Mayor’s race narrows as Clarke announces he will not run

City Council President Darrell Clarke announced Monday that he won’t run for mayor of Philadelphia, and instead will bid for a fifth term representing the 5th Councilmanic district.

“During my years of public service, it has been my goal to secure opportunities for every resident of the 5th District and the City of Philadelphia. While we have made significant gains, there remains much to be done,” he said. “In City Council I will stay focused on the important work that stands before us.”

Clarke listed schools, income inequality, infrastructure investment and affordable housing as his priorities in the Council.

The 2015 Candidates mayor include state state Sen. Anthony Williams, former D.A. Lynne Abraham, former city solicitor Ken Trujillo, former state Sen. Milton Street (brother of former mayor John Street), former judge and city solicitor Nelson Diaz, and PGW’s VP of marketing, Doug Oliver.

See Clarke’s full statement below, issued by Friends of Darrell Clarke.

“It is my intention to seek the Democratic nomination to serve a fifth term as representative of Philadelphia’s 5th Councilmanic District in the May primary election.

I have been honored and inspired by many conversations with neighborhood citizens, business, union and political leaders who asked me to consider running for Mayor, but being Mayor has never been my primary goal.

During my years of public service, it has been my goal to secure opportunities for every resident of the 5th District and the City of Philadelphia. While we have made significant gains, there remains much to be done. In City Council I will stay focused on the important work that stands before us.

Our city has challenges as significant as its opportunities. We can and must strengthen educational opportunities for our children. We need to focus on making every neighborhood a neighborhood of choice. It’s our duty to invest in our infrastructure, creating jobs for today’s workers and tomorrow’s. We must continue to work toward ensuring affordable housing for everyone and making sure all our streets are safe.

Serving on City Council, one of the most substantive and hardworking legislative bodies in our city’s history, is a sincere privilege. We passed legislation making significant investment in our schools. Working together on our income inequality initiative, we lowered the wage tax, introduced paid sick leave, protected homeowners from exploding real estate tax bills, and began the implementation of Council’s workforce housing initiative.

I will be grateful for another opportunity to serve the people of the 5th District and our neighbors throughout Philadelphia.”