Tuesday night’s Philadelphia mayoral debate at Temple University certainly shone the light on those that participated.

Some in a good light … some in a … uh, shall we say … not so flattering light.

On the stage were Amen Brown, Jeff Brown, Allan Domb, Derek Green, Helen Gym, Cherelle Parker, and Rebecca Rhynhart.

Our takeaways.

Jeff Brown Had A Tough Night

The longtime ShopRite proprietor has been dealing with a charge from the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, accusing him of illegally coordinating with an outside group, and his rivals questioning his ethics. Last night, it was the moderators that questioned Brown and his motives.

“This is about the political establishment not wanting the change that we so desperately need,” Brown said. “This is a political hit job. This is not a reality.”

But he doubled down, inaccurately saying his rivals voted to defund the police while on City Council in 2020 and then dumped on Chester. “Chester is Chester. I work for Philadelphia and the trash has to go somewhere, and whoever gets it is going to be unhappy with it.”

Parker accused Brown of using the same attitude in his treatment of the city’s Black and Brown communities.

The Women Stood Out

On a seven-person debate stage, it can be hard to distinguish oneself. But in our opinion, the winners of the night were Gym, Parker and Rhynhart.

Parker was well-prepared and had a commanding presence. She left the audience knowing exactly where she stands on certain issues, Rhynhart was composed on stage and provided thoughtful answers, if not as detailed as others. Gym remained true to her progressive values and gave long answers to questions designed for shorter responses.

All three showed they would be up to the challenge of serving as Philadelphia’s 100th mayor and first female occupant of the chair.

The Sixers’ Arena

The proposed $1.3 billion arena project that is slotted along Chinatown’s border over the next decade saw two candidates take firm stances.

Gym said she would not support the project, given what is known today, while Jeff Brown went on record in favor of the arena.

It proved to be an opportunity for Gym to take a swing at Brown, noting that a professional sports team – thought to be the Sixers – gave $250,000 to a super PAC backing Brown. “It is kinda trash that they tried to buy one of the candidates on this stage.”

Jeff Brown responded by saying he has met with leaders pushing the project for several reasons.

Amen Brown, who has expressed support for the project, called out Gym for meeting with David Adelman, the developer behind the Sixers arena proposal. Gym confirmed meeting with him but said they did not “discuss anything.”

Parker made a case for a better response to the proposed Sixers arena, noting steps should be taken to make sure the decision is beneficial financially.

Dealing With Crime

Nearly 90 percent of Philadelphia voters say gun violence is the number one issue on their minds for the city and the candidates were in agreement with them.

Parker said officials must address “lawlessness,” saying her lived experiences give her an edge when making tough decisions about police and violence in the city. Rhynhart said there is “chaos on the streets” and wants to activate an emergency operations center to coordinate responses to the needs of constituents. Amen Brown spoke to his personal experience as a gunshot victim. He also said he would not reappoint Danielle Outlaw to her Police Commissioner position.

Domb said he would not call in the National Guard to fight crime, noting he would instead work with Governor Josh Shapiro and work with State Police. Green said he has a plan to present to the District Attorney’s Office that will help implement a diverse police staff and new programs that help fight crime.

Asked to answer “yes or no” on whether they support the tactic of stop-and-frisk, Brown, Rhynhart, and Gym said no. Others refused to answer.

Education

Gym drew fire from Parker about her education proposal which includes a 10-year, $10 billion plan to modernize school buildings.

Parker said, “Helen, that’s an imaginary plan,” and said afterwards, “Helen, you know better. What taxes will you raise? What services will you cut? She has to explain that.”

Gym has said the city can borrow cash to fund capital projects and said it should explore increasing the share of funding that the School District receives from city property taxes.

”Philadelphians are going to figure out pretty quickly that very few people on that stage have any kind of vision or plan for our kids, for education, or the future of our city,” Gym said.