Philly's Inspector General

Today Michael Nutter named three women to important ethics-related posts. Heard in the Hall has the scoop. The Next Mayor has video. Amy Kurland will be the city's new inspector general. Nutter took a moment to mention his high opinion of current inspector general and friend of the blogosphere Seth Williams. Like some other area bloggers I cut my blog teeth on Williams' 2005 campaign for District Attorney and have followed his career with interest.

Young Philly Politics has some commentary on the IG's office. They have also posted Seth's press release, reprinted in it's entirety below:

Inspector General R. Seth Williams on Mayor-Elect Nutter’s appointment of Philadelphia’s new Inspector General

As Mayor-Elect, it is Michael Nutter’s prerogative to make mayoral appointments of his own choosing, and I applaud his selection of Amy Kurland to serve as Philadelphia’s next Inspector General.

I want to first thank Mayor John F. Street for allowing me the opportunity to serve the city I love as Inspector General for the past two years. It has been a position of great challenge and great rewards, and I will always cherish the time I spent here in the service of my fellow Philadelphians.

I also gratefully thank the hard working men and women of the Office of the Inspector General, whose tireless dedication and commitment to the citizens of Philadelphia too often goes ignored. I am honored to have worked with public servants of such outstanding caliber.

When I received this appointment in November 2005, I decided that my tenure would be short. I also knew that few Philadelphians had ever heard of the Inspector General’s Office. With the full support of the Mayor’s Office, we embarked on a citywide campaign to get residents involved in the administration’s anti-corruption endeavors. I deputized private citizens in every corner of our beloved City. Now, the public is a full partner in our efforts to investigate and prevent corruption, fraud and waste. Together, we have begun to reverse Philadelphia’s “corrupt and contented” image, restoring the public’s confidence in city government. The public now knows this office exists. Due to our visible, vocal and aggressive work many cases of misconduct have been prosecuted and hopefully countless more prevented.

I pledge my full support to Mayor-Elect Nutter and will do all that I can to ensure a smooth transition with Inspector General Kurland. I am confident the new Inspector General will continue the progress that our office has made in the past two years, and will expand our vision for a corruption-free city government, and achieve even greater success.

I have more challenges and opportunities to explore, and I look forward to serving my fellow Philadelphians again in the near future.