Philadelphia’s 100th mayor should be a woman. Full stop.
We should expect a lot from our next mayor, but these are women, not wizards.
It’s anyone’s guess who will be Philadelphia’s 100th mayor. We’re now sprinting toward the May 16 primary and still no one candidate has distinguished themselves as the clear front-runner. But that doesn’t mean I don’t already know who should absolutely get the top job.
And that, my fellow Philadelphians, is any of the women running.
Not simply because they’re women — so stand down “men’s rights” activists. Or because in 2023, a metropolis with so many historical firsts should be embarrassed to be one of the few major American cities that’s never elected a woman as mayor (although we should be absolutely mortified, we really should).
But because the three women vying to lead our city (it would have been four, had the only Latina candidate, Maria Quiñones Sánchez, not dropped out) have consistently proven themselves to be the strongest candidates for the position.
After a long and exhausting campaign that all of the remaining Democratic candidates wore on their faces during the last low-energy debate Tuesday night, we have three leaders with roots in three distinctly different constituencies — although there is some overlap — positioned to become the city’s first female mayor.
That they are all viable options to lead our city is not just a tribute to the women’s varied backgrounds, but to the possible present future of our city.
In no particular order, there’s Cherelle Parker — a veteran legislator who has positioned herself as someone with the intergovernmental experience needed to move this city forward.
Rebecca Rhynhart comes from the private sector with the kind of deep, thoughtful data chops that should make people feel comfortable and comforted by her leadership, and that has garnered her endorsements from three former mayors.
And no matter what many think of Helen Gym — and there seems to be very little middle ground when it comes to people’s feelings about her — there is no denying the progressive candidate’s passion or the grassroots work she’s done on behalf of some of our most marginalized communities. She hasn’t just talked about improving people’s lives, she’s used her bullhorn to help make it happen.
Do I agree with all of their styles or stances? Absolutely not. Parker is a little too keen on the kind of law and order policies that have proven to be more than a little problematic in our city (do we really want to keep leaning on stop and frisk?). Props to her for being quintessentially Philly. But she’s also very much a career politician and a product of the city’s Democratic machine.
Rhynhart — who is promising to make government work more efficiently and tackle the city’s problems on day one — has billed herself as an outsider, even while working for two past administrations. But will that appeal land with voters after she won the endorsement of former Mayors Michael Nutter, John F. Street, and Ed Rendell — whose administrations promised much of the same?
And then there’s Gym, a perennial lightning rod — and not always deservedly so, especially by those who feel threatened by vocal women of color. I fear that the often rabid opposition to her will take the focus away from a city too deep in crisis for any distractions.
Should any of these women become mayor, we should expect a lot of them.
For starters, I expect them to be ever-prepared and present, no matter how tough things get. They should be bold and brave but also compassionate and careful — so very careful with the lives of the people who have grown accustomed to leaders treating them with reckless disregard.
They should take chances, and when they fail — because they will — then they should fail fast and use those lessons learned as fuel to do better and be better.
They should also understand something too many thin-skinned politicians do not: that the pushback they will inevitably get, from residents and the local press corps, is necessary and almost never comes from a bad place from people deeply committed to improving Philadelphia.
That said, there is one thing we should absolutely not expect from our next mayor, something we too often expect from firsts — especially when they are women.
Despite their experience and expertise, none of these women is going to “save” us. They’re women, not wizards.
No one person or politician or program or organization can save the city, or frankly, this country. That kind of outsized expectation sets everyone up for disappointment and failure.
What we — the residents of Philadelphia — need to do is consistently hold our leaders accountable, no matter our feelings for them. That means not giving them a pass, or reverting back to our famous Philly Shrug.
Come November, Philadelphia will be electing its 100th mayor, and it should without question be one of these women. If so, we should do everything we can to help her succeed, because her success will define our city’s success.