Researhcing the Issue

      Last year in the summer of 2009 Mayor Micheal Nutter of Philadelphia held a news conference where he stated he would have to close the city library system, recreation centers and the entire park system. In the summer that just there was fear of a plan to close all public pools at recreation centers in Philadelphia. With help from outside donations the pools were able to stay open. Mayor Nutter is the main opponents of providing adequate amounts of money our recreation centers. Unfortunately Mayor Nutter has a large amount of power and influence on this issue, There was a bill in 2007 that tried to work towards the budget increase for parks and recreation centers but nothing recent.

      In my search to find city officials to support my cause I found that I may have an ally in Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown. She devotes her work and legislative efforts toward improving the life of children in Philadelphia and the potential of girls in leadership roles.  In 2007 Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown created a resolution to create a task force for Parks and Recreation facilities.  Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown makes a point to try improve the lives of the youths of Philadelphia, and with out recreation centers for children to find a safe haven that can't happen. Three other allies would be Majority Whip Darrell Clarke, Michael  DiBerardinis, and Recreation Director Sue Slawson.

      Philadelphia Parks Alliance could be an asset to me their work for the preservation of parks and recreation centers in Philadelphia. The groups main focus is parks but parks and recreation centers have to share funding so the higher the budget increase I fight for the recreation centers the more money parks get so, it is a win-win for both of us.

       My best chance would be to get the people of the community on my side because it will be easy to convince them that it will be beneficial to have the budget increase.

       I would take the next year to make a change in the budget for 2012. The budget for 2011 has already been made. In that year I will make connections with Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, Majority Whip Darrell Clarke, Michael  DiBerardinis, and Recreation Director Sue Slawson to try to put an effective plan together.