Firefighters drop support for Kenney

The city's DROP pension program has drop-kicked another politician.

Councilman Jim Kenney, whose father was a battalion chief in the fire department, was the only at-large Democratic candidate not endorsed by Local 22, the Philadelphia Firefighters' Union. And there was only one reason, said Mike Bresnan, Local 22's recording secretary: Kenney's initial call to abolish the Deferred Retirement Option Plan.

The plan, known as DROP, lets city employees collect a large lump-sum payment when they retire. Enrollees also get their regular pension payment, but one that is usually less than they would have collected otherwise.

This year, several elected officials, including Council President Anna Verna and Council members Frank Rizzo and Jack Kelly, either decided not to run or lost in the primary in part because their participation in DROP troubled many voters. But the program has been especially dear to police and firefighters, in part because they do not receive Social Security.

Kenney's position on DROP has been complicated. He has said he would never enroll in it and supported Mayor Nutter's call to end the costly program, but after a series of events, he backed keeping a cheaper version of DROP.

Kenney said he has worked harder for firefighters than just about anybody on Council, aiding them in battles over health benefits and challenges to the union. He is disappointed not to get the union's backing this time.

"I love them and will always love them despite the fact that they don't love me right now. And I will never walk away from them," Kenney said.

For the at-large positions, firefighters are supporting Republicans Joseph McColgan, David Oh, and Dennis O'Brien, and Democrats Bill Green, Bill Greenlee, Wilson Goode Jr., and Blondell Reynolds Brown.

- Miriam Hill
A dogged pursuit of votes?

If you're a politician, there's nothing like an adorable, cuddly animal to give voters that warm, fuzzy feeling.

Witness Nixon and Checkers, Franklin Roosevelt and Fala, Philadelphia City Councilman Jack Kelly and the cats and dogs who helped him get elected with the slogan "Fighting for Everyone. Two-legged and Four-legged."

Can it be coincidence that with the election about a month away, Mayor Nutter announced appointees to the new Animal Care and Control Team? The team will take over Philadelphia's animal-control services, including the operations of the city's animal shelter, from the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals when its contract expires.

Kelly, who will retire from Council in January, was named to the board, though he was suggested by Council President Anna Verna, not by Nutter.

Elliott Curson, who created the ads in 2007 that helped Kelly squeak past David Oh to win a Council seat, said it wouldn't hurt Nutter to pose with a few critters.

"People would come up to Jack and say: 'You like dogs? You've got my vote,' " Curson said. - Miriam Hill