In January of 1996, the City of Philadelphia concluded that its city officials were underpaid in comparison to other civic leaders across the country. Mayor Ed Rendell bestowed generous pay raises upon his cabinet, which included Director of Housing and Community Development John Kromer. Kromer accepted the raise but turned around and announced that he would personally forgo 10% of his new, larger salary, and return the $11,000 to his cash-strapped department. The press hailed his move; The Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that his actions should be a model for all executives. But Kromer didn't mean to play the role of the hero; he was simply trying to be heard.
This Thanksgiving, for the first time since he has been at the Church Hill United Methodist Church in Norwell, Massachusetts, Reverend Steve Harvester took a public stand on a controversial issue. Selectmen for the town of Norwell had recently agreed to pay a black female police officer $518,000 to settle her lawsuit of sexual and racial harassment against fellow police officers. Because the lawsuit had been settled with a gag order, no testimony from either side will ever be heard.