Timeline: How Jeff Brown became a mayoral frontrunner
Supermarket magnate Jeff Brown is one of the leading candidates in the mayoral race — and the most controversial.
- Brown gained name recognition when he was the first to roll out TV commercials, which touted his record of opening grocery stores in underserved areas, and he notched several early union endorsements.
But he alienated some voters with ads and remarks perceived as racially insensitive, and his campaign is being sued by Philly’s Board of Ethics. Meir Rinde has a timeline of Brown’s ups and downs.
→ From the soda tax fights of 2017 through the viral videos of 2023
People are comparing Rhynhart’s campaign to Liz Warren’s run
Buoyed by experience and some notable endorsements, Rebecca Rhynhart appears — though there have been no public independent polls — to be another of the race’s frontrunners.
- What makes her a top candidate? Rhynhart’s popularity has been likened to Elizabeth Warren’s, a comparison based more on style and base than political stance or relevant experience.
They both present a progressive wonkishness based on efficiency and rationality, Jordan Levy notes, instead the rhetoric of social movements.
→ Philly’s progressive planner?
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- Derek Green, former at-large councilmember, announced his exit from the mayoral race yesterday afternoon. There are now nine candidates vying for the Democratic nomination on May 16. [@DerekGreenPHL/Billy Penn]
- Could Philly turn vacant lots into affordable housing? The city’s Land Bank could ideally help make that happen, but it “has not lived up to our expectations yet,” said a former board member. [WHYY’s PlanPhilly]
- The Wells Fargo Center implemented AI tech to scan people’s pockets and bags as they enter, allowing them to breeze through security checkpoints. [WHYY]
- Sixers co-owner Josh Harris is leading a group that’s purchasing the Washington Commanders. The purchase adds an NFL team to the NBA, NHL, and Premier League franchises Harris owns or co-owns. [$Inquirer/Billy Penn]
- Someone took off with over a million dimes — or $100,000 — in transit from the Philadelphia Mint. The coins were stolen from a trailer that was sitting in a Walmart parking lot in the Northeast. [6ABC]
- It’s Parks on Tap season: The traveling beer garden that pops up in Philly parks kicked off Wednesday evening. Here’s this year’s schedule, with weekly dates into September. [Parks on Tap/NBC10]
MAYOR WATCH
Mayor Kenney joins other Rebuild officials to celebrate the graduation of eight Philadelphians from a hands-on paid training program at the Finishing Trades Institute in Northeast Philly — where Joe Biden gave his recent budget address (2 p.m.).
ON THE CALENDAR
🎾 BP Quizzo: Join us at Padelphia for a night of Philly trivia! Space is limited at this new-style racket club on the Schuylkill River near City Live Ave, so register early. BYO, plus we’ll have some snacks and sips, and prizes for the winners. (6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26)
🍿 Philadelphia Psychotronic Film Society, which calls itself the city’s longest-running cult film club, hosts a movie night at PhilaMOCA in the Eraserhood. Admission is $5 for non-members. (7:30 p.m. Monday, April 17)
🎨 Meet the artists, makers, and entrepreneurs of the Bok building as you explore their workspaces at the free Spring Open Studios. The rooftop bar is also open. (6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 21)
Catch up on the previous week
Receive Billy Penn’s free daily roundup in your inbox every morning
