User talk:Davidt8/Committee of Seventy

The Committee of Seventy is a good government group in Philadelphia, United States, founded in 1904. It is perhaps best known for monitoring elections in the city and its suburbs.

Reports
The Committee is known for issuing detailed reports describing problems of city government and proposing various reforms. Zack Stalberg, former editor of the Daily News, often testifies to City Council about the reports, the budget, and other matters.

Funding
This independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit group gets most of its funding from foundations. For example, it received a grant of $35,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2006.

Name
The name comes from the Bible. According to the organization's Web site, "Chronicling the Israelites’ journey through the desert, Exodus tells of seventy elders who were appointed to assist Moses in the governance of the people. In 1904, this Committee of Seventy was so named to represent an analogous function: to be the ethical backbone of a city forgetting its conscience." The references appear in Exodus 24:1-9, in which God instructs Moses how to proceed once Israel accepts the Covenant. "And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off" - Exodus 24:1.