December 08, 2015
Hayden Mitman/for PhillyVoice
Mayor-elect Jim Kenney addresses members of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce during the unveiling of the chamber's "Roadmap for Growth" at the Constitution Center on Tuesday.
Mayor-elect Jim Kenney discussed his hopes for the future of the city and addressed several important issues, like the city's public school system, job creation and retaining graduating college students, during a morning event for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
But before it ended, Kenney also had some choice words for Donald Trump – or, "that candidate," as Kenney referred to Trump – after the Republican frontrunner announced on Monday that he wants to ban Muslims from coming into the country.
"Where are we going and what has happened to us?" Kenney questioned. "Are we that unmindful of our histories here?"
As he spoke, during an event held at the Constitution Center in Center City, Kenney said he was "troubled" by the exclusionary mindset of those who would suggest isolating one group of immigrants from coming to the city and by those who would support those ideas.
"We need to look at each other, documented or undocumented, as human beings," the mayor-elect said.
The event that Kenney spoke at was the unveiling for the "Roadmap for Growth," an outline that the chamber developed that it hopes supports job creation and economic growth by creating a "shared agenda" for the mayor, City Council and the city's business community.
The roadmap points out issues that the chamber hopes the city can address and notes a number of successes in the city. For example, the roadmap cites a 2013 statistic that shows Philadelphia has a poverty rate of 26.3 percent, one of the highest poverty rates in the country. The roadmap also suggests that the city expand the Port of Philadelphia in order to bring more jobs to the city.
In discussing some of these issues with the audience, Kenney addressed each issue in turn, talking about how he hopes to solve them once he takes office.
On the School District of Philadelphia, Kenney said he believes the new pre-K program that his office is working on will help prepare students for the school system, while, he said, a community schools model he hopes to implement could help improve schools throughout the city.
Asked how he will handle his mayoral duties while in office, Kenney said he hopes to be a "combination of Dick Daley and Ed Rendell."
Daley is a former mayor of Chicago known for his love of his city, and Rendell is the former Philly mayor and Pennsylvania governor whose love of Philadelphia is well-documented. Kenney said he believes that by working closely with City Council, area businesses and the community, he can foster communication between city and state governments to bring needed services to the city.
"We need to pay attention to details every day," Kenney said. "We will work together."
On job growth, Kenney said Philadelphia needs to ensure job creation, not only for those with a college degree, but also for those many residents who want to work right after high school.
Growing the city's port, he said, could be a big help there. Also, he said, the city needs to do more to attract and keep young college graduates in Philadelphia.
"Keeping our college grads is critical," said Kenney. "It's cheaper to live here than in Boston or Washington (D.C.). We need to sell that to young folks."
And, Kenney said, he's looking to the city's business community to help grow and expand internship programs to students and to individuals who have been incarcerated to help them learn how to be productive members of society.
"They need to see people doing the right thing on a daily basis," Kenney said.
