City pays $120k to former register of wills employee as new lawsuits allege retaliation for having backed boss’ rival
Employees of both the current and former Register of Wills say they were fired for not supporting their boss politically. The city has paid out $400,000 so far, with five more suits ongoing.
Philadelphia Register of Wills John Sabatina Sr. has been hit with three more federal lawsuits from former employees who contend they were fired for not supporting him politically — which could leave city taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in new legal settlements.
That comes on top of $400,000 the city has already paid to settle four of five suits filed last year alleging that former Register of Wills Tracey Gordon fired employees for not backing her reelection campaign.
Let’s work backward:
Sabatina, a lawyer and Northeast Philadelphia ward leader, defeated Gordon in the May 2023 Democratic primary and took office in January 2024.
One of Sabatina’s first orders of business was to terminate 19 employees, according to a September 2024 federal lawsuit filed on behalf of five of them. Those employees, who had been with the office between eight months and about four years, say Sabatina retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment right to support a different candidate — or no candidate at all.
Two more lawsuits were filed in October, on behalf of former records clerk Ian Ewing and community outreach coordinator Mark Harrell, both hired by Gordon in 2020 and fired by Sabatina.
Those suits liken Sabatina, who has the backing of the Democratic City Committee, to a “Tammany Hall”-style political machine boss, a reference to the New York City political organization known for its patronage hiring.
Like the September complaint, the two suits allege First Amendment violations because the men had not supported Sabatina’s candidacy.
“You can’t win office and just fire everybody and hire your friends,” said Timothy Creech, a lawyer representing seven fired employees. “These people lost good city jobs, for no reason.”
Last month, a fourth lawsuit was filed on behalf of former administrative deputy Stephanie Graham, hired by Gordon in 2020. She said she had been targeted by Sabatina because she supported Gordon’s reelection campaign.
Employees in the register of wills office don’t have the civil-service protections afforded other city employees. But Alice Ballard, a lawyer co-representing Graham, said the workers do have constitutional rights and cannot be fired because of their political leanings.
“It’s not a spoils system,” Ballard said, referring to the process of replacing existing employees with supporters of the winning candidate.
Ava Schwemler, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Law Department, declined to comment on the suits, as did Sabatina’s office. In a court filing responding to the September lawsuit filed by five employees, attorneys for Sabatina denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Gordon’s one term in office continues to be costly for Philadelphia taxpayers.
Elected in 2019, Gordon left behind a wave of lawsuits that alleged she had essentially turned the office into an arm of her reelection campaign and retaliated against workers who refused to contribute.
Last week, the city paid $120,000 to Patrick Parkinson, a former administrative deputy who said that Gordon “continually and relentlessly badgered” him for campaign donations. He said in his suit that he didn’t want to be associated with her campaign because he considered Gordon “ruthless, corrupt, unethical, incompetent” and said she “acted in an illegal manner.”
Three other former Gordon staffers who said they were also retaliated against have been paid a combined $280,000. A similar lawsuit filed by former clerk Nicholas Barone is ongoing. He said he was fired for not giving money to Gordon’s campaign.
The register of wills processes probate records — wills, estate inventories, and inheritance tax documents — and issues marriage certificates. A remnant from the days when Philadelphia had a separate county government, the position remains independently elected, along with other so-called row offices like the sheriff and city commissioners.
Creech said the city is likely to continue to face these types of lawsuits until it reels in the patronage hiring in the office.
“They’re going to have this hole they blast in their budget every time an administration changes in the register of wills office,” Creech said. “The city shouldn’t allow this to happen. It should reform the office and eliminate the patronage like they did in the courts or the streets department or with other city jobs.”
Staff writer Abraham Gutman contributed to this article.