Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney is dealing with fallout after his comments that he’ll “be happy when I’m not here – when I’m not mayor, and I can enjoy some stuff.”
Kenney, the 99th mayor of the city, was speaking early Tuesday morning after gunfire marred the city’s annual Independence Day celebration on the Ben Franklin Parkway. Two police officers were shot and suffered graze wounds. They were both treated and released.
“There’s not an event or a day where I don’t lay on my back at night, looking at the ceiling and worry about stuff,” he said in response to questions about the administration’s response to gun violence. “So everything we have in the city over the last seven years, I worry about. I don’t enjoy Fourth of July. I didn’t enjoy the [2016] Democratic National Convention. I didn’t enjoy the NFL Draft. I’m waiting for something bad to happen all the time.”
City council member Derek Green, a potential candidate for mayor, tweeted, “We are all exhausted by the level of gun violence in our City. However, our City needs someone now with the passion and vision to lead us forward. Resign.”
Fellow council member Allan Domb, who is also considering a mayoral run, tweeted, “Philadelphia is in a crisis and needs a mayor who wants the job and all its responsibilities. It is beyond time for @PhillyMayor to resign for the good of the city and its residents.”
Philadelphia city controller Rebecca Rhynhart tweeted, “Wow. This is the most irresponsible statement. Our city needs leadership, not someone who doesn’t want the job. We deserve better.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Kenney’s admission that he’s looking forward to not doing this job anymore was in some ways unsurprising coming from a term-limited mayor who has appeared increasingly isolated and unengaged in his second term.
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6 Responses
And they’re off. Philadelphia is in a big leadership gap. The folks who pushed aggressively for Kenny to resign are the ones to closely watch. The 2023 election for Mayor can’t come soon enough for many residents.
Seriously, who can blame him for his comments?
I am in no way a supporter of Jim Kenney. Never was never will be. I’m sure he’s expressing the feelings of many big city mayors. But guess what Mr Kenney; this is what you signed up for. If you’re feeling the pressure just leave. It’s not supposed to be Easy Street.
I am more appalled by the political sharks circling for a shot at his job than at Mayor Kenney for expressing his disgust at the battleground America has become. Killing fields can emotionally drain anyone.
GOP will prevent any rational response as they have to every other mass murder.
There is no justification for military rifles and extended mags and bump stocks etc etc. These all should have been banned years ago.
A moment of candor about the realities of being a mayor in a big city is greeted as career ending by political opportunists circling the suspected commenter. Welcome to life in the power dome where everything is interpreted as a career ending move.
Hear hear.