PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass announced she was sending a letter to Mayor Jim Kenney urging him to appoint Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium founder Dr. Ala Stanford as Health Commissioner.
Her request comes in the wake of Dr. Tom Farley’s resignation from the position two weeks ago.
The mayor’s spokesperson says he won’t be commenting on any individual candidate.
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Dr. Stanford did not return initial calls asking if she is even interested in the job.
She has been a force in testing and vaccine distribution in the last year, receiving universal praise for her work.
Dr. Farley, meanwhile, was subject to hours of hearings and criticism by council as he led the city’s overall response to COVID-19.
Though he is widely credited with having saved thousands of lives, Dr. Farley was forced to resign over a decision involving remains of MOVE bombing victims.
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Early in his tenure, he allowed the disposal of bones that had been retained in the Medical Examiner’s office from autopsies on the victims of the bombing in 1985. Dr. Farley was in medical school in Louisiana at the time.