HUFFINGTON POST: A progressive candidate for Philadelphia mayor on Tuesday won a resounding primary election victory. Jim Kenney, a veteran city councilman, beat five other Democratic candidates, all but assuring him of replacing outgoing Mayor Michael Nutter.
Once considered a moderate, Kenney ran on a progressive platform, advocating for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, ending stop-and-frisk, decriminalizing marijuana, and restoring funding to the city’s cash-strapped public schools. As a city councilman, he fought for a bill that reduced cooperation between Philadelphia police and federal immigration authorities in detaining undocumented immigrants in the city, as well as a bill expanding LGBT rights.
His closest opponent, state Sen. Anthony Williams, got 26 percent of the vote, a poor showing for a major black candidate. Williams was well funded — largely from three libertarian hedge fund owners in the Philadelphia suburbs, who contributed almost $7 million to a super PAC connected to Williams. Williams has been a big advocate of charter schools and school vouchers, and his financial backers have also supported the privatization of education through their political and charitable causes… (more)
EDITOR: These days a White Jim Kenney becoming mayor of Philadelphia is almost comparable to the Black Barack Obama becoming President. It speaks well for the public’s acceptance of diversity. Long live America!
