With The Help Of Jim Kenney, Jersey's Boss Norcross Crosses The Delaware Into Philly

In effect, Jim Kenney was elected mayor of Philadelphia one year ago-- May 19, 2015. That was the day of the 6-way Democratic primary, when Kenney won with 55.8%. His closest rival, Anthony Williams got 26.1%. When November rolled around he beat Republican Melissa Lynn Bailey 85.4- 13.2%. DWT's infatuation with Kenney as a progressive champion was ill-advised and as short-lived as our infatuation with Bill de Blasio was. Both are decent liberals; neither approaches being any kind of movement progressive. I watched with dismay as de Blasio got into a habit of endorsing corrupt conservative candidates and corporate shills like Andrew Cuomo over Zephyr Teachout, Jeff Klein over Oliver Koppell, Wendy Greuel over Ted Lieu and, of course, Hillary over Bernie. Kenney also endorsed Hillary over Bernie but that's politics and many politicians-- including some of the best-- felt that had to endorse Hillary for one reason or another. What made us withdraw our support of Kenney though was his endorsement for the Donald Norcross in the South Jersey district directly across the river from Philly-- conservative, crooked Donald Norcross of one of America's last remaining predatory criminal political machines, his brother George's. The fact that Norcross endorsed him-- and immediately helped him raise money-- as a matter of course despite a credible grassroots challenge by Alex Law moved us to remove Kenney from our endorsed candidates list and moved me to write him a letter asking him to take me off his mailing list and forget we had ever met.

I laughed a few weeks ago when Bernie denounced his regressive soda tax that targets poor people as a way of raising more money in Philly. (Hillary, of course, backed Kenney on the tax.) PolitiFact checked Kenney's defense and Bernie's attack and found Bernie's version true:

Kenney fired back in an editorial on Huffington Post that his proposal, which would levy a three cent per ounce tax on distributors, was a "corporate tax" and said Sanders was siding with beverage corporations. Then Sanders responded with an editorial of his own, in Philly Mag. He basically gave an elongated version of what he said earlier in the week, which was, "A tax on soda and juice drinks would disproportionately increase taxes on low-income families in Philadelphia."

...Kenney has said the tax is not regressive because he believes the money will stay in the neighborhoods. His finance director, Rob Dubow, said most consumers of sugary drinks are in poor neighborhoods. When Dubow suggested distributors would absorb some of the tax, City Council president Darrell Clarke responded, "Fundamentally, I don’t believe that."

Sanders said Kenney’s proposed soda tax would disproportionately increase taxes for low income families. In the only other instance of a soda tax in the United States, studies have shown somewhere between 25 and 70 percent of the cost of the tax gets passed to consumers. Tax experts say if this tax reaches the consumer level it would affect low income residents to a greater extent.

Last week, in another Norcross exposé, Philly journalist Holly Otterbein connected Kenney with George Norcross.

George Norcross slipped in through the back door.

It was May 19th, the day Jim Kenney won the mayoral primary in a landslide. Norcross was with Dan Hilferty, the CEO of Independence Blue Cross, when he got the news. “That evening we had a dinner meeting with a potential business partner,” says Hilferty, “and we hear on the radio that Jim has won the primary. We both say, ‘Let’s stop by and say hi to Jim.’”

So they set off to Vie, a restaurant on North Broad Street where Kenney was holding his victory party. It didn’t matter that Norcross didn’t have an appointment. It didn’t matter that when Norcross arrived, Kenney was minutes away from delivering his first speech as the presumptive next mayor of the fifth-biggest city in America. It didn’t matter that Kenney, in fact, still had a few lines left to memorize. This is George Norcross we’re talking about-- the widely feared, fantastically wealthy all-powerful boss of the South Jersey Democratic Party-- and when George Norcross wants a meeting, he gets a meeting.

So right there and then, the likely next mayor of Philadelphia sat down for a brief tête-à-tête with the lord of South Jersey.

Norcross left discreetly, un-spotted by the legions of press there that night (including me). Then Kenney, fresh off his private chat with a walking, talking embodiment of the one percent, took the stage, and his kaleidoscopic mix of supporters went nuts: prominent African-Americans and white working-class voters, LGBT leaders and immigrants, millennial fanboys and old heads. Kenney thanked his “unprecedented coalition of diverse groups” and repeated his mantra that “every neighborhood matters.”

