Former judge Nelson Diaz, whose candidacy for mayor of Philadelphia has been a longtime rumor, now has a political committee authorized to raise funds for his possible campaign in 2015, and though he hasn’t made it official yet, another Latino is not shy about talking of his own mayoral ambitions.
It was on July 25 when the political committee registration statement was filed at the Commissioner's Office in City Hall on behalf of Diaz.
According to Stephen Levin, lawyer and treasurer of the committee, it is an “exploratory committee to raise funds for my longtime friend Judge Nelson Diaz encouraging him to consider running for Mayor of Philadelphia.”
In the public sector, Diaz previously served as City Solicitor, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In the private sector, he is currently a member of the board of directors of Exelon and PECO, as well as a partner at Dilworth Paxon LLP.
Ken Trujillo is another Latino whose name has been rumored as potential candidate.
“It’s no secret that it’s something I’ve been interested in and have been preparing for a long time. I’ve hired a top campaign team and I’ve been fundraising,” said Trujillo, who’s had a political committee for months and even an eponymous website for his campaign.
Trujillo previously served as Assistant U.S. Attorney and as City Solicitor in Philadelphia. He founded his own law firm, Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards, which later combined with Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. He also helped build Congreso de Latinos Unidos, launched the Pan American Academy Charter School, and owns El Zol Philly radio station.
According to the Commissioner’s Office, among the long list of names rumored as potential candidates, those who already have political committees for previous campaigns or currently serve as public officials would only have to amend their registrations and quit their current offices before launching their campaigns for mayor.
Among the list of potential candidates, there’s City Comptroller Alan Butkovitz; State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams; City Council President Darrell Clarke; ‘At-Large’ Councilman Jim Kenney, and Terry Gillen, a veteran from Rendell's and Nutter's administrations.
The list goes on with former District Attorney Lynne Abraham; Renée Cardwell Hughes, former judge and current CEO of the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA); Philadelphia’s Managing Director, Richard Negrin; and former Governor Ed Rendell.
Also rumored: former Councilman Frank Rizzo, former State Senator Milton Street, who served time in prison for failing to file his tax returns, and Sam Katz, who could run for the fourth time.
The list is long, and whoever truly has the desire and commitment to hold the hot seat in City Hall, will soon have to make it official.
The general elections are taking place on November 3, 2015, but the destiny of Philadelphia’s next mayor may be decided in the primaries on May 19 — only nine months from now — considering that Philadelphia has not have a Republican mayor since 1952.