills in Council. Blackwell said yesterday she expects to vote for a bill tomorrow creating an independent Board of Ethics for city employees. ‘I’m trying to make peace with this stuff,’ Blackwell said in a telephone interview, adding that she will take a good final look at the legislation.” (Dave Davies, “Blackwell Boards Ethics Bandwagon,” Philadelphia Daily News, 11/30/05)

• “Blackwell Is The Only Major Political Figure To Vocally Oppose The Two-Year Push For New Ethics Laws…”

  (Michael Currie Schaffer, “On Ethics, Blackwell Won’t Back Down,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/16/05)