Title
Honoring Michael Masch, on the occasion of his passing, for a lifetime of dedicated service to the people of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Michael Masch was born October 14, 1950, and raised in Southwest Philadelphia. Masch graduated from Central High School and later attended Temple University, leaving just prior to graduation as an urban studies major; and
WHEREAS, Masch's political inclinations began in college, where he burned his draft card at City Hall, otherwise campaigned against the war in Vietnam, and engaged in other acts of civil disobedience. At his freshman orientation at Temple, he stated that he hoped to major in "making the revolution"; and
WHEREAS, In the early years of his career, he wrote for the Jewish Exponent and worked as an editor and writer for the Drummer, a weekly newspaper that served the region's counterculture audience in the 1970s; and
WHEREAS, Masch entered public life when he got a job on the technical staff of Philadelphia's City Council. He eventually became the Philadelphia budget director from 1992-96, during the mayoral administration of Ed Rendell. While working for Mayor Rendell, he helped create the Philly Phlash downtown loop transit line, and was able to unite his love of comics with his profession, naming the line after the Flash, one of his favorite DC comics characters; and
WHEREAS, Masch also served as Pennsylvania's secretary of budget and administration from 2003 to 2008, during the gubernatorial administration of Ed Rendell. In this position, he worked to eliminated state deficits and produced surpluses each year, while increasing state funding for Pennsylvania's 500 school districts. He also created the Pennsylvania Office of Performance Improvement to measure and improve operational performance of state agencies; and
WHEREAS, He later served as the chief financial officer of the School District of Philadelphia from 2008-12. As CFO of the school district, he helped the district maintain balanced an...
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