When Philly.com got word of the three-minute private meeting a few days later and posted a story, it set political insiders buzzing. That’s just how significant, how full of implicit meaning, a meeting with Norcross is. Did this one signal that Norcross, after spending 30 years methodically taking over the state of New Jersey, was setting his sights on Philadelphia?

A year later, there’s no question: Norcross is now well entrenched in Philadelphia, and all signs suggest his influence will continue to grow. Businesses and labor unions with close ties to Norcross spent vast sums of money to get Kenney elected, and have teamed up with John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, the city’s building-trades kingpin. Norcross’s insurance firm has secured government contracts in Philly in recent years, just as it’s done in Jersey. True to form, Norcross has accomplished all this in the dark, granting not a single on-the-record interview about these moves.

He refuses to explain what he’s up to, or why. But murky as Norcross’s motives may be, his record is clear: He’s a conqueror. When he sets his sights on a target, he captures it.

The story of how Norcross built himself into the most powerful man in New Jersey begins with revenge.

Norcross was little more than a regional player 30 years ago. He ran the Camden County Democrats, but the GOP was firmly in control of the board of freeholders. Still, Norcross asked State Senator Lee Laskin, a Republican, for a favor: Would he put Norcross’s dad on the New Jersey Racing Commission? “This would mean the world to him,” Norcross reportedly told Laskin. When Laskin shot him down, Norcross asked again: “This is really important to me personally.” The answer was no. No way.

The slight infuriated Norcross. He recruited John Adler, a Harvard graduate, to run against Laskin in 1991. But that was just the beginning: He developed an elaborate plan to wrest Camden County away from the GOP; then he would move on to other counties, win control of their freeholders, and build alliances that could raise enormous sums of cash for his favored candidates for the state legislature.

To make a long, f-bomb-filled story short, Norcross succeeded. He is now said to have helped elect 50-some county freeholders, state lawmakers and Congressmen currently in office in New Jersey. One of those people is Steve Sweeney, who is kind of a supersized Johnny Doc. A childhood friend of Norcross’s, Sweeney is the New Jersey Senate president and vice president of the International Association of Ironworkers, and is widely assumed to be a big-time gubernatorial candidate in 2017. He wouldn’t be where he is today without Norcross. Norcross also runs the insurance firm Conner Strong & Buckelew, which has helped make him a millionaire many times over, partly from the lucrative contracts it has won from government entities across New Jersey.

There’s no doubt Norcross has done some good works with his immense power: As chairman of Cooper University Hospital in Camden, he built the institution into a giant. And he made South Jersey, once a region laughed off by the glitzier, more powerful North Jersey, a force to be reckoned with. That’s something Philadelphians can surely appreciate, given their city’s lack of clout in Harrisburg.

But if a Camden resident doesn’t like what Norcross is doing, what recourse does she have? She can’t vote him out. She can’t even call his office to complain. The most powerful man in New Jersey has never held public office.

Norcross is just as unaccountable to the media as he is to voters. He wouldn’t talk to me for this story. When Norcross does speak to reporters, he often dictates the terms. In 2014, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza landed a rare recorded interview with Norcross. “He told me that he couldn’t remember ever doing a taped interview with a reporter, and glared at my recording device,” Lizza later wrote.

But stories about Norcross’s bare-knuckle tactics occasionally leak out, most famously in the recordings known as the Palmyra Tapes. About 15 years ago, John Gural, a then-Palmyra councilman who claimed he was being pressured and bribed to fire an enemy of Norcross’s, recorded the political boss with a hidden microphone. Though Norcross was never accused of wrongdoing, the tapes are chilling.

In a cool, calculated voice, Norcross brags about his influence with governors and U.S. senators: “In the end, the McGreeveys, the Corzines, they’re all going to be with me. Not because they like me, but because they have no choice.” He talks about his legacy: “No one will ever, ever again not include or look down or double-cross South Jersey. Never again will that happen. Because they know we put up the gun and we pulled the trigger and we blew their brains out.” And he makes clear what he has done to men who have crossed him: “I sat him down … and said, ‘Herb, don’t fuck with me on this one … ’cause I’ll tell you if you ever do that and I catch you one more time doing it, you’re gonna get your fucking balls cut off.’”

For most of his career, Norcross, 60, stayed on his side of the Delaware.

