Jim Kenney to resign from council, announce his bid for mayor

City Councilman Jim Kenney must first resign his City Council seat before he can officially run for mayor.

Kenney announced Tuesday that he will resign his seat — which he has occupied for the last 23 years — on Thursday. Following his resignation, he will officiall annouce his run for mayor.

The City Charter requires that elected officials resign from one office before running for another.

Kenney said Tuesday that he didn’t want to look back and have any regrets.

“I don’t want to be retired, sitting on my porch and saying ‘I should have tried it,’” Kenney said. “I’m willing to take the risk of resigning and to take the risk of not winning.”

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The Inquirer first reported last week that Kenney decided to make a run at the office once candidate Ken Trujillo, who served as a city solicitor and assistant U.S. attorney, pulled out.

This leaves only three announced candidates left: state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, former District Attorney Lynne Abraham and Nelson Diaz, a former Common Pleas Court judge.

Two others — former state Sen. Milton Street and former Mayor Michael Nutter spokesman Doug Oliver — are interested, but have yet to make a formal announcement.

The Democratic primary is May 19.

Bio:

Jim Kenney is a native of South Philadelphia.

He has served as an at-large City Councilman since 1992.

He is a 1976 graduate of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School.

He is a 1980 graduate of LaSalle University.

He is separated from his wife. Together they have a son and a daughter.