Jim Kenney

Early life

Jim Kenney was born on August 7, 1958, in the Whitman neighborhood of South Philadelphia. His father was a firefighter and his mother was a homemaker. His parents both worked second jobs to put Jim and his four siblings through private Catholic schools. In high school, Kenney was a newspaper deliveryman and busboy. Kenney graduated from Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in 1976 and in 1980 received a political science bachelor's degree from La Salle University. He was the first in his family to graduate from college.

Philadelphia City Council

Kenney was elected to his first term in 1991 at the age of 32 years old. During his time on Philadelphia's City Council, Kenney served as Chairman of the Council Committee on Labor and Civil Service. He was also Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Rules, Committee on the Environment, and Committee on Law and Government, and was a member of the Committee on Public Safety, Technology and Information Services, Public Property and Public Works, Fiscal Stability and Intergovernmental Cooperation, Public Health and Human Services, and the Legislative Oversight Committee.

In 2010, Kenney sided with the local firefighters' union when Mayor Michael Nutter took action to remove the collective bargaining rights of paramedics.

In 2014, Kenney successfully introduced legislation that ended arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill replaced incarceration with the requirement to pay a fine. In advocating for the bill, Kenney had cited the disproportionate effect of arrests for small amounts of marijuana on African Americans. Philadelphia became the largest city in the country to decriminalize marijuana.

Kenney garnered criticism from local and national economic commentators when he proposed bonus pension payments, distributing funds when pension plans exceed target returns in any given year even though solvency depends on retaining above-average earnings to prepare for years with below-average earnings.

While on the Philadelphia City Council, Kenney worked as a consultant at Vitetta Architects and Engineers, served on the Independence Blue Cross board, and was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He gave up these positions when he was elected mayor in 2015.

Mayor of Philadelphia

Elections

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Michael Nutter could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term due to the home-rule charter's two-term limit. 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. 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 with 85.1% of the vote. Kenney was inaugurated as the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia on January 4, 2016.

Kenney was reelected as mayor in 2019. The Democratic primary was held on May 21, 2019, and he defeated former City Controller Alan Butkovitz and Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams with 67% of the vote. On November 5, 2019, Kenney won re-election by defeating Billy Ciancaglini, a Philadelphia defense attorney and fellow La Salle grad, in the general election with more than 80% of the vote.

First term (2016–2020)

Kenney proposed a citywide soda tax that would raise the price of soda at three cents per ounce, originally with the intent to raise money for universal pre-k. 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 distributors, 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 was implemented at the start of the 2017 calendar year.

After the tax took effect, Kenney said retailers' price gouging blamed on the tax and charging the tax on items not subject to it was "wrong" and "misleading". In February 2017, soda manufacturers and retailers announced sales declines of 30–50% in Philadelphia and announced layoffs for March. The city called the predicted layoffs "fear-mongering". While the tax was projected to raise about $2.7 million in its first month, far below the estimate of $7.6 million per month, the city expected that figure to rise.

In March 2017, Pepsi announced plans to lay off between 80 and 100 employees, and blamed this on the tax. The city stated the program had created 251 jobs, mostly full-time pre-K teaching positions and said the soda industry was "holding hostage" the jobs of hard-working people in their battle to overturn the tax. Pepsi reported nearly $35 billion in gross income and $6 billion in profit last year.... The idea that they can afford to do that but 'must lay off workers' should make every Philadelphian very skeptical of whether these layoffs are actually due to the tax." The layoffs would occur at plants in Philadelphia and Wilmington which are run as independent businesses.

Second term (2020–2024)

Kenney was criticized at times for his record on historic preservation. After a number of significant historic churches and other buildings were torn down in the face of increased development pressures during Kenney's first mayoral term, former mayor John Street criticized the loss of the city's historic resources and founded a preservationist Political Action Committee in response. In 2021, Josh Lippert, a city inspector who served on the Historic Commission resigned from his post after he said he was pressured by the Kenney Administration to vote against the designation of the 12th Street Gym and the properties adjacent to it. Lippert described a "pattern of interference from the Mayor’s Office" in the historic preservation process.

