Philadelphia Mayor 2023 - Official Thread (Republic: fit in, school, quality of life)

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by bridge12

I wish she would run for Congress instead. Philly deserves a squad member. Mayor? IDK.

True. Sending one more progressive lib to congress would be relatively innocuous. Having one as the mayor of a major city can be catastrophic (as Kenney, De Blasio and many others have shown).

[thedirtypirate]

We have to have someone that's solely focused on Philadelphia politics and policy and not national politics.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

We have to have someone that's solely focused on Philadelphia politics and policy and not national politics.

I agree. What Philadelphia needs is a whole notha thing from what the country needs. I really hope people don't start rallying behind Gym. Her policies are shortsighted in that they do not account for what our city specifically needs: she is overcommitted to policies that won't work on a city level. Rhynhart is willing to do the drudging work it will take to get the city back on track. And the best part is, she doesn't have the stench of City Council that so many hopefuls do.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Looks like Derek Green already attacked Gym:

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2022/...oy-in-the-box/

Not sure why they couldn't proofread before getting the statement out (not that I can judge). I am not sure what he is going for. I assume he is making an effort to appeal to conservative NE philly voters. Would still 100% prefer him to Gym though.

[Tweb66]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Looks like Derek Green already attacked Gym:

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2022/...oy-in-the-box/

Not sure why they couldn't proofread before getting the statement out (not that I can judge). I am not sure what he is going for. I assume he is making an effort to appeal to conservative NE philly voters. Would still 100% prefer him to Gym though.

That is burying the lead, the Boy in the Box was finally identified? I had no idea.

[bridge12]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Looks like Derek Green already attacked Gym:

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2022/...oy-in-the-box/

Not sure why they couldn't proofread before getting the statement out (not that I can judge). I am not sure what he is going for. I assume he is making an effort to appeal to conservative NE philly voters. Would still 100% prefer him to Gym though.

I'm not the biggest fan of Gym but that was a sloppy attack that won't win him any votes.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by bridge12

I'm not the biggest fan of Gym but that was a sloppy attack that won't win him any votes.

I guess I'm happy that it also shows that many on the Left don't understand what socialism is, either.

Maybe we should just agree that for one campaign cycle, any politician that uses the word "socialist" gets disqualified from running until the next election, and any opinionator that uses it is banished from writing or speaking on anything until next January 1.

We do have actual socialists in this country, but most of our far left is more accurately described as social-democratic. The difference between them and, say, their Swedish counterparts is that they don't quite understand that you need to have businesses and wealthy people that you can tax up the wazoo in order for the whole thing to work.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I guess I'm happy that it also shows that many on the Left don't understand what socialism is, either.

Maybe we should just agree that for one campaign cycle, any politician that uses the word "socialist" gets disqualified from running until the next election, and any opinionator that uses it is banished from writing or speaking on anything until next January 1.

We do have actual socialists in this country, but most of our far left is more accurately described as social-democratic. The difference between them and, say, their Swedish counterparts is that they don't quite understand that you need to have businesses and wealthy people that you can tax up the wazoo in order for the whole thing to work.

I'm fairly sure that the people who are screaming "socialist' at a Democrat hasn't spent the time to understand the difference between a liberal democrat and their Swedish counterparts.

Most of them cant complete an order at an Arby's drive through.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Redddog

I'm fairly sure that the people who are screaming "socialist' at a Democrat hasn't spent the time to understand the difference between a liberal democrat and their Swedish counterparts.

Most of them cant complete an order at an Arby's drive through.

Well, actually, it's my contention that it's the Swedes who get the need for a city(|state|country) to have businesses and wealthy folk to tax heavily while their counterparts in the US don't.

Actually, I even think the one avowed socialist elected official we have, Bernie Sanders, gets this better than many leftish social-democrat types around here. After all, as mayor of Vermont's largest city, he did things that encouraged companies like Ben & Jerry's to set up shop and remain there (until some conglomerate like Unilever could scoop them up).

He just didn't promise them low taxes, is all.

Edited to add: And what's even funnier is that our local lefties are operating in the birthplace of the B Corporation. The B ("benefit") corporation operates under a new type of corporate charter that states explicitly that it has obligations other than that of delivering maximum profit to its shareholders. Those obligations usually involve serving their communities, improving the environment, and suchlike.

[cpomp]

Lord help Philadelphia if the Working Families Party gains more momentum...

I would vote for Drew Murray (a Republican) because he is a good level headed guy.

The progressive Working Families Party is gearing up to try to oust the few Republicans left in Philadelphia government

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/ph...-20221202.html

Brooks intends to run again alongside the Rev. Nicolas O’Rourke, who also sought an at-large seat in 2019 but lost. O’Rourke will officially launch his campaign Wednesday for the seat held by Councilmember David Oh, a Republican who is expected to run for mayor.

Citing former President Donald Trump and the election denial movement, O’Rourke said in an interview that the modern Republican Party “doesn’t deserve governing power.”

“The progressive movement has never been stronger,” said O’Rourke, who is also the organizing director for the Working Families Party in Pennsylvania. “The momentum has been building since Kendra’s election. Now we’re primed and ready and believe it’s possible.”

So ward leaders endorsed Drew Murray, a longtime civic leader in Center City, and Jim Hasher, a real estate agent and bar owner — both of whom unsuccessfully ran for Council in a special election held last month. Democrats were widely expected to win the seats, given registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city 7-1.

Murray, a former Democrat, said he plans to tell voters that Working Families Party representation on Council draws the body leftward on policy.

“I know a lot of people are frustrated with the state of the city,” he said. “They believe that we need more balance on Council.”
And Hasher said attempts to portray the Republicans in the race as extreme will fall flat.
“Our politics and our problems are local,” he said. “I’m going to keep centered on the problems at hand.”

Besides Oh, the only remaining Republican on Council is Brian O’Neill, whom the party also endorsed and who has represented his Northeast Philadelphia district for more than 40 years.