Inside Parker's Win

Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney leaves office on January 1st, after a tumultuous eight years that included a pandemic, historic social justice protests, an opioid epidemic, a homicide spike and a hostile president in Washington who targeted the city on immigration and voting. Before leaving City Hall, Kenney sat down with KYW’s City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb to reflect on his eight years as Philadelphia’s mayor.

Philadelphia’s Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker exceeded expectations on election night, when she claimed a third of the vote in a nine-way race with five strong contenders. In our latest episode, KYW City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb gives us the inside look at the decisive victory from the point of view of Parker's top staffers, who credit the victory to careful, years-long planning.

The mayor's race has dominated attention in Philadelphia’s Democratic primary, but voters face an arguably harder choice in the City Council at-large race. 27 candidates are running for five seats.  On this episode of Who’s Running for Philly Mayor, KYW City Hall Bureau Chief Pat Loeb takes a look at the office, and how the wild system for filling it works (or doesn’t) by talking to former two-term Councilman at-large Derek Green, who resigned to run for mayor and then dropped out of the race, and soon-to-retire Council President Darrell Clarke. 

So what does it actually take to run a big city like Philadelphia? The candidates running in 2023 say they are ready for the job, but the full weight of the office isn't felt until the term really begins. That's why we reached out to three former Philadelphia mayors to ask them about what they see in this year's crop of candidates and what advice they'd offer for how to hit the ground running. KYW’s podcast Who’s Running for Philly Mayor wants to help voters get to know the candidates through one-on-one interviews with City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb. On this episode, Pat speaks with Ed Rendell, Wilson Goode and William Green. 

Jeff Brown, Allan Domb, Helen Gym, Cherelle Parker and Rebecca Rhynhart took part in a 90-minute uninterrupted forum where they weighed in on everything from gun violence to education and more. Listen to the full debate in this special episode of "Who's Running for Philly Mayor."

State Rep. Amen Brown has a remarkable story of triumphing over adversity -- an impoverished childhood in a violent neighborhood, where he was shot when he was still in middle school. Far from discouraging him, Brown says those experiences motivate him to make the city a better place for children. Now, on a law-and-order, pro-school choice platform, he's running for mayor as longshot, hoping his ground game overcomes his lack of a campaign warchest. KYW’s podcast Who’s Running for Philly Mayor? wants to help voters get to know the candidates through one-on-one interviews with City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb. On this episode, Pat speaks with Amen Brown.

Philadelphia mayoral candidate Jeff Brown says the City has never been worse. But he thinks he can clean it up with managerial skills honed by running grocery stores.  KYW’s podcast Who’s Running for Philly Mayor wants to help voters get to know the candidates through one-on-one interviews with City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb. On this episode, Pat speaks with Jeff Brown.

Former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart left a career on Wall St. to dedicate herself to a higher purpose. A native of the Philadelphia suburbs, she came back to the region on a mission to make government smarter. She was former Mayor Michael Nutter’s treasurer through the Great Recession, then became budget director and stayed on as chief administrative officer for the Kenney administration. Then, she ran for city controller and won a stunning upset over the party-backed incumbent. She took the office in a new direction, expanding the role beyond just audits to look at some of the city’s toughest issues.Now she wants to do more than reports. She wants to make change. KYW’s podcast Who’s Running for Philly Mayor wants to help voters get to know the candidates through one-on-one interviews with City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb. On this episode, Pat speaks with Rebecca Rhynhart.

Former Philadelphia City Councilmember Cherelle Parker sees her challenging childhood as a strength, not a weakness, in her quest to be the city’s first female mayor. She came up through the ranks as the protégé of major Northwest Philly political power brokers and learned the art of compromise during her time as a state representative in GOP-controlled Harrisburg. Now, with the backing of the influential building trades unions, she's selling herself as the candidate who can't be put in a box, living "at the intersection of race and gender." KYW’s podcast Who’s Running for Philly Mayor wants to help voters get to know the candidates through one-on-one interviews with City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb. On this episode, Pat speaks with Cherelle Parker.

Former city councilman Allan Domb says he’s running for mayor to give back to the city where he built a lucrative real estate empire. He's been one of the most visible candidates in the race as he's largely self-funded a media blitz to separate himself from the large field vying to be the Democratic nominee. KYW’s podcast Who’s Running for Philly Mayor wants to help voters get to know the candidates through one-on-one interviews with City Hall bureau chief Pat Loeb. On this episode, Pat speaks with Allan Domb.