While Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney currently has one challenger on the Democratic side, at least one Republican wants a shot at City Hall.
Billy Ciancaglini, a South Philly defense attorney, is set to be the first Republican to officially announce a bid for May’s GOP primary for mayor tonight, first reported by Philly Clout.
Previously, Ciancaglini launched an unsuccessful bid in the Democratic primary for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 2015. He also toyed with a run for the Pennsylvania State House’s 184th District in South Philadelphia.
Ciancaglini’s campaign website’s header states, “End The Sanctuary City. Stop Safe Injection Sites. Eliminate The Soda Tax.”
Ciancaglini has been a vocal opponent of the current Mayor through social media, including his campaign’s Facebook’s pinned post of Mayor Kenney celebrating a federal judge’s ruling in favor of the city’s “sanctuary city” policy, and is running because he believes the city “desperately needs a change.”
“First, I’m running for Mayor because we desperately need a change in our city. No other Mayor of Philadelphia has ever started with such high hopes only to disappoint us on an almost weekly basis,” posted from Ciancaglini’s Campaign Facebook account. “Yes, we need a new Mayor.”
The first topic on his campaign website’s issue page is the controversial soda tax, which he states he is “100% against” and that “No one asked for it. Very few want it. The money gained from it is being stolen. It’s that simple.”
He is also running to “lessen our tax burden, cut wasteful government spending, and address our city’s crippling drug and crime problem.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Ciancaglini’s campaign hashtag is #SGBD, “which stands for “S**** gonna be different.”
#SGBD pic.twitter.com/U4vrKcqmY6
— Billy Ciancaglini for Mayor (@BillyforPhilly) December 15, 2018
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, three other Republicans in Philadelphia are mulling a primary run as well: John Featherman, Daphne Goggins and Mark Cumberland.
No incumbent mayor who has run for reelection has lost in Philadelphia in almost 70 years, when the voters approved of the City Charter.
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8 Responses
We need to stop giving our city to people who are not from here. And start taking care of the people that do live here. BOZO KENNEY is taxxing us on some UNBELIEVABLY RIDICULOUS TAXES ” SUGAR TAX”, and giving it to people who don’t pay TAXES. OVER $33 million missing????
Horrible buisness deals such as the” NEW POLICE HQ”. WHICH cost tax payers over $40 million.
That is only to negative things of the many more HORRIBLE MOVES the BOZO of a mayor made and cost Philadelphia tax payers $70 million dollars.
Oh yea while BOZO KENNEY had also been in office. The crime raye went up by 33%, and have a higher murder rate than in the last 12 yrs.
BOZO KENNEY wont address these problems because he won’t step up and fix the high crime area. Because he desperalty needs the MINORITY votes.
I love guys like this. He probably really thinks he can win.
Thank you I know thats I can win for Mayor
Hmmmmm , where have I heard that before? Oh yes that’s right when President Trump announced his candidacy. What’s the famous line “don’t count your chickens before They Hatch”
I am be running for the candidate of Mayor of Philadelphia, so vote for me when you vote
Unfortunately, you have to actually live here in this nightmare of City to run for Mayor of it.
A Republican runs for mayor of Philly when he does not really want to get elected, but it suits his business to get all that free publicity.
This guy has such a super-Trump fascist white-nationalist mentality that I blocked him on Facebook for his outlandish comments and positions. Really just the worst of the worst.
Fortunately, he’s go zero shot.