Patronage

I don't know if the boss hiring someone she knows is the worst thing in the world, but even reporters have a hard time getting their head around the fact that The City Has Nothing To Do With The Parking Authority. The mayor "supporting" or "not supporting" someone comes down to saying nice things about them. It's all the state, but of course any corruption (real or imagined) is always chalked up to people as "Philadelphia" even when it is, actually, Harrisburg.

Mayor Kenney has said he supported Tolson for the PPA job. The day she took over he called her “a good administrator and an honest person” and “the type of fresh approach the Parking Authority needs.”

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Kenney’s spokeswoman, Lauren Hitt, said the city has no control over the state-run authority. “We didn’t know that and we don’t have any powers to do anything about it,” she said.