Jim Kenney is playing small ball

(Trigger Warning: The following includes political opinions that make some feel uncomfortable.)

THE 99TH mayor of Philadelphia was sworn in yesterday, and I wonder if James F. Kenney was thinking, "99? Geez. Why didn't I let Darrell run? Then I could have been the 100th, and that's so cool. If I get reelected now - and there's no chance of a Democratic mayor not being reelected - I am still 99, not 100."

Chances are Kenney was not thinking that. More likely he was thinking of the challenges of the next four (really eight) years. He's got more on his plate than a diner at Golden Corral.

The No. 1 issue staring Kenney in the face, as it did Nutter and mayors before him, is poverty. One out of four Philadelphians lives at or below the poverty line - the highest rate among America's biggest cities. That disgrace is intertwined with all our other problems - underachieving schools, crime, joblessness, and homelessness. The traditional Democratic cure - higher taxes - is a known job-and-economy killer. That is the Gordian knot No. 99 must either unravel or cut through.

There were no solutions in his unremarkable inaugural address, which lacked poetry or even a memorable line.

Since I opposed his election, some will think my evaluation is personal. It is not. I opposed Kenney primarily because he promised to "protect" those here illegally, even those with felony convictions, from deportation. His refusal to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement contradicts U.S. law - the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

That didn't matter, and little else did, during the campaign, because Kenney brilliantly assembled a Diversity Lego of citywide support. He achieved a majority in the primary, clobbering his four opponents and breaking the back of Philadelphia's notorious "racial math." That was welcome.

In the general election, he won 85 percent of the 26 percent of registered voters who turned out. Some opponents say that means Kenney doesn't have a mandate. He does. He is 100 percent the mayor, No. 99.

During the generally low-key campaign, Kenney (mostly on social media) was attacked as being a hothead, a drunk, and a tool of the unions.

I know him. He is a hothead, he's not a drunk, and he won't be a tool of the unions - a fear raised even in the Inquirer.

Kenney was sworn in by Kevin Dougherty, newly elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and brother of John Dougherty, king-making chief of Electricians union Local 98. Johnny Doc and Kenney have known one another forever and have been involved in countless alliances and feuds.

It is currently a bromance, but when there comes a time the unions want something Mayor Kenney can't grant, that's when the war will reignite.

But let's talk policy.

Kenney, 57, wants universal pre-K, and he wants someone else to pay for it - that would be corporations. He also wants corporations to hire "returning citizens," otherwise known as ex-offenders.

It is in society's interest that these people find honest jobs, but corporations aren't run by the Jesuits, like the Prep, Kenney's high school alma mater. Some will step up to help. Others won't.

Kenney mentioned community schools (private-sector help needed again), and community policing, and said "black lives do matter" and the "overwhelming majority" of police are good people. His selection of Richard Ross as commissioner will ensure that community policing is a priority.

He alluded to a higher minimum wage when he said people who work two or three jobs "should not live in poverty," but he did not endorse the national movement toward a $15 minimum wage.

His pledge of a government that is effective, efficient, accessible, and accountable to all the people was small ball, since that's the minimum we expect from government. If this is what he has, don't expect a transformational mayoralty.

It's probably wise to not promise more than you can deliver.

No. 99 didn't.

Email: stubyko@phillynews.com

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