Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenny is eager to leave his post.
The ultra liberal has seen crime skyrocket in his city. In 2016, the city had 275 murders. But last year, it spiked to 580.
Kenny, along with District Attorney Larry Krasner, one of the softest when it comes to crime in the nation, decided to nix stop and frisk. Stop and frisk allowed a police officer to stop someone with only slight cause and frisk them to see if they had any weapons on them. Rudy Giuliani instituted this method in New York City and dramatically cleaned it up.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
But the winner of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Democratic Primary, Councilwoman Cherelle Parker, wants to bring it back. It shows even in liberal Philadelphia, voters are tired of hard left leaders. They kicked Councilwoman Helen Gym to the curb. She was endorsed by Bernie Sanders and AOC. She also voted to slash the police budget and said it didn’t need to be restored.
Grocery store magnate Jeff Brown was the comparatively most conservative of the bunch. He was endorsed by the local police union and even made comments saying some unions had too much power. That’s a cardinal sin for Democratic primary voters.
But Parker wasn’t far behind. She called crime out of control and said her opponents weren’t tough enough on it. She finished first with 33% of the vote. Rebecca Rhynhart was the city controller and the establishment pick. She was endorsed by two mayors. But her mealy mouthed vision on public safety, being opposed to stop and frisk but wanting more police, didn’t sell with voters. She came in second with 23%. Gym took home the bronze with 21%.
It’s a surprise win for Parker. She was often polling at third or fourth place, but her more conservative message resonated with voters. This represents a tug of war between the hard lefties of big cities and the moderate, sane ones. Think Eric Adams in New York City. The winning part of that recipe is actually middle class black voters, who find that their neighborhoods are being eroded by crime and governmental neglect. Maybe the GOP could be a nice alternative?
Time will tell, but Philadelphia is hoping to become considerably safer in the coming years.
Add comment