NEWS

Ask A Candidate

Peter A. Iannelli has a question for Bob Brady. Brady has an answer.


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Published: Feb 28, 2007

I'm a recent college graduate who decided to stay here in Philadelphia after completing my degree. Unfortunately, I still haven't had any luck finding a job; I'm starting to realize that there isn't much going on in Center City. What are you planning on doing to keep college graduates here and attract more large/r corporations to this city?

Peter A. Iannelli Jr., South Philadelphia

Bob Brady responds:

As a center for services from health care to law, Philadelphia currently offers more professional opportunities to students with advanced education than for our high school and college graduates.

An irony has been that even though Center City's population has been growing dramatically due to the attractive diversity of housing, retail, restaurants, and arts and culture, jobs are still leaving the city. According to the Center City District, 37 percent of Center City residents do not work downtown, with 18 percent commuting to the suburbs or beyond. We have to bring the jobs back downtown, and while I am glad that so many of our older office buildings have been converted into housing and condos, I want the office jobs, as well.

The only way we will do this is to reform our tax structure. We have to continue the aggressive reduction in the wage tax, and we have to work with City Council toward the ultimate elimination of the business privilege tax, with a short-term emphasis on eliminating the gross-receipts portion. We also need to reinvigorate our commerce department to actively sell the city and package all of our incentive programs to recruit new businesses. This can happen, and has. A few years ago, Lincoln Financial decided to move its headquarters from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Center City Philadelphia. We need this story repeated.

With more jobs, we will increase our tax base — and require more housing — and we can drive this success story in Center City, as well as in our older industrial neighborhoods.

We already have a dynamic and wonderful city that is particularly attractive to young, educated and motivated people. Now, we just need to increase the number of large and medium corporations locating within the city so that there are always job opportunities for the thousands of college students who graduate in Philadelphia each year, many of whom would love the opportunity to stay here.

If you have a question you want to ask one of our potential next mayors, send it to hickey@citypaper.net or call 215-735-8444, ext. 211. (And please include your name and neighborhood.) We'll personally pass them along and publish the responses in the paper and at www.citypaper.net.