Our House

By George: The Urban Affairs Committee’s new chair Kenney.

Finally, a Philly pol to chair the Urban Affairs Committee.

by Noel Weyrich

When the Urban Affairs Committee in the state House of Representatives convenes later this month, the chairman’s gavel will be held for the first time since 1996 by a Philadelphia lawmaker — nine-term veteran George T. Kenney, a Republican from the far Northeast.

"Mr. Kenney, coming from Philadelphia, is especially well-equipped to deal with this committee," says Stephen Drachler, a spokesman for the Republican house leadership. Drachler notes that Kenney, as a Republican in a majority-Democrat city, has good relationships with city Democrats in the closely divided house. "George is somebody who is able to work across all the boundaries. He understands the unique situations in Philadelphia, but in the other cities, too. Too often, people in Philadelphia think the world revolves around Philadelphia, especially the media in Philadelphia."

Kenney says his committee is likely to focus first on what steps the state can take to help renew troubled city neighborhoods across the state.

"Primarily we’re going to be looking into the revitalization of our cities and towns," Kenney says. "In light of the whole issue with suburban sprawl, where nobody wants anyone building in the boondocks, now our urban centers can become more viable [for development]."

Even after seven years of boom times in the national economy, Pennsylvania’s metropolitan regions are generally in sorry shape. Most of the states’ urban regions rank in the bottom third among the nation’s metropolitan areas when indexed for employment growth and average wage levels by the business-oriented bizjournals.com’s Demographics Daily website. The regional economies in Philadelphia, York, Lancaster and Harrisburg are comparative shining stars in Pennsylvania, even though by national standards they rank in the middle of the pack for economic vitality.

"There are downtowns in these areas that have lost their impact," says Kenney. "The question becomes how do we spruce them up, juice them up, get them where they are really the hubs of their counties again. Some are like ghost towns, but at the same time, everybody out in the suburbs is saying, ‘Don’t build out here.’ So how do we get investors, public and private, to go downtown again?"

Back in 1997, Kenney helped make headlines as one of a small bi-racial, bi-partisan group of Philadelphia legislators called the Gang of Five who brought public pressure on Mayor Edward Rendell to deal with problems in the public schools and poor leadership in the police department.

"If there’s someone who really knows what’s going on regarding urban issues, you couldn’t have a better person," says Dwight Evans, a powerful Democrat state representative who, with Kenney, helped lead the Gang of Five. "He’s sincere in his commitment to make a difference. To me this is a unique opportunity, not just for George, but for the Republican Party, with Bush in Washington and Ridge in Harrisburg. It will give them a chance to now stand up for urban America. You can clearly measure them now."

Because House chairmanships are determined by seniority, and only five of Philadelphia’s state representatives are members of the Republican majority, the urban affairs committee has been run by suburban or rural legislators in recent sessions. Kenney, for instance, is replacing State Rep. David Argall, who hails from the sprawling Schuylkill County metropolis of Tamaqua.

But Kenney notes that those five Philadelphia Republicans have now gained enough seniority to emerge as major forces in Harrisburg.

"We have three of the chairmen of the 22 [standing committees]," Kenney says of his four Philadelphia Republican colleagues. "We have the majority leader [John Perzel] from Philly. So we probably have the most powerful Republican makeup in a long time from the house. The bottom line is, we could do a lot of good things."