Morning Headlines: Election Roundup

Kenney wins; Dems sweep Supreme Court; Council races still close.

Jim Kenney, left, beat Melissa Murray Bailey, right, to become Philly's 99th mayor.

Jim Kenney, left, beat Melissa Murray Bailey, right, to become Philly’s 99th mayor.

Good morning, Philadelphia, and happy National Candy Day. Today the headlines are full of election news:

To no one’s surprise, Jim Kenney was elected mayor — handily. Now what?

We … still don’t know, Patrick Kerkstra writes. “Philadelphians are also getting a mayor who was never really tested in his audition for the grueling job ahead. His primary opponents were a feckless bunch, and all Kenney had to do to win was avoid big mistakes. Kenney has yet to articulate a clear vision for his administration — he didn’t have to to win.”

Kenney didn’t reveal anything during his victory speech Tuesday night, but instead offered a bit of inspiration, telling the crowd: “I want a lot of things for our children, but, most of all, I want them to grow up in a Philadelphia where we all look past our differences and join together to create a better place for all of us to live. A place where we not only agree that all neighborhoods matters, but where we act on it.” Now, Kerkstra says, maybe Kenney will reveal how he intends to act on it. Here are some informed guesses on how he’ll start.

The Democrats made a clean sweep of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court races — winning back control of the chamber for the first time in six years.

But it was a costly victory. “Spending in a seven-way race for seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has eclipsed $15.8 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history, according to advocacy groups,” the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. “The figures in the Pennsylvania race are likely to rise, as more records are filed, according to the groups.”

Why the expense? Because this court will most likely be politically consequential. “When the new justices take their oaths in January, they will round out a 5-2 Democratic majority on the court,” AP reported. “That could help shape the legislative redistricting that follows the 2020 census.” Other issues that could be affected? Education funding, gun control, abortion measures, and more.

The City Council race is mostly decided, but not entirely.

“As expected, Democrats Blondell Reynolds Brown, Allan Domb, Derek Green, Bill Greenlee and Helen Gym won the general election for City Council at-large,” Holly Otterbein reports. “Democrat Cherelle Parker took the Ninth District Council seat, and the nine incumbent District Council members comfortably kept theirs.”

But: Republican Councilman David Oh and GOP challenger Al Taubenberger are barely ahead of incumbent Councilman Dennis O’Brien in the contest for two City Council at-large seats reserved for minority parties. Otterbein notes: “Once all the votes are tallied, a recount could possibly be demanded by whoever finishes third among the Republican and independent at-large candidates.”

Mayor Nutter is ready to give Kenney the keys to the office, then go out and cash in.

“I want to do something really radical in my life . . . making money for the first time ever,” Nutter told the Inquirer Tuesday. The comments drew some backlash from observers who note the mayor’s $177,679 annual salary isn’t exactly chump change. But, Nutter does hold a bachelor degree from The Wharton School at Penn: His peers who went into business instead of public service probably made a lot more cash than he did over the last 35 years.

One other powerful Philadelphia also had his term extended. Comcast’s David Cohen will stay on the job until at least 2020.

“David Cohen, senior EVP and chief diversity officer of Comcast/NBCU and senior counselor to CEO Brian Roberts, has been re-upped through the end of 2020,” Multichannel News reports. “That is according to a quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which said the renewal was struck Oct. 23.” That means he’ll be around long enough to witness the completion of the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, which will be Philly’s tallest building when it’s finished in 2018.

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