The mayor may be Philadelphia’s most powerful political figure, but to get almost anything significant done, he or she needs the cooperation of the person who is in close second place: the City Council president.
For the first time in 12 years, that august office has a new occupant. Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson was selected by his colleagues to succeed Darrell Clarke, who didn’t seek reelection last year.
Like Mayor Cherelle Parker, the 50-year-old Johnson is a career politician. He represents a sprawling district covering Southwest Philadelphia, much of South Philly, and parts of Center City. Some of his top priorities have been anti-violence initiatives, quality of life issues, property tax relief, and managing development in booming areas of South Philly.
He may be best known for his active involvement in shaping land use in his district, and for several related controversies. In 2020, he nearly saw his career wrecked by a federal indictment alleging that he and his wife accepted bribes in exchange for taking action on behalf of real estate developers.
A jury acquitted them in November 2022, and in a city where a councilmember or other prominent political figure is indicted for corruption every few years, Johnson’s colleagues shrugged off the charges. After his acquittal he successfully courted them to back his bid for the council presidency over a rival candidate, Councilmember Curtis Jones.
The job comes with the power to dole out committee appointments, office space, and staff jobs, and to decide if and when bills are heard or buried. It’s been likened to herding cats, using promises of favors and threats of denial to achieve consensus in the 17-member body and move crucial pieces of legislation, including the city’s $6 billion annual budget.
A mayor who has good rapport with the council president and is considerate of the president’s needs may see their agenda advance more quickly and smoothly; one who butts heads or makes demands may find themselves with fewer or less impressive accomplishments to run on at election time.
Here’s a closer look at Kenyatta Johnson’s career so far and what his council presidency might look like.
A steady rise to power
Johnson grew up in Point Breeze, near a notorious drug corner, and as a teen was arrested on a gun charge. He went on to attend Mansfield College in north central Pa., had an internship with state Rep. Harold James, and served as student body president.
In the mid-1990s, he lost several friends to gun violence, including a relative, Sultan Chandler, who was shot on the Childs Elementary School playground. That inspired him to form Peace Not Guns, a group that taught children conflict resolution.
He earned a master’s degree in government at UPenn, worked for AmeriCorps, and volunteered in the district office of state Sen. Hardy Williams, the leader of a local political organization who he regarded as a mentor. That led to a job as an aide to Williams’ son, Sen. Tony Williams.
Johnson ran against his old boss, Harold James, in 2008 and beat him by 30 points. He served as a state rep for four years and continued to focus on public safety and criminal justice issues.
In 2011, Council President Anna Verna, who represented South Philly, decided to not to seek reelection. Williams and others persuaded Johnson to run for the seat and he won a narrow victory in the Democratic primary.
Johnson faced a well-funded challenge from real estate developer Ori Feibush in 2015. After a bitter primary campaign that focused in part on gentrification pressures and the influence of campaign contributors, he beat Feibush by a wide margin.
Development was again a top issue in 2019, when Johnson defeated urbanist Lauren Vidas. He ran unopposed in last year’s primary, winning a fourth term.
Charges of favoritism and corruption
Johnson touts his work addressing quality of life issues like trash and noise in his district, promoting youth and anti-violence programs, and pushing for property tax relief for long time homeowners. His campaign website cites his support for the soda tax to fund pre-K programs and his advocacy for funding to renovate rec centers and playgrounds in District 2.
His use of “councilmanic prerogative,” an unofficial rule that lets members make land use decisions in their districts, has frequently stirred controversy. Johnson has said he is trying to protect longtime residents from being displaced by breakneck redevelopment and climbing property prices, but he’s been repeatedly accused of favoritism or impropriety.
While running to oust Johnson in 2014, Feibush sued the councilmember, alleging Johnson had retaliated by blocking his purchase of two city-owned lots. A jury awarded the developer $34,000 in damages, and he sued again in 2017 over another blocked bid to purchase land.
Johnson was accused of steering city-owned properties to a childhood friend, Felton Hayman, who flipped them for substantial profits. Johnson blamed miscommunication between city agencies and introduced a bill to tweak the land disposition process. Last year, federal prosecutors charged Hayman with wire fraud for allegedly lying to city officials about his plans for some properties. Johnson was not accused of wrongdoing.
The FBI reportedly began looking into Johnson’s role in land deals as far back as 2014, and in 2020 he and his wife, consultant Dawn Chavous, were indicted on 22 counts.
Federal prosecutors said Universal Companies, a nonprofit developer founded by famed music producer Kenny Gamble, offered Chavous more than $66,000 to do minimal consulting work. In return, Johnson used councilmanic prerogative and his other powers to preserve the nonprofit’s ownership of several valuable pieces of real estate, they alleged.
That helped boost the value of the properties, which Universal sold to pay off its debts, prosecutors said. Two Universal executives were also charged with stealing from the nonprofit.
Johnson’s lawyers argued Chavous provided legitimate consulting services and that prosecutors provided scant direct evidence of corruption. A deadlocked jury led to a mistrial, and a retrial ended in acquittal for the couple in November 2022.
A collaborative future?
Johnson won support for his council presidency bid because of his collaborative leadership style, support from labor unions, long relationships with colleagues, and outreach to incoming councilmembers, the Inquirer reported.
He stayed neutral in last spring’s mayoral primary and didn’t endorse Parker. But they’ve known each other for years, served as state representatives in Harrisburg together, were council colleagues for eight years, and share some priorities, like protecting longtime residents from gentrification.
Parker supported Johnson while he was under indictment, and his wife served on the incoming mayor’s transition team.
Like Johnson, Parker emphasizes collaboration. She has taken pains to consult with a wide range of people inside and outside government as she selects cabinet members and makes plans for her first 100 days in office.
Johnson has stood by Parker’s side during news conferences since she was elected, and during her election victory speech she made a point of preemptively rejecting the narrative that the mayor and City Council president must be at odds.
“I know it makes for good theater, I will call it, to see a City Council and a mayor not get together, not be able to move this city forward by working in a collaborative way,” she said. “But if it’s God’s will, we are not going to use that as our strategy. We will not let divide-and-conquer be the tool that people use to stop us from working together.”
