Council President Kenyatta Johnson talks moving Philly forward, acquittal and more

It’s a new year and new leadership for Philadelphia. In addition to a new mayor, the city also has a new council president. Kenyatta Johnson’s ascent to the position might have seemed improbable to some not too long ago when he was facing federal corruption charges after being accused of taking bribes from executives at a nonprofit in his district. Johnson and his wife were acquitted however and his colleagues voted to make him council president. 

In the latest episode of Battleground Politics, Lauren Mayk spoke with Johnson in city council chambers on the eve of his first meeting at city hall. In his first sit-down interview as council president, Johnson spoke about working with the Department of Justice only months after the DOJ tried to send him to jail. 

“For me at the end of the day, I was exonerated by a jury of 12 people and so I move on,” Johnson said. “I don’t carry no chip on my shoulder. I had the opportunity to work with the current U.S. Attorney around the issue of gun violence. An issue that’s very near and dear and passionate to me. So no chip on my shoulder. I will work with them and anybody else that has the best interest in moving the city of Philadelphia forward.” 

In the aftermath of his acquittal, Johnson said he’s focused on improving the city of Philadelphia. 

“Through the grace of God, I’m able to be the council president and move the city of Philadelphia forward,” Johnson said. “But as a council president and even when I was a district councilmember, I always did my due diligence in terms of making sure that everything I work on is transparent. Making sure that the things I’m working on are from a level of accountability. And so I will continue in that same spirit as the council president moving forward.”

Johnson also described the advice he’s shared with the newest city councilmembers. 

 “We recently just went through a two-day training, slash orientation refresher for all city councilmembers on a variety of different issues and so, for me it’s just making sure that they know the dos and the don’ts and most importantly the best practices, so you won’t find yourself in a situation where a person is questioning your integrity,” he said. “So absolutely that was part of the conversation. And most importantly trying to mentor and show people the best practices of how you can move forward without putting yourself in a predicament where people are questioning you.”

Johnson also addressed whether or not he planned on making any changes to how city council operates.

 “We’ll be doing an internal audit to kind of look at the structure and how we operate here in city council. That’s an ongoing process,” he said. “But I definitely am going to continue to make sure that all our T’s are crossed and our I’s are dotted and we’re doing things with fidelity and making sure that we’re diligent in how we operate as a body.”

Johnson also spoke about teaming up with new Mayor Cherelle Parker.

“Most people may or may not know, when I was in the general assembly, as a state representative, I worked very closely with Mayor Cherelle Parker,” he said. “So, we translated that same relationship when she became a member of city council and we have already started working collaboratively together on how we’re going to both move the city of Philadelphia forward.”

Johnson described how he hopes to work with Parker in tackling various issues in the city. 

“Sitting down and looking at all the quality of life issues here in the city of Philadelphia that we’re going to be working on,” he said. “Also looking at the issue of gun violence and also looking at how we address the issue of housing and equality. But a lot of her agenda and my agenda are in alignment and so we’re going to be comprehensively tackling a lot of issues together.”

Johnson also said he has a plan for situations in which their visions don’t align. 

“We haven’t gotten to that point yet, you know, but I also recognize that there will probably be times where we may not be on the same page based upon what my colleagues may feel about different agendas but nevertheless I believe that we’ll agree more than we will disagree and we will find a way to address those issues and more than likely it will not be public,” he said. “It will be a telephone conversation or a face-to-face conversation between the mayor and myself. Because we have that level of respect for one another. And that’s what it’s all about. When we’re working together, I believe that that’s the best way that we can move the city of Philadelphia forward.”

Johnson spoke on several other issues, including his plan to tackle the city’s ongoing gun violence crisis, stop and frisk, Act 40 and the 76ers arena proposal. Here’s a full breakdown of the episode. 

1:00 – What will city council look like with Kenyatta Johnson as president?

1:57 – Johnson’s approach to his new leadership role

2:33 – Working with Mayor Cherelle Parker

3:31 – Are there issues where Council President Johnson feels like he and Mayor Parker aren’t in alignment?

4:13 – How will Johnson’s acquittal after his corruption trial influence his time as council president?

4:55 – Advice for new city councilmembers

5:41 – Does Johnson want to make any changes to city council?

6:15 – How does Johnson feel about working with the DOJ after they tried to put him in prison?

6:50 – Tackling the issue of gun violence

9:15 – Johnson’s thoughts on stop and frisk

11:22 – Johnson’s thoughts on Act 40

13:53 – Johnson’s thoughts on the 76ers arena proposal

15:37 – Making city hall more inclusive  

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