He dabbled in Philly politics a bit. Ed Rendell says Norcross raised about $50,000 for his gubernatorial campaign: “You know, nothing big.” Norcross also had deep connections at the Delaware River Port Authority in the 2000s, where he likely brushed up against Johnny Doc and other Philly power brokers.

Norcross studied the city. He dipped his toes in the water. But he didn’t dive in. He was waiting for the right moment.

That moment came in 2012. Norcross bought the Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com in partnership with philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest and businessman Lewis Katz. There was plenty of journalistic handwringing over the fact that a powerful political figure now partly controlled a major local media company. But his other moves in Philly went largely unnoticed: That same year, Norcross’s insurance company opened a new headquarters in Two Liberty Place, right around the corner from City Hall. Then, in 2013, the Philly-based Independence Blue Cross sold a 20 percent stake in one of its health insurance subsidiaries to Cooper. “That’s how George and I have gotten to know each other,” says Hilferty, the CEO who was with Norcross on the night Kenney won the primary.

When Norcross lost control of the newspapers in 2014, after a nasty, deeply personal feud between the owners involving lovers, lawyers and daughters, some wondered if he would retreat from Philly.

Not a chance. Later that year, a journalism start-up called PhillyVoice launched, with Norcross’s 20-something daughter Lexie at the helm. The domain of the website was registered to Norcross’s insurance firm-- that is, until Technical.ly Philly wrote about that juicy little detail. Afterward, the registrant suddenly changed to a mysterious company called WWB Holdings, LLC. When the Philadelphia Business Journal asked a spokesman at PhillyVoice whether Norcross owned the site, he “declined to confirm that-- or anything else about PhillyVoice.” To this day, the website refuses to say whether Norcross was an investor.

Norcross has also been meeting with some of the city’s most powerful politicians, from Council President Darrell Clarke to State Senator Tony Williams to U.S. Rep Bob Brady. Says Brady: “We met at the pub and got to know each other. I told him I’d do whatever I can to be helpful.”

Meanwhile, Norcross’s insurance company, Conner Strong & Buckelew, has secured millions of dollars’ worth of contracts from government agencies in Philadelphia. In 2011, the firm won a $300,000 contract with the city’s Redevelopment Authority. (It was renewed last year, for $310,000.) In 2012, Norcross’s firm scored a $630,000 contract with the School District of Philadelphia. (It was also extended, two years ago, for $500,000.) In 2014, it landed yet another contract, worth $660,000, with the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

None of these contracts have been publicly reported until now. The press in Jersey tracks Norcross’s every move-- as best it can, anyway. So far, in Philadelphia, Norcross has received far less scrutiny.

That was particularly apparent in the 2015 mayoral race, which was the first time super PACs played a role in a big Philly municipal election. Super PACs emerged after the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that enabled PACs to spend unlimited sums on political races provided the PACs didn’t coordinate with the candidates benefiting from the spending.

For anyone who believed money already played too big a role in politics, this was a deeply disturbing development.

In Philadelphia, all eyes were on one super PAC in particular: American Cities, which was backing Tony Williams for mayor. The committee was funded by a trio of multimillionaire hedge fund investors who supported controversial education policies: charter expansion and school vouchers. There were two other super PACs in the race, both of which supported Kenney, but they got far less attention from the media. They weren’t as well-funded or as sexy, and they were backed by known entities: the teachers union and Johnny Doc.

Or so it seemed. In fact, the super-PAC money that made the biggest difference in the mayoral race had nothing to do with American Cities, and plenty to do with George Norcross.

That was hardly obvious at the time, which looks to have been the point. Just a few weeks before the election, a New Jersey-based PAC called the Carpenters Fund for Growth and Progress donated $750,000 to a PAC called the Turnout Project. That PAC in turn quickly cut a $725,000 check to yet another super PAC-- Building a Better Pa. That was the Dougherty-tied PAC supporting Kenney for mayor.

It was all so peculiar. Why would carpenters in Jersey give a damn about Kenney? And why would they cross their Philly brethren in Carpenters Union Local 8, which was backing Williams in the race?