In March 2020, Kenney declared a state of emergency amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2. The pandemic has resulted in severe social and economic disruption around the world, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s. In Philadelphia, COVID led to widespread supply shortages exacerbated by panic buying, agricultural disruption, and food shortages, as well as increased gun violence, opioid usage, and housing insecurity. Kenney has referred to COVID as a "nuclear bomb" because of the way it affected the city.

On November 19 2021, Kenney announced that all city employees and contractors had to be vaccinated by January 14. The police union expressed their opposition as less than 10% of police officers and 25% of firefighters had been vaccinated at the time of the announcement. The mandate was delayed by Kenney multiple times due to the involvement of an arbitration panel and negotiations with the police union. However, it was ultimately enforced in the summer of 2022.

On December 13 2021, Kenney's health department unveiled their plans to implement a vaccine passport for indoor venues in Philadelphia. The mandate applied to anyone five years and older entering an establishment that served food. Those of the ages 2-5 and anyone with medical or religious exemptions still had to provide a negative Covid test.

During the summer of 2020, Kenney approved the use of CS gas on protestors during a peaceful protest, who were blocking traffic, on Interstate 676.

Feuds

Kenney was known for his outspoken feuds and reports on public figures or groups who attack his legislative agenda, image, or the city of Philadelphia. Early in his career, Kenney was known as a candid and opinionated councilman and mayor, particularly on social media platforms like Twitter. Since his election as Mayor of Philadelphia, Kenney has taken a much more measured tone with respect to his political opponents.

Archdiocese

Kenney has engaged in numerous feuds with the leadership of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Kenney mobilized numerous gay rights legislation during his time in the Philadelphia City Council, many of which were criticized by Catholic leaders in the city. Notably, Kenney joined the debate over the abrupt firing of a beloved faculty member at Waldron Mercy Academy in Merion who came out as gay. In a Philadelphia Inquirer story, Kenney accused the "cowardly men" in the Archdiocese of orchestrating the firing: "If you're a church official and you feel that strongly that this woman and her partner are such a threat to society, stand up and say so," Kenney told the paper. In a 2014 tweet, Kenney stated, "The Arch [sic] don't care about people. It's about image and money. Pope Francis needs to kick some ass here!"

Sports talk radio

Philadelphia sports radio host Howard Eskin has used his talk show to blast Kenney and his authorization of the sugary drinks tax. In April 2017, Kenney appeared on Eskin's radio station, 94.1 WIP, to contend his claims and promote the 2017 NFL draft in Philly. Kenney attacked Eskin, saying, "Here's what I don't understand about Eskin. First of all, he's in that prime spot of 8–10 a.m. on Saturday mornings... I mean like, it's like the show should be called 'The Sound of One Hand Clapping.' Cause no one hears it." Kenney also jokingly said that he would handle things differently with Eskin if he weren't mayor. "If we were regular people sitting at a bar and he was doing that to me, there would be a consequence," Kenney said. "But because I am an elected official, I can't do it."

Chris Christie

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a self-proclaimed Dallas Cowboys fan, has frequently slammed the Philadelphia Eagles, one of the Cowboys' biggest rivals. In early 2017, Christie called Philadelphia fans "angry, awful people" and said Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, "is not safe for civilized people." Kenney went on a local sports talk radio program to respond to Christie's claims. "He's got the biggest 'L' on his forehead of anybody in the country. He ran for president for one hot-mess minute and then when that was over he was moon-dogging Trump thinking he was going to get a big job," Kenney said. "Now I think he's just bitter and has got nowhere to go. Who's going to hire him? I just think he's just done," Kenney said. "Bullies always lose, and he's a bully."

Personal life

Kenney has two adult children, Nora and Brendan, with his former wife Maureen. Kenney and Maureen separated in 2010. They formally divorced in 2018.

Kenney is engaged to Letitia Santarelli. Santarelli was the head coach of the St. John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic School girls basketball team, taking the school to the state championship. The couple started dating in 2015.

Kenney first made his relationship with Santarelli public when she accompanied him to Iceland as part of a cultural exchange to mark the first-ever direct flights between Reykjavík and Philadelphia in 2017.

Kenney has been an annual participant in Philadelphia's Mummers Parade.