‘Mad or nah?’: Residents react to mayor’s comments about wanting to leave office

P.O.C, a partner in WHYY’s News and Information Community Exchange, hits the streets to survey residents’ thoughts and attitudes towards the mayor’s comments.

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Close-up of Mayor Kenney speaking with the media.

Mayor Jim Kenney speaks to the media shortly after midnight on the Fourth of July following a shooting on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (Courtesy of 6abc)

One of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s most consistent qualities is his plain-spoken communication style. He often delivers his blunt remarks in a dead-pan manner, which some critics say is indicative of his overall dispassionate style of governing.

On Monday night, after two police officers were shot during the Fourth of July festivities on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Kenney spoke to the media and remarked that, with the proliferation of firearms and his frustration with the city’s inability to enact its own gun laws, he’s looking forward to not being the mayor. The next day, the mayor apologized, but it was too late: the calls for his resignation were growing.

P.O.C, a partner in WHYY’s News and Information Community Exchange, hits the streets to survey residents’ thoughts and attitudes towards the mayor’s comments.

WHYY’s News and Information Community Exchange (N.I.C.E.), which organizes, supports, and develops grassroots content creators, is made possible by a generous grant from the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund.

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