The pieces only came together after Kenney won the primary election: Norcross’s fingerprints were all over the money. He has close ties to Jersey carpenters. One of his longtime Jersey allies is Frank Spencer, a VP at the national carpenters union. South Jersey Assemblyman Troy Singleton is the assistant to the executive secretary-treasurer of the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters. Patricia Mueller, a friend of Norcross’s, is the treasurer for the Carpenters Fund for Growth and Progress. The Turnout Project also got a $25,000 donation from Parker McCay, a law firm run by Norcross’s brother Philip, as well as a $25,000 check from Brown and Connery, where an attorney who has represented Norcross is a partner. And it was Norcross’s longtime adman, Neil Oxman, who produced the pro-Kenney TV commercials funded by all that super-PAC cash.

The carpenters likely had their own motives for donating so much cash to the elect-Kenney effort: There are plenty of suburban New Jersey carpenters who work on city construction sites. And as far as many carpenters were concerned, Philly carpenters boss Ed Coryell had gone off the reservation. Johnny Doc, Kenney’s most potent ally, was also Coryell’s fiercest political enemy. So helping out Doc and Kenney was a way to weaken Coryell.

But it appears that without Norcross, the most pivotal donation of the 2015 mayoral race never would have happened. He played the role of matchmaker, of deal-broker. Or at least, that was the assumption of all the heavies in Philadelphia’s political class. And if they were hazy on the details, well, all the better.

Says Rendell: “When I ran for mayor and governor, George helped me. Not to the extent that he did with the Kenney election. Not even close.” Bob Brady, characteristically blunt, says of Norcross: “He invested in Jimmy Kenney for mayor.” He then adds, without prompting, “I’ve known Jimmy all my life. There was no quid pro quo there. There was no ‘I’ll do this, you gotta do that.’”

That’s probably true, but it’s clear Norcross is becoming closer with Kenney. A few months after the primary, Kenney was the featured guest at a fund-raiser for Norcross’s brother, U.S. Representative Donald Norcross. At Kenney’s inauguration in January, Norcross sat in the second row, with Kenney’s managing director, Mike DiBerardinis, on his left and Donald on his right. Kenney also recently reappointed Heather Steinmiller, a senior V.P. at Norcross’s firm, to the board of the Convention Center.

And then, in February, Ed Coryell was sacked. The national carpenters union unilaterally removed him as head of the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters. Doc’s biggest labor enemy was rendered impotent, and Norcross’s allies are now in charge of the city’s carpenters.

Both the new mayor and Johnny Doc owe Norcross. Big.

...Since Norcross operates in the shadows, we’re left guessing about his motives. He’s strutted into Philadelphia, landed taxpayer-funded contracts, apparently helped elect the mayor, and perhaps even funded a new media organization. The mystery, the lack of accountability, the unanswered questions about who’s influencing our leaders and to what end … everyone’s worst nightmares about super PACs have been fully realized, right here in Philadelphia.

Bad enough in Philly, of course, but what about South Jersey, the base of Norcross power? That's where Blue America hopes we can make up for our tremendous error in endorsing Jim Kenney for mayor by pushing as hard as we can for Alex Law to win the NJ-01 seat being held by Norcross brother Donald, New Jersey's most Republican Democrat. In fact... starting next week, Blue America has a mobile billboard that will be working the cities and towns of South Jersey. On Alex's website, he makes it clear that his congressional race isn't just about implementing the progressive policy vision he shares with Bernie. "Along with progressive policy ideas and grassroots campaigning," the website explains, "an important piece of Alex's vision for his community is fighting corruption. South Jersey has been plagued by pay-to-play machine politics for decades and Alex hopes to end that with his victory in this election. Alex's opponent seems to make his policy decisions based on what his campaign donors want. Donald Norcross also appears to make sure that those that contribute to his family's political machine get government contracts." We've helped Alex raise some money for his campaign-- and you can contribute by clicking on the thermometer on the right-- but the mobile billboards are a separate and independent endeavor. Here are renderings of the two sides of the truck:

Can One Congressman Make A Difference? Get To Know Ted Lieu

Last year Blue America was awed as we got to know state Senator and congressional candidate Ted Lieu. Ted had a unique record of genuine accomplishment in Sacramento-- on climate change, on gay conversion therapy, on predatory mortgage fraud by banksters, on NSA domestic spying... Now that he's a Member of Congress and of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Lieu is one of the most steadfast voices for working families and for the issues his constituents elected him to work on.

