| Committee of Seventy | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Clean and effective government. Fair Elections. Informed Citizens. |
| Formation | 1904 |
| Purpose/focus | Good government |
| Headquarters |
Eight Penn Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Region served | Philadelphia and five suburban counties |
| President and CEO | Zack Stalberg |
| Staff | 6 |
| Website | http://www.seventy.org/ |
The Committee of Seventy is a good government group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, founded in 1904. It is a nonpartisan organization perhaps best known for monitoring elections in the city and its suburbs. Zack Stalberg is President and Chief Executive Officer and Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, President of Citizens Financial Group for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, is Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Contents |
The Committee is known for issuing detailed reports describing problems of city government and proposing various reforms.[1] Zack Stalberg, former editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, often testifies to City Council about the reports, the city budget, and other matters.
This independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit group gets most of its funding from foundations. For example, it received a grant of $35,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2006.[2]
The name comes from the Bible. According to the organization's website, "Chronicling the Israelites’ journey through the desert, Exodus tells of seventy elders who were appointed to assist Moses in the governance of the people. In 1904, this Committee of Seventy was so named to represent an analogous function: to be the ethical backbone of a city forgetting its conscience." The references appear in Exodus 24:1-9, in which God instructs Moses how to proceed once Israel accepts the Covenant: "And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off." — Exodus 24:1.
A Committee of Seventy already existed in 19th-century New York City.[3]