Anna Cibotti Verna (April 15, 1931 – June 15, 2021) was the President of the
Philadelphia City Council
The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...
on which she served from 1975 to 2012, as the representative of the Second District, which encompasses most of
South Philadelphia as well as most of the western end of
Center City. She was a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
.
Career
Verna was the daughter of past council member
William Cibotti and was elected to his seat following his death in 1975.
She drew criticism for her support of the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), which
deferred compensation Deferred compensation is an arrangement in which a portion of an employee's income is paid out at a later date after which the income was earned. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options. The p ...
for city employees allowing municipal employees to forgo some pension payments in lieu of a lump-sum payment on the date of their retirement. Prior to the 2011 municipal election, several council members exploited a loophole in DROP, allowing elected officials to retire for a day at the end of their term, and then resume work in their next term. Following public outcry, several of the council members who enrolled in DROP, including Verna, declined to run for re-election. Others, such as Councilman
Frank Rizzo, Jr., were defeated for renomination.
Ward leader
Verna was the Ward Leader of the 36th Ward Democratic Executive Committee.
See also
*
History of the Italian Americans in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has a significant Italian American population. In 2010, the Philadelphia metropolitan region had the second-largest Italian-American population in the United States with more than 142,000 residents with Italian ancestry, and about 3,1 ...
References
External links
Official biography* . ''
Philadelphia City Paper
''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues, ...
''. February 5–11, 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verna, Anna C.
1931 births
2021 deaths
Presidents of the Philadelphia City Council
Philadelphia City Council members
Pennsylvania Democrats
2000 United States presidential electors
Women city councillors in Pennsylvania
20th-century American women politicians
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians