Former at-large City Councilmember Helen Gym on Wednesday became the latest candidate to announce a run for Philadelphia mayor.
The announcement was expected, following her resignation from City Council the day prior, as required by Philadelphia’s Home Rule Charter when running for other office. The Democrat, who served six years in the council, joins a packed field including other former City Council members who resigned their positions this year to launch a mayoral run.
During her announcement, Gym highlighted past achievements but also placed great emphasis on solving the city’s gun violence crisis, one that earlier this year prompted outgoing Mayor Jim Kenney to say he looks forward to leaving office.
“Together we have built a real movement,” Gym said. “And now, when so much is at stake, we will save this city and our young people from the violence that threatens every part of our lives. With your help, it’s time to elect a proven fighter to protect the city that we call home, and that’s why I’m announcing my run for mayor of Philadelphia.”
Gym promised that on her first day in office, she will declare a state of emergency to address the problem of violence, something Kenney has been resistant to do. Every Monday, Gym said, will begin with a meeting in which every department head will report on what they are doing to improve safety in the community.
She promised to “put victims first” and prioritize mental health and victim services. Her proposed solutions to the violence crisis also include opening and staffing recreation centers and libraries on nights and weekends, as well as improving the share of crimes solved by the Philadelphia Police Department. A report in January by former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart (who is pursuing her own run for mayor), showed a decline in police clearance rates over the last six years.
Gym said, however, that she will not “roll the clock back on civil rights” in her pursuit of increasing public safety (City Council President Darrell Clarke in July floated the idea of curbing violence through the controversial practice of stop and frisk, which the American Civil Liberties Union found in the past was disproportionately used against Black Philadelphians).
“While many people in this race will talk about public safety, let me be clear: decades of systemic racism and disinvestment have brought us to this place. So, when I deliver a real anti-violence agenda, I am delivering a real anti-poverty agenda and a promise for economic opportunity,” Gym said.
Gym is the first Asian American woman to serve on Philadelphia’s City Council body and the first Asian American Democrat elected to citywide office in 50 years, according to her Council biography.
In recent years, she has become one of the most prominent liberal voices in City Council, which in turn has helped raise her profile among the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate. She was the top vote getter among Council members who ran in 2019.
Gym was a former schoolteacher and community organizer before joining Council in 2016 and has called for more state funds for Philadelphia’s schools. Last year she, along with members of the interfaith organization POWER, were detained during a protest over public school funding at the Pennsylvania capitol building in Harrisburg.
Gym has also championed other liberal causes, like a $15 federal minimum wage (Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 for more than a decade). She led the effort in 2018 to pass Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek law, which guarantees predictable schedules for workers in the service and hospitality industries.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Gym led the charge in City Council on a citywide eviction moratorium, which is credited with keeping thousands of people in their homes over the last few years of the COVID-19 crisis.
