Philadelphia Mayor 2023 - Official Thread (York, Washington: sale, rent, transfer)

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

Philly needs a law and order Republican Mayor. Otherwise the city will continue to fail.

That won't happen anytime soon, but what we can hope for is a law and order, pro-business Democrat, similar to Rendell and Nutter. I know it's cliche, but I really do feel like Philly and many other big cities that have been hijacked by Progressive/Socialist Liberals are at an inflection point. The question is whether the voters will allow them to revert back to the 1970s, or whether they will elect leaders that will turn things around and resume the progress that was made from the 1990s through the 2010s. I fear for the worst and hope for the best.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by Angus215

That won't happen anytime soon, but what we can hope for is a law and order, pro-business Democrat, similar to Rendell and Nutter. I know it's cliche, but I really do feel like Philly and many other big cities that have been hijacked by Progressive/Socialist Liberals are at an inflection point. The question is whether the voters will allow them to revert back to the 1970s, or whether they will elect leaders that will turn things around and resume the progress that was made from the 1990s through the 2010s. I fear for the worst and hope for the best.

The Anti-Social Contract - Chicago, Illinois and the Failures of Modern Progressivism



I read this essay a couple of days ago, and it 100% could have been written about Philadelphia too.


There is little to nothing "progressive" about most of these people. They're the definition of regression.









These people live in a fantasy land where they believe tearing down the fundamental foundation of society is the answer. They have no replacement for it but anarchy. They hate "capitalism" (see the "democratic socialists" who have benefitted at every step of their life from our system). They hate the justice system (no justice no peace gives them the right to throw a brick through the window of a small business). They hate any and all law enforcement (see the ACAB loser movement). They think every thing is racist (which is rich coming from a bunch of well-to-do white people). They will fight new investment (sixers arena, cobbs creek, FDR park, any other number of redevelopments). They see new people moving into the city as the problem (see any number of down-zoning bills put forth by and voted for by city council). They think "taxing the rich" is the answer. Plot-twist there's no rich people in Philly.


Think about there answers to society's problems:


Young men carrying around drugs and illegal guns? We will just stop pulling them over.
People shoplifting too much merchandise? We will just lock it behind glass so you need to have it unlocked to get out.
People smoking on the subway? Can't risk a bad interaction, so nothing can be done about that.
Open-air drug market causing a society killing amount of overdoses? We will just create a safe place for it, instead of cutting the head off the snake.

[cpomp]

Not Mayor, but still huge political news. And it appears Kenyetta Johnson, Cindy Bass, and Mark Squilla are eyeing the opening.

Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke won't seek re-election
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Not Mayor, but still huge political news. And it appears Kenyetta Johnson, Cindy Bass, and Mark Squilla are eyeing the opening.

Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke won't seek re-election
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

Cindy Bass is so corrupt and self-dealing I'm going to vote for her socialist opponent in the primary. (And while there's a lot I disagree with him on, I do think he has the right priorities and would rather see him than her in my district Council seat, but unless the Republican is a MAGAnaut or there's no non-D candidate, I will vote for whoever's taking him on in the fall.) I think she'd be even worse than Kenyatta Johnson in that post.

Squilla, OTOH, would likely be a decent Council President.

[Redddog]

Squilla or bust. Any of the other 3 would be a disaster.

[thedirtypirate]

I don’t have faith in anyone ha

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Cindy Bass is so corrupt and self-dealing I'm going to vote for her socialist opponent in the primary. (And while there's a lot I disagree with him on, I do think he has the right priorities and would rather see him than her in my district Council seat, but unless the Republican is a MAGAnaut or there's no non-D candidate, I will vote for whoever's taking him on in the fall.) I think she'd be even worse than Kenyatta Johnson in that post.

Squilla, OTOH, would likely be a decent Council President.

wait, why is Cindy Bass so corrupt? I never paid much attention to her district or specifics about it.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

wait, why is Cindy Bass so corrupt? I never paid much attention to her district or specifics about it.

The Eighth Councilmanic District, whose seat Bass holds, stretches from Nicetown in the southeast to Chestnut Hill in the northwest. In addition to including all of Nicetown and all three of the neighborhoods that comprised pre-consolidation Germantown Township (Germantown Borough, Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill), the district includes about half of Logan and a chunk of Ogontz/West Oak Lane.

As you can see, the district takes in a broad cross-section of the city, demographically (though it's light on Hispanics and Asians) and socioeconomically.

And from what I can tell, she cares little for what her constituents think. The main thing she cares about are her favored connections.

I'll offer you a couple of data points by way of example:

1. Business owners in Germantown succeeded in getting a special services district formed to keep the main commercial district along Chelten and Germantown avenues clean. Because her okay was needed for the district to be created, she had a say in choosing its board of directors.

She stacked it with friends of hers who, over the course of several years, skimmed off the fees the business owners paid into the district for their own purposes. She, or rather, her board officers, ignored repeated requests for audits. When one was finally performed, it found that a sizable chunk of money had gone into the treasurer's pocket while the trash piled up on the sidewalks and in the trash receptacles. The business owners got so fed up that when the time came to renew the authorization for the district about four years ago, they declined to give it.

2. Just north of Vernon Park in the center of Germantown, the former Germantown YWCA building stands boarded up (and presumably rotting away, as it's been shuttered for more than the decade I've lived up this way). When the city finally requested redevelopment proposals, the Councilmember chose a developer from Pittsburgh who had done no projects here and very few overall to redevelop the building. And several local developers with track records did submit proposals.

She picked this company about five years ago. Nothing has been done with the building. At a town hall at First Presbyterian Church in Germantown (I attend this church but only saw the town hall on video), she accused the critics (many of them Black) who complained about the choice and the lack of action as being anti-Black. There has been no investigation into the company or the deal, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bass got something out of the company she chose.

So far, she has drawn opponents in her two bids for re-election so far that have gone nowhere. That socialist is a labor union organizer, so I think that he has a better chance of taking her out than her other opponents had.

[thedirtypirate]

Good rundown, thanks. I remember the YMCA story now that you say it. Unbelievable nothing has happened

[cpomp]

Not Philadelphia, but similar Mayoral situation. Incumbent Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection bid in Chicago, and two different candidates will face each other in a runoff on April 4th.

Paul Vallas - More moderate candidate.

Brandon Johnson - Progressive candidate.

If Chicagoans elect Paul Vallas, might that be a foreshadow for Philadelphia's Mayoral primary in May?

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/28/polit...lts/index.html