PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As Philadelphians compare a long list of candidates to decide which one should get their vote to be the next mayor, a select group of citizens is offering advice from an exclusive perspective: They’ve all done the job.
Two former mayors — Michael Nutter and John Street — have endorsed the same candidate: Rebecca Rhynhart, formerly the city controller. However, two other former mayors — Ed Rendell and Wilson Goode — say there are several good contenders among the candidates.
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“I believe with all my heart, there isn’t one of the major candidates that doesn’t have something to recommend them for being a good mayor,” Rendell said.
Rendell said he’s not sure who he’ll vote for, but the calculus will be based on a few essential qualities — the most important of which is is brains.
“You don’t have to be the smartest person in the City of Philadelphia — you wouldn’t want the smartest person as mayor — but they have to be smart enough to understand the myriad issues that come before them and make decisions,” Rendell said.
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“What I’d advise citizens to do is to decide which one you think [has] the most intelligence and the most ability to lead by example.”
And then, he said, decide who has that other indispensable trait: “the intestinal fortitude to say ‘No.’”
Goode is not as bullish as Rendell on the field of candidates.
“There are people in the race who should not be in the race and will not win and thank God for that,” he said.
He declined to say who he’s thinking of … but he also said there are several candidates who he thinks could do the job well.
“The mayor has to be a manager and also has to be able to set priorities and then go out and try to find the right people to do it,” Goode said.
He says it’s all about identifying talent: “Surround yourself with smart people and put them in your key positions.”
For instance, public safety is the No. 1 issue facing the next mayor, but none of the candidates is an expert — “so they all should be thinking, ‘Now, who can I find that can help me solve the problem of violence in the city?’”
Goode says every candidate should be looking for those key people right now — even have no idea if they’ll be elected — because the winner will have to hit the ground running on Day One.
Former Mayor Bill Green declined to discuss the race on the record.
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