Councilmember Derek Green resigns, enters race for Philly mayor

Councilmember Derek Green has become the second member of council to announce his resignation and a run for mayor of Philadelphia.

Green said his experience as a prosecutor and a member of council will make him a good mayor.

“When I look at my track record in my career, all the different experiences I’ve had, I’ve also been a small business owner with my wife. I know the issues of education because I’m a teacher’s kid and my mother taught for 31 years in a school district, Philadelphia,” Green said. “When you look at all the issues we’re dealing with, and having someone who understands how the city works, and has been a prosecutor, and has been a small business owner, and has been involved in education, I think I have the capabilities that will be successful as mayor of the city.”

Green pointed to his work as chair of City Council’s Finance Committee, where he was able to put together a budget to give people what they wanted, and needed this year.

“The voters in the city of Philadelphia have been told they have to choose between one position or another,” he said. “And if you just look at the budget process we just came through, I was able to put together a plan that was able to reduce taxes and put together more funding for police officers,”

Green said he’s not concerned about raising enough money to win a contest that could see more than a half-dozen candidates, hinting that at least some of his funding could be coming from out of town.

“Philadelphia is now one of the nation’s leading cities, and so people are invested and concerned about how Philadelphia is. It is the birthplace of this nation, and it needs to take its place again in leading the country on what happens in our nation.”

When asked about the ever-increasing murder rate, Green said his prosecutorial experience will be of assistance.

“As someone who’s been a prosecutor and understands the criminal justice system, we do have a lot of issues and need to address public safety. And it’s doing it in a comprehensive fashion,” he said. “It’s about bringing more police officers into the city”

Green said offering incentives and hiring bonuses could help improve the number of officers on city streets. He wants to copy proven programs from other cities and bring them into Philadelphia to help stop the violence.

Like Green, Maria Quiñones Sánchez also resigned her seat on City Council to enter the race this week. Alan Domb has resigned, but is not officially in the running yet. He issued a statement saying he’s “considering” a mayoral run.