Tuesday, the House of Representatives accepted Lieu's amendment to cut federal marijuana eradication programs by 50% and agreed to redirect the savings to programs that help child abuse victims and domestic violence victims. The federal government’s Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program is funded out of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)’s Salaries and Expenses Account. Last year, $18 million was used for marijuana eradication/suppression. Lieu’s amendment cuts $9 million from the account and uses the savings to increase the VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) Youth-Oriented Program by $4 million and Victims of Child Abuse program by $3 million. The additional $2 million is sent to the Spending Reduction Account. "Next year," vowed Lieu, "I will bring another amendment to eliminate the program completely."

There is a growing, bipartisan consensus across the country that our marijuana policies must change. Despite the overwhelming support from scientists, doctors, and people across the nation for lessening restrictions on marijuana, the DEA still spends millions of dollars each year on domestic cannabis eradication. In 2014 alone, the DEA arrested 6,310 people under its cannabis eradication program for growing marijuana plants. This is a ridiculous waste of precious federal resources, especially when multiple states and jurisdictions have already legalized marijuana. It is time for the federal government to stop making marijuana use or possession a federal crime.

My amendment redirects funding from the DEA’s Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program and funds programs to help child victims of domestic abuse, child abuse and sexual assault. We need to focus our resources where they are actually needed: standing up for children who have been victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, not spending taxpayer dollars on going after people who grow marijuana plants.

The last time the House voted on marijuana laws was on April 30. It was an amendment by Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and it failed 210-213, blocked by the Republican leadership and 8 reactionary Democrats. The Republicans allowed Lieu's amendment to pass by voice vote. But yesterday, Dana Rohrabacher's amendment to "prohibit the use of funds by various states to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possessions, or cultivation of medical marijuana" passed 242-186 with 67 Republicans bucking their party and crossing the aisle to vote with all but 10 Democrats. Rohrabacher did well. Among the 10 Democrats who voted against medical marijuana-- who voted with the Republican leadership against a bill that seeks to ease the pain and suffering of patients whose doctors are prescribing marijuana-- were right-wingers Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX), Dan Lipinski (Blue Dog-IL), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (New Dem-FL).



But Congress isn't the only front where the battle to decriminalize medical marijuana is being fought. A few weeks ago, Jim Kenney won a stunning primary for the Philly mayor's office. And he's all for legalization... and making waves already.

In the wake of Jim Kenney's convincing win in Philadelphia's Democratic mayoral primary, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he believes marijuana should be decriminalized on a state level.

Wolf has long supported legalization of medical marijuana, but his support of statewide decriminalization underscores the point made by Kenney's victory. That point? Marijuana decriminalization is not the political football that it was previously thought to be.

Kenney, you might remember, championed marijuana decriminalization as a City Councilman. His bill, which eventually became law despite initial opposition from Mayor Michael Nutter, allowed police officers to issue what amounts to a ticket for low-amount marijuana possession.

The marijuana decriminalization law, Kenney said, should move more than 4,000 marijuana cases out of the main court system each year, while countering the unfair application of drug laws. Since African Americans are more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite the fact that whites are just as likely to be users, Kenney reasoned, blacks should benefit from decriminalization. In addition, the criminal records resulting from marijuana arrests would disappear, thus helping those caught with marijuana to get jobs.

Those arguments made marijuana decriminalization sound like a panacea, and created a potent political message for Kenney.

Gov. Wolf's spokesman, Jeff Sheridan, reponding to an earlier version of this column, said that the governor's position on decriminalization is not influenced by Kenney's victory, but is based on thoughtful contemplation.

"While we certainly respect Jim Kenney's view on this," Sheridan wrote in an email, "Governor Wolf's position is not a result of the Philadelphia mayoral primary. It is the result of his experience in business and it is a careful and thoughtful policy stance. It is not only the right thing to do, but a smart thing to do economically."

For his part, Wolf has said that the decriminalization of recreational marijuana is a common sense approach to fixing an aspect of our criminal justice system that is patently unfair.

"We have too many people in prison, we break up too many families, we destroy too many lives and we keep too many people from getting the kinds of jobs that they want to get," Wolf recently told Fox43 in Lancaster, Pa.

Did An Anti-Union Billionaire Hijack The Inquirer's Endorsement Process On Behalf Of Anthony Williams?

