There is a reform impulse in Philadelphia today. Philadelphians believe the city is moving in the wrong direction and citizens in every neighborhood are frustrated with a culture of corruption that has government focused on the needs of the special interests instead of the public good. But for this reform impulse to lead to positive change, we must all work together to demand the changes we want to make Philadelphia a city that works.

As candidates for Mayor and City Council court voters, an exciting effort will allow reformers from every corner of the city to define the principles of a reform agenda. We will be able to collectively articulate what it means to be a reformer and then we will be able to judge from their responses, which candidates are for reform. Most important, this reform platform will be drafted and established not in some star chamber, but in an open dialogue with citizens made possible by modern communications technology. You will suggest elements for the reform agenda. You will edit the reform agenda. You will vote on the final form of the reform agenda. Finally, you will determine which candidates are reformers.

For more than a year, a Reformers’ Roundtable of individuals and organizations pushing for positive change in Philadelphia has been working to craft the outlines of a reform agenda that focuses on principles that affect how decisions are made in Philadelphia and how the public participates in those decisions. These principles do not reflect a discussion of the priorities of our government or the use of our scarce resources. We do not recommend increasing funding for a certain program or increasing staffing for another. Rather, we have set forth what we demand of our city government in terms of how it informs the citizenry about the work of its government and how it involves the citizenry in making governmental decisions. We have drafted the broad brushstrokes of this work in the form of a R.E.F.O.R.M. Compact between the citizenry and its government:

We, the citizens of Philadelphia, agree to bear our tax burden, abide by city laws and regulations, and accept all of the responsibilities of citizenship. We believe that Philadelphia deserves a transparent, accountable, and accessible government that works efficiently for all citizens, not just a few. I support the following R.E.F.O.R.M principles as an instrument of progress, hope, and trust.

Restore credibility – end the corrupt culture of patronage and pay-to-play by instituting effective and enforceable ethics laws and regulations.

Engage and enable neighborhoods – empower civic, school, and neighborhood organizations in zoning and all quality-of-life matters.

Fight for fiscal responsibility – establish a city budget process that engages and empowers citizens and communities and holds service providers and contractors accountable for creating positive results.

Open government to the people – provide the information citizens and communities need to engage transparently in the legislative process.

Respect citizen input – demonstrate respect for the citizens and community by requiring meaningful citizen involvement in government decision-making processes.

Modernize city services – adopt a comprehensive plan for development and objective benchmarks for the quality of city services.

Now it is up to Philadelphians to take this pledge. More important, it is up to Philadelphians to establish the elements of R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda — the actions our local elected leaders should take to make reform a reality. Reformers should visit www.reformballot.org to review the action steps proposed by the Reformers’ Roundtable, to make any edits, and to suggest alternate actions.

From today until April 4th, the reform agenda will exist in “wiki” form so visitors can make changes instantly as they can in Wikipedia. After April 4th, all reformers who have signed onto the R.E.F.O.R.M. Compact will be able to vote on the principles comprising the final R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda that will be presented to candidates for Mayor and City Council on April 15th for their consideration. Finally, on May 1st, we will unveil the candidates’ responses so Philadelphians can understand who is for reform — and who is not.

This R.E.F.O.R.M. Compact and R.E.F.O.R.M. Agenda will present the citizenry’s collective hopes and aspirations for what we want for our city, what we want from our city government, and what we ask of our elected officials. We will give the electorate the ability to not only influence who wins municipal elections, but the chance to choose the policies that will shape the city’s future after the elections. Most important, we will transform Philadelphia’s reform impulse into a sustainable reform movement. We can increase the likelihood that policies endorsed by the citizenry can define the courses of action we take as a city and establish a template against which to measure the progress of change in city government after the 2007 election.