Poised to be next Philadelphia mayor, with focus on poverty

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Democrat in line to become Philadelphia’s next mayor is trying hard not to act like he’s already won.

Tough-talking former city councilman Jim Kenney is carefully making his way through the last days before Tuesday’s election — a vote widely seen as a coronation in a city where his party has a 7-to-1 voter registration edge.

In public, he acts like a candidate primed for a tough fight. Behind closed doors, the 57-year-old Kenney’s “if’s” turn to “when” as he plots out his administration and its liberal agenda — including universal pre-kindergarten and a war to reduce the city’s 26.3 percent poverty rate.

He and his staff have been meeting regularly since his victory in the May primary.