Kenney, who was first elected to the Philadelphia City Council in 1991, held his At-Large Council seat for 23 years from January 1992 until January 29, 2015, when he resigned from the City Council to launch his candidacy for Mayor of Philadelphia.
Jim Kenney was the heavy favorite in a largely Democratic city so it comes as no surprise his election as the city's new mayor turned out to be a cakewalk.
Throughout his campaign, mayor-elect Kenney emphasized some of his priorities for the city: education, community policing and building the city's economy.
The at-large city councilman has long prided himself in building a consensus to getting things done, and he is hoping to continue that philosophy as the city's mayor.
After delivering his victory speech on Tuesday night, Kenney spoke with Action News about the type of administration he wants to build.
"In the end, I'm confident that the people of the city will like the way our government looks from a diversity standpoint, from a gender standpoint, an ethnicity standpoint and an ability standpoint," said Kenney.
When asked what his top priority is, Kenney answered, "Poverty, it's no doubt about it, and everything hinges on it. Pre-K, jobs that pay living wages, people returning from prison - all those issues are tied up in our poverty problem.
"And, again, the largest poverty number in the country as far as big cities are concerned, and we should be embarrassed about that and work every day as best we can to fix it," he added.
Kenney's challenger, Melissa Murray Bailey, was very upbeat and smiling during her concession speech.
Bailey said she's proud she put a new face on Philadelphia's Republican Party talking about real issues to build a better city.
Incumbent Democratic party Mayor Michael Nutter could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term due to term limits in the city's home rule charter. Registered Democrats hold a formidable 7-to-1 ratio over registered Republicans in Philadelphia, giving Democratic candidates a distinct advantage in citywide elections. The mayoral primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. Democrats nominated Jim Kenney as their party's nominee. Kenney won the primary in a landslide with 55.83% of the vote, defeating a crowded field of five other Democratic candidates, including Anthony H. Williams and former District Attorney Lynn Abraham. Republican Melissa Murray Bailey, a business executive, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Kenney won a whopping 85.1% of the vote. Kenney was inaugurated as the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia on January 4th, 2016.
Kenney proposed the a city-wide soda tax that would raise the price of soda at three cents per ounce.At the time, it was the biggest soda tax proposal in the United States. Kenney promoted using tax revenue to fund universal pre-K, jobs, and development projects, which he expected would raise $400 million over five years, all the while reducing sugar intake by decreasing the demand for sugary beverages Kenney's soda tax proposal was brought to the national spotlight and divided key members of the Democratic Party. The idea of a soda tax quickly became a national issue. Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election gave their take. Senator Bernie Sanders said that the tax would hurt the poor. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, said that she was "very supportive" of the idea.The lobbying organization American Beverage Association took a stand against Kenney's proposal. The trade organization, funded by soda companies and distributers, ran local television, radio, and newspaper advertisements against the idea, claiming that the tax would disproportionately hurt the poor. The American Heart Association, on the other hand, has supported Kenney's efforts. On June 16, 2016, the soda tax passed with a 13-4 vote from City Council. The initial proposal of three cents per ounce was lowered to 1.5 cents per ounce. The tax will be implemented at the start of the 2017 calendar year.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the fifth-most populous in the United States, with an estimated population in 2014 of 1,560,297. In the Northeastern United States, at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, Philadelphia is the economic and cultural anchor of the Delaware Valley, a metropolitan area home to 7.2 million people and the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.
In 1682, William Penn founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony.Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Philadelphia was one of the nation's capitals in the Revolutionary War, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became a major industrial center and railroad hub that grew from an influx of European immigrants. It became a prime destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration and surpassed two million occupants by 1950.
Based on the similar shifts underway the nation's economy in the late 1960s Philadelphia experienced a loss of manufacturing companies and jobs to lower taxed regions of the USA and often overseas. As a result, the economic base of Philadelphia, which had historically been manufacturing, declined significantly. In addition, consolidation in several American industries (retailing, financial services and health care in particular) reduced the number of companies headquartered in Philadelphia. The economic impact of these changes would reduce Philadelphia's tax base and the resources of local government. Philadelphia struggled through a long period of adjustment to these economic changes, coupled with significant demographic change as wealthier residents moved into the nearby suburbs and more immigrants moved into the city. The city in fact approached bankruptcy in the late 1980s. Revitalization began in the late 1990s, with gentrification turning around many neighborhoods and reversing its decades-long trend of population loss.
The area's many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational and economic hub. With a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of economic activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with several nationally prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and history, attracting over 39 million domestic tourists in 2013. Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city, and Fairmount Park is the largest landscaped urban park in the world. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism. Philadelphia is the birthplace of the United States Marine Corps, and is also the home of many U.S. firsts, including the first library (1731), first hospital and medical school (1765), first Capitol (1777), first stock exchange (1790), first zoo (1874), and first business school (1881). Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States.
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