Kenyatta Johnson elected Philadelphia City Council president

Kenyatta Johnson, a four-term City Council member and a former state representative, became Council president Tuesday, taking the gavel of Philadelphia’s legislature and becoming the second-most powerful city official.

The unanimous election by his colleagues is the culmination of a remarkable turnaround for Johnson, who 14 months ago to the day was acquitted by a jury of federal corruption charges, ending a saga that included two trials and a yearslong bribery investigation.

Johnson has mostly avoided discussing his legal woes in detail since his acquittal. But on Tuesday he made a point of addressing the trial in his speech.

“On November 2, 2022, 12 men and women saw through the falsehoods,” he said in remarks at the Met Philadelphia, where Council held a special session and incoming Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was inaugurated Tuesday. “Despite all the adversity that we have been through, I have never stopped fighting for the city of Philadelphia, and I never will. This is the type of leader I am.”

Johnson, 50, a longtime antiviolence advocate and a native of Point Breeze, succeeds Darrell L. Clarke, who led the chamber for 12 years and did not seek reelection last year. Since 2012, Johnson, a Democrat, has represented the diverse 2nd District, which stretches from the stadium district to Rittenhouse Square and includes a large swath of South and Southwest Philadelphia.

The Council president, who is not term-limited, controls the flow of legislation through Council and shapes how the legislative body operates. Johnson will wield considerable power over spending and policy in the city, and will have the ability to boost or undermine Parker’s agenda.

During his remarks Tuesday, Johnson outlined five areas of focus for his Council presidency: gun violence, poverty, public education, housing, and business development. He pledged “the dawn of a new era ... filled with hope and infinite possibilities,” and vowed to work closely with Parker.

“I recognize that this moment is too important to squander it with the politics of personalities and personal agendas,” he said.

He takes over the 17-member Council at a time of significant turnover in City Hall. Only five Council members had served more than one full four-year term before being sworn in Tuesday.

Johnson grew up in South Philadelphia, where he founded an antiviolence program called Peace Not Guns after his cousin was murdered in 1998 outside Childs Elementary School. To this day, his office often hosts marches and community events aimed at stemming shootings and raising awareness about victims’ services.

He nodded to that work Tuesday, naming some of Philadelphia’s youngest victims of gun violence and saying the city can’t “desensitize or normalize this behavior.”

“As long as I have breath in my lungs, I will continue to fight and advocate for solutions until the epidemic of gun violence has been totally eliminated,” he said, “and we create a city of peace, not guns.”

» READ MORE: From a family tragedy to City Hall, how Kenyatta Johnson rose to power before his corruption trial

He started in politics as an aide to state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, then won a seat in the state House in 2008 after defeating a 10-term incumbent. Three years later, he won an open primary for his Council seat, succeeding the late Anna Verna, who served as Council president.

Johnson’s career was nearly stopped in its tracks when he and his wife, Dawn Chavous, were indicted in 2020 on federal bribery charges, with prosecutors accusing the couple of accepting a bribe in the form a consulting contract in exchange for Johnson’s using his office to benefit a nonprofit and charter school operator.

After a first trial resulted in a deadlocked jury, Johnson and Chavous were acquitted in 2022. Many of Johnson’s Council colleagues stood by him throughout the ordeal.

“They knew our integrity, they knew our work ethic, they knew our hearts, and they knew our innocence,” Johnson said, adding: “Today, 14 months later, we are still here, still standing, stronger than ever, and I have the distinct honor of being the new president of the Philadelphia City Council, one of the greatest cities in the world. What a difference a year makes.”

After Clarke announced during the spring that he would be retiring, Johnson emerged as a leading contender for the presidency alongside veteran Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. After months of courting his fellow lawmakers, Johnson secured a majority shortly before the Nov. 7 general election.

» READ MORE: Behind the scenes of how Kenyatta Johnson won the race to become Philly’s next City Council president

Council members, staffers, and other political players said he was able to secure the gavel thanks to his collaborative leadership style and support from organized labor.

After the inauguration, Johnson arrived in City Hall to a party in his honor already in full swing, with catered food, red tablecloths, a small band playing funk, and a sculpture spelling out P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T in lighted block letters that were each about four feet tall.

”I feel good,” Johnson said as he made his way through the halls, shaking supporters’ hands and stopping for selfies. “I feel really good.”

He stepped into the president’s office for the first time since he became the city’s top lawmaker. It was empty aside from a couple ceremonial gavels on a conference table.

But Johnson didn’t linger long during his first walk-through. Chavous and his two sons were already inside waiting for him, and the boys were hungry.