There may (or may not) be a 7th (or 8th) Dem. mayoral candidate

 The Rev. Keith Goodman, 42, announced his mayoral candidacy on Sunday, but residency requirements are working against his eligibility. (Photo courtesy of Keith Goodman)

The Rev. Keith Goodman, 42, announced his mayoral candidacy on Sunday, but residency requirements are working against his eligibility. (Photo courtesy of Keith Goodman)

To hear the Rev. Keith Goodman tell it, the North Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church senior pastor is officially a candidate for mayor of the City of Philadelphia.

To wit (as told to WHYY’s Tom MacDonald):

“I have the energy, the passion, the vision and the ability to get in the race and offer something to the citizens of Philadelphia. … We can improve everything in the city if we’re willing to look at what’s working and multiply it and what’s not working and figure out how can we improve it.”

Sounds nice.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

But to hear it told by folks with a working knowledge of Home Rule Charter residency requirements — as they pertain to runs for elected office in this fine city of ours — Goodman’s energy, passion, vision and ability doesn’t overcome the fact that he can’t, y’know, run.

… other campaigns raised questions about whether he meets the Home Rule Charter’s requirement that a mayoral candidate have lived in the city for three years. Goodman concedes he moved back to Philly from Chester this year, but says he previously lived in the city for more than three years, which in his view satisifies the charter.

This very issue also came up Sunday, when the Rev. launched his campaign with members of his flock outside his church, which is located at 16th and Oxford streets.

To wit (from the Inquirer, which was on hand for the announcement):

“He doesn’t meet the residency requirements, period, and unfortunately for him, that means he is not going to be a viable candidate,” said Ellen Kaplan, a former policy director of the good-government group Committee of Seventy.

So, yeah, NinetyNine will keep checking in with election-savvy folks and let you know whether Goodman has the baseline credential to join a field that includes state Sen. Anthony Williams, former district attorney Lynne Abraham, former City Councilman Jim Kenney, former judge Nelson Diaz, former state Sen. T. Milton Street Sr., former mayoral spokesman Doug Oliver and (possibly-maybe) former always-candidate Queena Bass.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal