The 2015 Philadelphia mayoral election has been characterized by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “snoozefest” and by Philadelphia Magazine as possessing a “bored, obligatory quality.” While this crop of mayoral candidates may be a bit on the old side — the average age of the candidates is 61.67 — they are far from uninteresting. The Daily Pennsylvanian takesa look at some of the more outlandish things said during the 2015 election, both by and about the candidates:
6. Former City Councilman Jim Kenney got the ball rolling with his comment on the erotic nature of Viagra commercials.
Is the Viagra commercial with the middle aged British Hottie considered kind of "soft porn"?— Jim Kenney (@JimFKenney) November 3, 2014
Fun Fact: Kenney is a professor at the Fels Institute of Government. If his tweets are any evidence, plenty of students would find him an engaging professor.
5. Former District Attorney Lynne Abraham was asked by Philadelphia Magazine in a Q&A how she “stays in shape.” Her answer was blunt: “I have anorexia, but it’s in remission," she said. "I don’t exercise. I’m opposed to exercise.”
It looks like Abraham will notbe following in Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" fitness plan. Though she may not be pumping iron, Abraham said in the Q&A that her doctor would describe her as having the "constitution of an ox."
4. Another from Kenney. This time, he gets animated during an Olympic ice hockey game:
No goal?! Putin is pissed. Refs going to Siberia after game.— Jim Kenney (@JimFKenney) February 15, 2014
3. An especially controversial Twitter exchange arose in 2012 between Kenney and a city employee, "Mole Man," known by the handle @conzmoleman. That year, Kenney was publicly ridiculed for paying the social media firm ChatterBlast $28,800to run his social media platforms. “Mole Man” decided to troll Kenney, writing, “Go f**k yourself. Or hire a firm to do so.”
Mole Man also incorrectly cited Kenney’s age as 57, when it was really 53 years old at the time. Kenney responded by saying, “U are a very large a******.” Kenney capped the conversation with “By the way d**k, I am in CC if you want to tell me sumpin.”
When it was later discovered that Mole Man was in fact a city employee, Kenney expressed few regrets in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He told me to go f myself. Being called an a-hole is an appropriate response,” Kenney said. “I didn’t rise to the level of an f-bomb.”
“He called me 57, and I’m 53. That was insulting enough,” Kenney added. “But my consultants have told me I should refrain from using curse words.”
2. Sporting events seem to bring out the profane side of Kenney in his tweets, once calling out New Jersey Governor Chris Christie after Gov.Christie was spotted sitting with Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jonesduring a Cowboys-Eagles football game. While Christie claimed to be a lifetime Cowboys fan, Philadelphia native Jim Kenney just was notbuying it:
Chris Christie is sitting on his very fat ass next to Jerry Jones in his box at the Linc. You suck! Kissing Texas ass for 2016! Awful!— Jim Kenney (@JimFKenney) December 15, 2014
1. One of the most illustrative comments did notcome from a candidate. Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell — also a Penn alum — was asked how he thought the steely Abraham would fare as mayor in Philadelphia Magazine. He politely responded, “If anybody knew how much time you spend as mayor on your knees sucking people off, they’d be amazed. There’s a question of whether she will do that.”
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