Philadelphia City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart plans to resign Tuesday and announce she’s running for mayor on a pledge to carry out the financial, organizational, and public-safety-oriented reforms she’s for years urged from the outside.
Rhynhart said she felt an obligation to see through the police audit. But once it was released, she wanted to start her mayoral campaign — even though her launch comes just weeks before a midterm election that’s dominating the political discourse.Outsider no more
She left in early 2008 to take a job as city treasurer in Philadelphia. Three weeks later, Bear Stearns collapsed. The next seven months will tell. Rhynhart may face one or two candidates who can self-fund their campaigns, and other contenders may have closer relationships with leaders of the city’s Democratic establishment.