Technically, the election for mayor of Philadelphia isn't until November 3. In a more practical sense, the city's Democratic voters will select the next mayor on May 19-- 2 weeks from tomorrow-- in the 6-way primary. You may be aware that Blue America has already endorsed the progressive in the race, Jim Kenney. Yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer inexplicably endorsed the Establishment hack that the machine and the anti-public education forces are backing, Anthony Williams. They acknowledge that the race is between Kenney and Williams and, in their headline, declared their backing for Williams is "narrow." The editors seemed to be holding their collective noses when they wrote "Because the unions backing Kenney already wield too much influence, The Inquirer's choice for the Democratic nomination is Anthony Williams." Does that even count as a "lukewarm" endorsement?

Kenney's 23 years on City Council and Williams' 26 in the state legislature make them the most experienced politicians in the field. Williams followed his well-known father and eponym, Hardy Williams, into the state House and Senate, where he is best known as an advocate of school choice [ie, anti-union charter schools], having bucked his party to facilitate charter schools and public assistance for private schools.

Before resigning from Council to run for mayor, as city law requires, Kenney showed independence, too. He successfully challenged the mayor and police commissioner to decriminalize marijuana possession, heading off thousands of needless arrests annually; almost lost his seat for opposing the abused and costly city retirement perk known as DROP; and parted with his relatively conservative South Philadelphia base and beginnings to support same-sex partner benefits.

A few hours later Dave Davies, one of the most senior and respected political journalists in Philly and a senior reporter at WHYY-FM since 2010, started blowing some whistles on how the actually endorsement came down. "After its candidate interviews, the editorial board reached a consensus to endorse Kenney," he wrote... but then the  publisher and editor overrode the Editorial Board decision and instead picked Williams, probably at the insistence of the paper's billionaire owner-- and Williams campaign donor-- Gerry Lenfest. Inquirer sources dispute that Lenfest forced the decision.

Nina Ahmad, the president of the of the Philadelphia chapter of the NOW said in a statement, "we were very disappointed to see that [the] Inquirer Editorial Board once again bent to the will of their billionaire owner and his support for Tony Williams."

Sources familiar with the process have confirmed to me that after its candidate interviews, the editorial board reached a consensus to endorse Kenney... [T]he editorial's criticisms of Kenney and his union ties can also be quoted in negative ads by Williams or his supporters.... [T]he only crew with the resources to wage a significant attack campaign against Kenney is American Cities, the super PAC heavily funded by three wealthy pro-school choice donors from the suburbs.

Hours later Philadelphia Magazine issued a real endorsement, this one for Kenney who, they wrote, "has shown enough in this campaign to make us believe that of the candidates before us, he’s the best choice... On a personal level, the most appealing thing about Jim Kenney has always been how human he is... And that may ultimately be what we’re putting our faith in. One of the great things about human beings is their ability to change, to grow, to rise to the occasion when that’s what’s truly required. Jim Kenney is proof-- we think-- that a man doesn’t have to be at 57 what he was at 35... All elections are about hope, and this one more than most. So as we endorse Jim Kenney in the Democratic primary."

For starters, there’s the basic matter of being able to run the city effectively on a day-to-day basis-- which is largely about attracting talented people to your administration. Even in his Original Recipe incarnation, Kenney was known for having a strong Council staff-- smart, competent grown-ups who were good at doing their jobs. That’s continued during this campaign, in which Kenney has surrounded himself with bright folks and run the sharpest operation by far. It gives us hope that a Mayor Kenney would bring into City Hall an energetic and talented mix of people-- ideally, a blend of policy wonks, business types and seasoned political pros-- who are open to new ideas and can make the city run smoothly and efficiently.

Kenney also shows the most promise when it comes to leadership-- the ability to get people excited and unite them behind a common cause. His current campaign is an intriguing coalition of rowhouse Philadelphians, young progressives and a cadre of African-Americans, and our fingers are crossed that Kenney can get Philadelphia as a whole to rally behind him. (In contrast, leadership is where Tony Williams has most disappointed us. For the last two years, he’s been the presumptive front runner, having amassed party support and the financial backing of three jillionaires from the suburbs. In short, he could have made himself inevitable; instead, his inability to excite people has kept him from closing the deal.)

One final factor that tips us toward Jim Kenney is timing. Successful political leadership is often about the right person showing up in the right place at the right moment. Ed Rendell finally got elected mayor just when Philadelphia needed an Ed Rendell-- someone equal parts fixer and cheerleader-- to be mayor. Similarly, Jim Kenney feels right for this moment-- a man who can continue Philadelphia’s transformation from old to new because he himself has transformed from old to new.

