Ousted as SRC chair, is Bill Green thinking about running for mayor?

When a former Philadelphia city councilman and the son of a former Democratic mayor changes his political affiliation to “no affiliation,” one has to wonder: Is Bill Green contemplating a run for mayor?

Green said he’s just “keeping his options open.”

“I enjoy public service,” he said. “I sacrifice a lot personally and professionally to perform it, and I just wouldn’t want to predict what, if anything, would attract me in the fall.”

After being stripped of his title as chair of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, Green faces a political future in flux. As the Inquirer reported, Green showed up at the County Board of Elections at City Hall Tuesday to change his voter registration from Democrat to “no affiliation.” While it’s too late for him to run as a Democrat, he could still mount a mayoral or city council campaign as an independent.

In a phone interview, Green stressed it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll run for any office at this point, but if he did, he would be legally required to resign from the SRC. 

Sam Katz, who had three failed bids for mayor as a Republican, is also thinking about an independent run in the fall.