State Rep. Mark Cohen received some flack on Monday for incident that could have come straight out of an episode of “Parking Wars”.
A picture sent in by a reader of Philly.com blog Commonwealth Confidential, showed Cohen’s clearly marked campaign vehicle parked in a parking spot designated for the press on JFK Boulevard in Center City Philadelphia. As the article goes on to explain, the press parking spaces around City Hall are reserved for media members who apply for a permit placard through the city and are highly contested spots among those placard carrying members of the press.
Cohen was quick to respond to the questions surrounding his campaign’s parking choices, saying that the car was driven by his campaign chairman Donald Birts, who also happens to work at the Philadelphia Sunday Sun and owns the appropriate press placard.
In lengthy response left in the blog’s comment section, Cohen stressed that Birts was actually parked in the offending space on assignment for the Sunday Sun.
“He drove my campaign car to the event because his own car was in the shop due to radiator problems,” explained Cohen. “He also felt that taking the campaign car to Center City was a good way to get extra publicity for my campaign for re-nomination in the April 24 primary.”
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One Response
Very probably, this involved nothing illegal. And if it did, it warrants a fine of less than $50, so no big deal there. But, if Donald “Ducky” Birts is the Circulation Manager at the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, that demonstrates a serious issue of journalism ethics. I don’t care if the Sunday Sun endorsed Mark Cohen, but its Circulation Manager should not drive a campaign van to a public event to increase exposure because he is part of a management team at a media outlet. Moreover, he should not use a benefit he possesses as a member of the media (the parking placard) to benefit a political campaign. Both are serious breaches of journalism ethics. That is the way journalism ethics works, and if you don’t believe me, ask another person who specializes in it.