1. People love you when they know you are leaving

Ken Trujillo may have never been so popular as after he dropped out of the race. I know I saw his name mentioned in the media far more frequently after he withdrew than before, what with all the speculation about which candidate he would back (apparently none of those who are currently running) and how he would dispose of his campaign coffers, along with who would inherit his very capable and organized campaign organization... 

2. Don’t ignore the interwebz

What politician doesn’t claim his own name as a domain on the web? Incumbent councilman Kenyatta Johnson, that’s who. His opponent in the race for the 2nd district council seat, Ori Feibush, claimed it instead, and so now every visitor to www.kenyattajohnson.com gets redirected to Feibush’s website. (Go ahead, try it.) 

While we’re on the importance of a candidate’s digital footprint ... what gives with official candidates who don’t yet have functioning websites, or have tweeted a grand total of five times or have a mere 225 or 269 followers? In a world where the Billy Penn news site can successfully live tweet Gov. Tom Wolf's inauguration in emojis, it doesn't bode well that all of the candidates in the Philadelphia race are neo-Luddites.

3. If you are a woman politico, you’ve got to prove you’re tough and compassionate — preferably in less than four minutes

Sigh. At least Abraham hasn't been forced to change her hairstyle several times, a la Hillary Clinton. Well, not yet.

4. Have fun — don’t be in a rush to commit

You’d think, after the amount of virtual ink that has been expended on speculation about whether he will or he won’t, Councilman Jim Kenney would have a bit of compassion for all of us media types hoping to be the first to announce— definitively — that he’ll be entering the mayoral race. But no. What a tease.

5. Pick your symbolism

Milton Street, who like Doug Oliver, is still an unofficial candidate, has rethought where he will make the official announcement of his candidacy. He had originally said that the mid-February announcement would be made from a North Philly funeral home, but now it’ll reportedly be a church.

I can’t help feeling just a tad disappointed.