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Few fireworks at 2nd mayoral debate

At WHYY, Jim Kenney and Melissa Murray Bailey both stuck to their campaign scripts.

Democrat Jim Kenney (left) and his Republican opponent Melissa Murray Bailey (right) face off in front of a WHYY studio audience during the 2nd Philadelphia mayoral debate.
Democrat Jim Kenney (left) and his Republican opponent Melissa Murray Bailey (right) face off in front of a WHYY studio audience during the 2nd Philadelphia mayoral debate.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

ELECTION DAY is close, so close you can almost hear the victory and concession speeches teary-eyed pols will be reciting three weeks from now.

With that ticking clock in mind, Democratic mayoral nominee Jim Kenney and Republican nominee Melissa Murray Bailey took to the stage for an hourlong debate last night at WHYY studios at 6th and Race streets.

But there was little tension between the candidates. On the big issues of the day, they largely agree: The city needs more jobs, and the jalopy that is the educational system is overdue for service.

They differ on where and how they'd make improvements. Kenney, as he did throughout his successful primary run, spoke of turning to the waterfront for an influx of good-paying blue-collar jobs by expanding the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal and increasing the amount of local freight traffic.

Bailey said she'd seek to lure foreign companies that want to establish regional locations, and turn the area into an energy hub.

Debate moderators Kevin McCorry and Katie Colaneri pressed Kenney and Bailey on how they could persuade parents to send their children to local public schools, and how the public could measure their impact on education as mayor.

Bailey noted that her 4-year-old daughter will be in kindergarten in the fall. "Before we fund anything else, we need to fund the schools first," she said, adding that the city has "thousands of budget items" that could be re-examined.

She said the public could measure her success by the number of schoolchildren who are reading by the third grade. In some schools, the figure hovers at 8 percent. By the end of her first term, Bailey said, it should be at 100 percent.

Kenney revisited a campaign promise to usher in universal pre-K, a policy that could affect about 18,000 children.

The former city councilman said he also wants a comprehensive plan that would involve community colleges and the Chamber of Commerce helping young adults train for careers that don't require college degrees.

The debate took a slightly unexpected turn when each candidate was asked to pick a random question out of a bowl.

Bailey was asked her opinion of Wing Bowl. "I don't know that I have ever thought about it until this very moment," she said. "I think it's OK."

Kenney was asked what he, as a child, wanted to become when he grew up. "I always wanted to be onstage as an actor or a performer," he said.

On gentrification, there was again some overlap between the candidates.

Bailey spoke of requiring developers to set aside a certain amount of affordable housing, for example, in a new condo development, in exchange for a tax abatement.

Kenney, meanwhile, said the city can do better at letting older residents know of programs that can help them stay in areas with rising property taxes, like the Longtime Owner Occupants Program and the Homestead Exemption.

Both Kenney and Bailey said they favor cleaning up the city's streets - literally - and working to ensure that police officers cut down on the amount of questionable stop-and-frisk encounters.

On Twitter: @dgambacorta