Eighth Democrat declares for mayor in Philadelphia

Juan Rodriguez on Thursday said he became the eighth Democrat to declare as a candidate for mayor in the May 19 primary election.  The big question now: Will he be able to stay on the ballot?

"This is a challenge to me," Rodriguez admitted after his campaign kick-off at a North Philadelphia bar near his home.

Rodriguez, 46, said he is also collecting signatures on nomination petitions to run for the 7th District City Council seat. He filed as a candidate for that seat in the 2011 Democratic primary but was removed from the ballot by a judge after his nomination petitions were challenged in court.

Rodriguez then ran as a write-in candidate for mayor.  Write-in votes for mayor accounted to just 0.1 percent of the ballots cast that year.

Rodriguez, who says he is a retired tow-truck driver, also filed in 2014 to run in the Democratic primary for the state House 197th District.  A judge removed his name from the ballot in that election due to problems with his nomination petitions.

This year's nomination petitions must be filed by candidates on March 10. After that, legal challenges can be filed to knock candidates off the ballot.

Rodriguez said he is not sure when he will decide whether to file petitions for the 7th District or for mayor.

"I've got a big question mark under that," he said of the question. "I'm just leaving it open."

The declared Democrats for mayor are state Sen. Anthony H. Williams, former City Councilman Jim Kenney, former District Attorney Lynne Abraham, former Mayor Nutter Press Secretary Doug Oliver, former Common Pleas Judge Nelson Diaz, former state Sen. T. Milton Street Sr. and North Philadelphia Pastor Keith Goodman

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