Anna Cibotti Verna (April 15, 1931 – June 15, 2021) was the President of the
Philadelphia City Council
The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...
on which she served from 1975 to 2012, as the representative of the Second District, which encompasses most of
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...
as well as most of the western end of
Center City. She was a
Democrat.
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 wage is paid out at a later date after which it was earned. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options. The primary ...
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
References
External links
Official biography* . ''
Philadelphia City Paper''. 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
21st-century American women politicians
20th-century Pennsylvania politicians
21st-century Pennsylvania politicians