PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Cherelle Parker has ended Philadelphia’s long-standing policy of awarding a percentage of city contracts to businesses owned by women, minorities or disabled people.
The “set aside” for disadvantaged businesses was first passed by City Council in 1982. It had so much support that it survived a mayoral veto. But the Supreme Court struck it down in 1993. After that, a series of mayoral executive orders preserved the practice, often enforced by close scrutiny from council.
In September, the mayor’s office quietly let it go in the face of unprecedented federal backlash to any program that promotes diversity…