Mayoral Candidates Outline Their Plans to Grow Philadelphia’s Economy

We received answers from mayoral candidates to a questionnaire that asked them to detail how they plan to create jobs and accelerate growth in Philadelphia. Lynne Abraham, Nelson Diaz, Jim Kenney, Doug Oliver and Sen. Tony Williams all provided responses. The goal of the initiative, part of the Roadmap for Growth campaign, is to educate the Philadelphia business community and other stakeholders within Philadelphia about the mayoral candidates’ economic growth agenda for the city. The candidates’ answers are available at www.RoadmapforGrowth.com.

The Questions for the Candidates

  1. How many net new jobs will you create in your first term? How will you work with the business community to create them?
  1. How would you assist sole proprietors to grow into small enterprises and increase employment? Please provide a specific example of how you would do so.
  1. Specifically, how would you create efficiencies in Philadelphia’s operating budget and reform the cost structure of municipal government?
  1. How do you view the mayor’s role in creating a well-educated workforce? How do you specifically plan to carry out that vision?
  1. How do you view Philadelphia’s competitive standing compared to other cities with regard to taxes, regulations and job creation? How would you improve our city’s competitiveness as Mayor?

“We are very pleased to receive response from all of the mayoral candidates and have read them with great interest,” said Rob Wonderling, President and CEO of the Chamber. We think it is important for all Philadelphia citizens and businesses to know how each candidates intends to improve Philadelphia’s economy and workforce.”

Below are links to their responses and excerpts from each candidate:

  • Lynne Abraham: “We need to instill in government — in the Mayor’s office and every department — a new culture of service that recognizes that the public must be served and part of the business of government is to nurture the businesses that generate jobs. Streamlining the approval and permitting process is essential to this effort.”
  • Nelson Diaz: “PIDC has some models that really work, but needs to do a much better job taking its successes and turning them into scalable best practices. The redevelopment of the Navy Yard in particular provides a model that we should be looking to employ elsewhere in the city.”
  • Jim Kenney: “We’ve got to take a comprehensive look at all of the various abatements, tax credits, and exemptions that are currently on the books. These tax relief measures are necessary because we have created such a toxic tax system that we need put in place work-arounds to try to offset the expense of doing business here. I’ve worked with the business community to legislate tax credits tied directly to job creation, but this cannot be our long term solution to job growth.”
  • Doug Oliver (video response and transcript): “We have to invest in our neighborhoods because with 98,000 small businesses that is the core of our city and it’s not just in Center City anymore. We have to make investments in our neighborhoods if we expect to be a vibrant city that’s competitive.”
  • Tony Williams: As mayor, I will institute a plan to annually benchmark anchor institution procurement from locally owned small businesses. By 2020, I will push to redirect anchor institution procurement locally by 25 percent, estimated to create 4,000 new small business jobs, and $15M in new City revenue. This initiative would target women owned businesses, and businesses owned by people of color.”

The Roadmap for Growth Mayoral Debate will take place at on April 7th from 6:00-9:00 pm at The Kimmel Center. It will be aired live on NBC10 and Telemundo 62.

The Chamber is encouraging all citizens to engage in the online conversation about Philadelphia’s economy at www.roadmapforgrowth.com. Users can answer questions, participate in polls and provide what they think the next Mayor and City Council should do to grow the economy. People can also join the conversation through #PhillyRoadmap and on the Chamber’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr pages. The current sponsors of the Roadmap for Growth are Comcast NBC10 Telemundo62, PECO Energy, Dilworth Paxson LLP, ACE Group, Brandywine Realty Trust, Temple University, Econsult Solutions Inc., AT&T, Citizens Bank, EisnerAmper and United Bank of Philadelphia.