The 2015 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on November 3, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, concurrently with various other state and local elections. Heavily favored Democratic party candidate Jim Kenney won.
Incumbent Democratic party Mayor Michael Nutter could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term due to term limits in the city's home rule charter. Registered Democrats hold a formidable 7-to-1 ratio over registered Republicans in Philadelphia, giving Democratic candidates a distinct advantage in citywide elections.
The mayoral primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. Democrats nominated Jim Kenney, a member of the Philadelphia City Council, as their party's nominee. Kenney won the primary in a landslide with 55.83% of the vote, defeating a crowded field of five other Democratic candidates, including Anthony H. Williams and former District Attorney Lynn Abraham. Republican Melissa Murray Bailey, a business executive, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Had she been elected, Bailey would have become Philadelphia's first female mayor, as well as the city's first Republican mayor in more than 60 years.
Candidates
Melissa Murray Bailey – Republican Party
James Foster – Independent
Osborne Hart – Socialist Workers Party
Jim Kenney – Democratic Party
Boris Kindij – Independent
Lynne Abraham, former District Attorney of Philadelphia
Nelson Diaz, former City Solicitor and former Common Pleas judge
James F. Kenney, former Philadelphia City Councilman
Doug Oliver, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Philadelphia Gas Works and former press secretary for Mayor Nutter
Milton Street, former State Senator and candidate for Mayor in 2011
Anthony H. Williams, Minority Whip of the Pennsylvania State Senate and candidate for Governor in 2010
Jon Bell
Terry Gillen, former Philadelphia Director of Federal Affairs and former Executive Director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
Keith Goodman, pastor and candidate for Chester City Council in 2005
Ken Trujillo, former City Solicitor
Alan Butkovitz, Philadelphia City Controller
Darrell L. Clarke, Philadelphia City Council President
Dwight E. Evans, State Representative, candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1986, candidate for Governor in 1994 and candidate for Mayor in 1999 and 2007
Bill Green, former Philadelphia City Councilman and chair of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission
Renée Cardwell Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Red Cross and former Common Pleas judge
Kevin R. Johnson, Philadelphia clergyman and pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church
Sam Katz, businessman, public finance executive and Republican nominee for Mayor in 1999 and 2003
Tom Knox, businessman, candidate for Mayor in 2007 and candidate for Governor in 2010
Alba Martinez, former city Human Services Commissioner and former CEO of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Richard Negrin, Philadelphia Managing Director
Frank L. Rizzo, Jr., former Republican Philadelphia City Councilman (running for the City Council)
Jonathan Saidel, former Philadelphia City Controller
R. Seth Williams, District Attorney of Philadelphia
* Internal poll for the Alan Butkovitz campaign
* AFSCME poll for the James Kenney campaign.
* Public Policy Polling poll for the James Kenney campaign.
Melissa Murray Bailey, businesswoman
Ronald D. Castille, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, former District Attorney of Philadelphia and candidate for Mayor in 1991
Sean Clark, nonprofit executive
Allan Domb, real estate developer and President of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors
Rhashea Harmon, attorney and nominee for the State Senate in 2010 (running as an Independent)
Kelvin Jeremiah, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority
Sam Katz, businessman, public finance executive and Republican nominee for Mayor in 1999 and 2003
Elmer Money, candidate for City Council in 2011
Doug Oliver, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Philadelphia Gas Works and former press secretary for Mayor Nutter (running as a Democrat)
Dana Spain, businesswoman and philanthropist
Rhashea Harmon, attorney and Republican nominee for the State Senate in 2010
Bill Green, former Philadelphia City Councilman and former chair of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission
Sam Katz, businessman, public finance executive and Republican nominee for Mayor in 1999 and 2003
Dana Spain, businesswoman and philanthropist
Philadelphia mayoral election, 2015 Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
