PHA head to Philly GOP: Thanks, but I’m not running for mayor (yet)

 Kelvin Jeremiah, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, speaks at a December groundbreaking event in Germantown. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)

Kelvin Jeremiah, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, speaks at a December groundbreaking event in Germantown. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)

According to an Inquirer report, Philly’s Republican City Committee approached Philadelphia Housing Authority head Kelvin Jeremiah to gauge his interest in running for mayor.

And what’d Jeremiah say? He’s not ready for that step yet, despite branching out via political speeches and Twitter presences (here and here) in recent months.

 Jeremiah’s political movement started with a Sept. 18 speech to the City Committee. …

“This is a coming-out party of sorts, because I am a proud and determined Republican and a progressive-conservative,” Jeremiah began. “I refuse to sit on the sidelines while one party takes advantage of the goodwill of the American people, and the other party appears paralyzed and disconnected.”

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This week, though, Jeremiah said the time wasn’t right to run. To wit: “I have said I have no interest in running for office in this election cycle. I may very well have an interest in the future.”

So, as most attention is focused on the Democratic primary for mayor, local GOPers will continue to look for their candidate in the November general election.

While former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille provided a thanks/no-thanks response, former Council candidate Elmer Money has sent out a few emails indicating that he’s closely examining the possibility.

The full Inquirer piece can be found via this link.

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