James F. Kenney

James Kenney
Kenney in 2009
Former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the At-Large District
In office
January 6, 1992 – January 29, 2015
Preceded by George Burrell
Personal details
Political party Democratic
Alma mater La Salle University

James Francis Kenney is a Democratic politician and former member of the City Council of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On February 4, 2015, he announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Philadelphia.[1]

He has held one of the Council's At-Large seats since the 1991 election, when he succeeded George Burrell, who resigned from Council to mount an ultimately unsuccessful bid for Mayor.[2][3]

Kenney currently serves as Chairman of the Council Committee on Labor and Civil Service. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Rules, Committee on the Environment, and Committee on Law and Government, and is a member of the Committee on Public Safety, Technology and Information Services, Public Property and Public Works, Fiscal Stability and Intergovernmental Cooperation, Public Health and Human Services, and the Legislative Oversight Committee.[4]

On the council, Kenney enacted fiscal policies like "bonus" pension payments (distributing funds when pension plans exceed target returns in any given year even though solvency depends on the excess funds to balance underperforming years) which national economic commentators have called "numerically illiterate" and "insane" while the practice has been identified as directly contributing to the bankruptcy of Detroit.[5] Closer to home, Philadelphia's own Financial Director referred to Kenney's maneuver as merely "fiscally irresponsible." [6]

References

  1. ↑ , NBC10.com, Feb. 4, 2015, accessed Feb. 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ "New Faces On Council Bring Hopes Of New Tone". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 10, 1991. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Philadelphia Mayor - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ "James F. Kenney - Councilman-At-Large". City of Philadelphia official website. City Council, City of Philadelphia. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  5. ↑ http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-16/why-would-anyone-follow-detroit-s-pension-plan-
  6. ↑ http://articles.philly.com/2015-02-12/news/59048351_1_pension-fund-pension-payments-kenney

External links