Philadelphia Mayor 2023 - Official Thread (Harrisburg, Butler: 2015, pre-k, move)

[Muinteoir]

^^ someone should run under the Forward Party. You don’t gotta be a Republican nor WPF to run as something other than a Democrat. The Republican Party is pretty much obsolete in the city, and frankly, I don’t know why anyone I’d want to support would run as a Republican. Even if I like them as an individual, I’d seriously question their decision to affiliate with the party of right-wing extremism.

[Muinteoir]

Did anyone else get The Lenfest Institute for Journalism's survey re: priorities for the new mayor? I filled it out (a ~10 minute survey for a $10 Amazon gift card) and it felt good to have my voice heard.

[thedirtypirate]

Having so many different people announce for mayor was the worst thing that could happen for anyone like myself hoping for change. Gym Kenney's machine will turn out and be the biggest small sect to win the primary. the Non-profit infrastructure will do anything to protect itself and keep stuffing their friends pockets with public money while they do nothing to service the community.

[mphilly]

Some of them will run out of money or have internal polling that shows they can’t win and drop out. I wouldn’t panic yet.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by mphilly

Some of them will run out of money or have internal polling that shows they can’t win and drop out. I wouldn’t panic yet.

Idk if it's that much about money. I just think of Larry K's first primary. The vote was split up and that stooge ended up on the top of the trash heap.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Idk if it's that much about money. I just think of Larry K's first primary. The vote was split up and that stooge ended up on the top of the trash heap.

Luckily for Mayor there are several good candidates. It's not like there is 1 solid choice and a bunch of stooges. Although it would be VERY disappointing if a stooge (Helen Gym) won the primary...

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Luckily for Mayor there are several good candidates. It's not like there is 1 solid choice and a bunch of stooges. Although it would be VERY disappointing if a stooge (Helen Gym) won the primary...

Reread the last sentence of thedirtypirate's post to which you responded.

That's a very real possibility once again, what with three very good reformist candidates already declared.

[thedirtypirate]

Please god, Nutter run again and purge the morons

[Tweb66]

https://whyy.org/articles/former-phi...2023-election/


I'd definitely give him another look.

[Kukla65th]

Philadelphia mayor’s races seem ever less relevant regionally; perhaps this is because the city’s role has declined in the lives of people outside the city, and surely people being immersed in their online worlds distracts from old-fashioned “big” regional issues more people paid attention to via fewer news sources years ago. But of course the mayoralty remains relevant as so many issues shaping the city continue to bear on the region’s reputations and quality of life within and without the city’s borders.

I have the city’s party registration imbalance ratio burned into my brain and need no reminding of it. I will always marvel, however, that despite this imbalance Philadelphia continues to be among the major American cities with absolutely no viable non-Democratic mayoral candidates election cycle after election cycle, no matter how demonstrably deserving of rebuilding the policies and attitudes of many local officials have been.

I chuckled recently when I read something saying Jeff Brown made clear that reforming taxes in Philadelphia is not among his major priorities. What fresh thinking on his part. I suppose that the completely unavoidable pain such reforms will cause mean that at least while running for the candidacy, one has to pretend they don’t want to shake up the overtly regressive and destructive fiscal policies of the city, but it sure would be nice to see a candidate be bold about the city needing long term fiscal reform to enhance competitiveness to attract more commercial investment and jobs, and to stress a focus on great municipal service provision even beyond evergreen safety provision. These are all things in the center of what municipal government, especially strong mayors, should be building programs on. Unfortunately Philadelphia pols like to build policies that despite their adeptness for creating new taxes and fees to (supposedly) pay for things, are issues far larger than what city government can often really address on its own, while neglecting the things for which it alone is really meant.

I’d like a mayor that starts talking with not only compassion for those in need but also acknowledges that “the bank isn’t always open” to take yet more taxes, etc. and that people can and do leave the city because they cannot really see why they are paying more taxes and receive far less, and more inconsistently, with respect to services the city is obliged to provide The city likes to assemble commissions to investigate these things every ten or twenty years to pretend they mean to do something about these issues, but we know what fiscal issues need change and how to change them. It’s just that people can’t get elected as easily doing something about these issues.

Jim Kenney made his trajectory clear the second his first big initiative was initiating another tax. It’s just what we do in Philadelphia, and do it so well irrespective of whether it ultimately will do what we were told it would do. If your first reaction here is to post to school me about the importance of pre-k education, you’re completely missing my point.

Finally, if the GOP or some other party wants to have a chance, it will have to be with someone who isn’t just merely a Democrat who couldn’t win that party’s candidacy. That is so often who the city GOP, for example, puts up for mayor or council races. Even the few who nearly became mayor such as Katz, were really Democrats for most of their lives, and the “other side’s” ticket was a chance for them. Of course, is a hypothetical candidate truly devoted to the stances of a particular minority party in the city willing to do the hard work of getting out and working hard to be viable? That has been elusive.