Throwback Mayor With 21st Century Touch

By:  Kevin Trainor/Managing Editor

The Mayor of the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, said of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; “Pope Francis needs to come in here, and kick a little ass.”  He went on, “all they care about is prestige and money.”  He was referring to the firing by the Philadelphia archdiocese of a popular teacher at Waldron Academy, one of their schools, after coming out as gay.  James F. Kenney is no wallflower.  He is the opinionated, burly, red-faced, Irish Catholic mayor of this nation’s sixth largest city.  That after Phoenix, Arizona leap-frogged over a bunch.  He suffers no fool gladly.  This guy is intense.  He recently took down a minor local radio talk show host by intimating he would solve their differences “the old-fashioned way, but, I can’t do that since I’m a public figure.”  This is a guy who also called Governor Chris Christie a “bully,” and a “loser,” after the New Jersey governor, a noted Dallas Cowboy fan, called Philadelphia fans “angry, and mean.”

If a Hollywood casting director wanted to find the quintessential big city mayor, well, come to Philadelphia.  Except for some very twenty-first century policies he is a throwback to an era when you would find one of him in every big city.  He is more Richard J. Daley than Richard M. Daley was.  Kenney has the pedigree too.  Born of working class Irish-American stock his parents worked two jobs to put him, and his siblings, through Catholic school elementary, and secondary.  His father was a firefighter.  Kenney was the first in his family to graduate from college.  La Salle University, Political Science, 1980.  As an “at-large” councilman from 1992 through 2015 he always sided with the firefighters union.  That, and a shamrock, will carry the day in Philadelphia.

Being a big city mayor is literally about getting stuff done.  Period.  Mayors have been thrown out for less.  See:  “Bilandic, Michael J., Chicago, Snow Removal,”  Party affiliation really counts for very little.  Can you improve the schools?  Keep SEPTA from striking?  Do something about traffic?  Well, none of these issues came up during any Lincoln/Douglas, or Kennedy/Nixon debate, but they do affect those in Philadelphia.  Kenney can, so he says.  There has been a bump, or two.

The infamous “soda tax” has plagued mayors around the country.  Taxing sugary drinks to fund pre-school education, and prevent obesity has been dicey.  Bernie Sanders called it a “tax on the poor.”  Others, like Hillary Clinton, and interestingly, Rudolph Giuliani, have supported such policies.  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has felt the wrath of business owners.  At popular, and historic, Pat’s King of Steaks, on Passyunk Av, just off 9th St. a sign hangs encouraging patrons to thank Mayor Kenney for higher priced sodas.  As soda sales dipped in Philadelphia, with the tax being three cents per ounce, he countered and alleged the multi-billion dollar companies are laying off local factory workers as a stunt.  The tax passed city council 13 – 4, and the jobs stayed.  

NoViewNews.com caught up with Mayor Kenney at Lincoln Financial Field as he was presiding over a naturalization ceremony for twenty-five citizenship candidates from twenty-one countries.  Such lands including Albania, Ethiopia, and Turkey, amongst others.  The mayor was the keynote speaker, and hit all the marks including references to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the current 8-1 Philadelphia NFL Eagles.  

His city sponsored a tournament that led up to this ceremony.  Featuring all, or at least, every conceivable ethnic group, within city boundaries with a World Cup style soccer tournament.  Mayor Kenney told NoViewNews.com, “Hey, it’s a chance for immigrant groups to come together as they normally wouldn’t.  Baseball doesn’t bind them, American football doesn’t bind them it’s soccer, futbol, what they call it, that is a common theme.”  He added, “we want them to be tied to this community, and that’s why we’re here.”

Mayor Kenney has one more obligation to meet featuring the soccer tournament, and naturalization ceremony, on this chilly November day.  That is next week on November 21st as he presides at the Egypt (Mummies) Gallery, on the third floor of the Penn Musuem on South Street.  It’s a three-hour affair from 6pm – 9pm.  My guess is he will duck in for about twenty minutes, have a bite, and a beer, a rush on to a fire, or water-main break.  These happenings do not wait for a Republican, or Democrat, but for a guy gunning to get things done.

Philadelphia mayors have “off-year” elections.  Kenney is up for re-election in 2019 if he chooses.