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Kenney: Look at me, I got endorsed by PFT

Democratic mayoral candidate Jim Kenney took another opportunity Monday to crow about his endorsement by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

Democratic mayoral candidate Jim Kenney took another opportunity Monday to crow about his endorsement by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

Kenney and Jerry Jordan, president of the 12,000 member union, met at the John B. Kelly Elemetary School in Germantown so the PFT could make official its formal blessing of the candidate.

Jordan let the cat out of the bag on Friday with a tweet announcing the union's support for Kenney. That was followed by verbal confirmation the same day by Jordan and Kenney.

None of which was necessarily a surprise: It had been a poorly-kept secret that the union was likely to back Kenney as its members' best hope to stop state Sen. Anthony H. Williams, who is seen as a pro-charter school candidate.

The union's support is seen as critical to Kenney, who, as a result, can expect campaign funding, staffing help, and potentially, super PAC backing from the American Federation of Teachers.

Jordan on Monday stressed the endorsement was not "political theater" but an expression of the PFT's membership, which voted to support Kenney by at three-to-one margin.

Kenney and Jordan were backed by about a dozen Kelly teachers as they stood in front of the school for the endorsement news conference. With them, too, was Helen Gym, public school advocate and now a candidate for a City Council at-large seat.

Asked if her presence should be seen as an endorsement of Kenney, Gym laughed and said she supported the PFT.

chepp@phillynews.com

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