...All elections are about hope, and this one more than most. So as we endorse Jim Kenney in the Democratic primary, we simultaneously challenge him: Bury the old Jim Kenney once and for all, and give us the New Jim Kenney that a New Philadelphia so desperately needs.

Please consider chipping in to stop the charter school take over of Philadelphia schools which is, after all, what Anthony Williams' donors are writing their big checks to accomplish. This morning, Jim told us that "As mayor of Philadelphia I'll work hard fighting for Philadelphians and their families, to ensure pre-K for every child, end stop-and-frisk, and create community schools in every neighborhood, but to accomplish all this and more, I know I can't do it alone. That's why I'm so proud to have the support of a broad coalition of people, unions, and groups from every neighborhood across Philadelphia. To continue building a stronger city, we'll need to work together." Jim Kenney's Blue America contribution page can be found here.

Philadelphia Mayor's Race-- Meet Jim Kenney

Yesterday, having forced Wall Street faux Democrat Rahm Emanuel into a runoff, progressives came up short-- although doing far better than pundits had predicted. Chuy Garcia raised $5.2 million, a substantial amount... but Rahm had over $30 million to spend, most of it from just a few super-wealthy families benefiting financially from his administration. That Chuy did as well as he did is a testament to local field organizers and an ability to raise small contributions from a wide audience.

The next great American city struggling to get out from under the grip of corrupt governance is Philadelphia, where the primary is just over a month away, May 19. Blue America's candidate is Jim Kenney, and Susie Madrak spoke with him and his staffers and has this report.

by Susie Madrak

The first thing you need to know about Philadelphia is that it’s Ground Zero for the charter schools agenda. It’s the first city where charter schools took over, and it’s been “a miserable failure,” according to Democratic mayoral candidate and former City Councilman Jim Kenney.

The second thing you need to know is, Jim Kenney is the only Democrat running in the May 19th Democratic primary who is not a charter school supporter.

The third thing you need to know is, his closest competition is Anthony Hardy Williams, a fervently pro-charter state legislator who is funded by a trio of hedge fund billionaires from Susquehanna International Group (the primary benefactors of the generous tax credits Williams supplied via his school voucher legislation) and have pledged to spend a million dollars on last-minute ads.

So this race is important. Really important. The low-turnout Democratic primary is the de facto mayoral election, and it will be all about who gets the vote out. Money makes a huge difference.

Jim Kenney isn’t only against things; he has a great progressive track record. Kenney is the reason Philadelphia was the first major city to offer same-sex partner benefits to employees. Last year, thanks to Kenney’s tireless work on the City Council, Philadelphia decriminalized marijuana.

He also successfully pushed Mayor Michael Nutter to drop the city’s cooperation with so-called “ICE holds”-- turning immigrants over to the feds on minor infractions.

And you should see the enthusiasm the famously-hyperkinetic Kenney displays when he talks about immigrants as “the future of Philadelphia.”

“My family were Irish immigrants. No Irish need apply, right? We need these people, we want them,” he said.

The Jesuit-trained Kenney is a firm believer in public service and social justice. That’s one reason why he also has a plan to bring universal pre-K into the city.

He’s also authored a plan to pair each community school with onsite social services-- job training, counseling, literacy training.

Kenney was just endorsed by a broad coalition of African-American leaders (the same ones who supported the then-unknown Gov. Tom Wolf), and has sparked broad support from the millennium transplants, who love his in-your-face style. Philadelphia Magazine said:

“Kenney has found a potent political identity in that liminal space between old Philly and new. Nobody on the political stage today better blends the characters of those two great, colliding halves of the city. At his best, Kenney is like a walking hybrid of Two Street and a pop-up beer garden. It’s a combination that makes him a formidable candidate, with the potential to appeal to a broad swath of voters.”

PA Working Families and NOW have endorsed him, as well as local LGBT leaders. He has deep support from almost all local unions-- including the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and their more activist offshoot, Caucus of Working Educators.

The support he needs now is yours. Fight back about wealthy special interests and send a message: Once again, we’ve rejected the elite interests for a proud progressive agenda-- just like we did in New York and Los Angeles.

Let’s put another urban center in the progressive “win” column.