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ConfiaEnElProceso t1_j6zwkuf wrote

Reply to comment by Little_Noodles in [Inquirer] The Philly mayor’s race is a money race, from thousands of small donations to a $5 million check by oliver_babish

"practical politics" sure seems like code for the same slimy shit that has plagued city politics since time immemorial. One may very well need that to win, but it hardly inspires confidence in a reform candidate.

Haha, you made me chuckle with the Kenney line. How far away would ANY candidate run from his possible endorsement. Talk about a kiss of death!

Why not Nutter? I get the part about not being able to hire him as a consultant when he was (supposedly) considering a run. But he declared that he was out prior to Street's endorsement. He also was the one who brought Rhynhart in to city hall in the first place, no? He seems like a blindingly obvious choice, as far as i know he hasn't been implicated in anything illicit. Why wouldn't he want to work with her? Why wouldn't he endorse her? Why hasn't he?

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Little_Noodles t1_j6zxvw7 wrote

Oh, I meant that she and Kenney hate each other. None of his allies would have been viable alternatives to Street as consultants. But yes, I’m sure that every time Kenney is asked for his opinion, everyone is hoping he keeps his mouth shut or says someone else’s name.

And it looks like Rhynhart paid Street for his work in November 2022. Nutter didn’t formally exit the field until mid-January 2023, and there was still chatter about the possibility in the news right up until the end. At the time she needed the work done, he wasn’t an option, and there was a possibility that he never would be.

And he hasn’t endorsed anyone because he said he’s doing the whole interview the candidates series, and issuing an endorsement before that series wraps would be dumb. He basically jumped straight from not running into some high profile vetting of the candidates business, so he’s still not an option. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he did when it was all over. She did good work in his administration.

I get not liking that politics can call for making alliances out of practicality rather than ideological perfection. But there’s no prize for finishing in fifth place with the sparkliest reputation. If there’s a candidate you want to win, they’re going to have to actually run for office.

Barring something wild, one of these candidates is going to be the mayor. I’m not going to hold her to a higher standard than the person I’d pick after her, just because she currently has a better reputation than my next pick. Anyone that can’t make strategic partnerships with people they don’t personally agree with is going to make a terrible mayor - it’s how the job works. So long as you don’t do unethical shit yourself, or knowingly put unethical people in a position of power to do something they shouldn’t, that’s the bar for me.

And if hiring someone to do work they’re qualified to do, and that you need done, but that you wouldn’t personally hang out with otherwise is an ethical failure, then my bathroom remodel is going to send me to hell.

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