Crowded field of Philadelphia Democratic mayoral candidates

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It's a pretty crowded field in the race for Philadelphia's next mayor and these are just the Democratic candidates.

Nelson Diaz has always been a trailblazer.

He was a student activist at Temple University pushing for civil rights.

He was the first Hispanic judge ever in Pennsylvania.

Now, he's running to be the town's first Latino mayor, promising to generate more funds for public schools, greater job creation, and safer streets.

"I want to make sure that when we are working within our communities there's no profiling, the stop-and-frisk have to follow the law, and we have to respect the dignity," Diaz said.

After more than 20 years on City Council, Jim Kenney has vacated his safe seat and thrown his hat in the ring for mayor.

He has strong backing from labor, he voted the progressive line, but can he put together enough of a coalition to win the May primary?

"My role over the years has been to increase opportunities for people to work. I do think I'm uniquely qualified to listen to the Chamber of Commerce and to listen to organized labor at the same time and be that person in the middle," Kenney said.

Political upstart Doug Oliver was a PGW executive after serving as Mayor Michael Nutter's press secretary. He too is running on the jobs, public safety, and education boiler plate.

"Ours schools are number one. Creating jobs in the city of Philadelphia is number two. Doing it with an eye and mind for fairness is number three. We think if we can solve those core problems then a lot of the other derivative problems that the city is facing start to solve themselves," Oliver said.

Veteran State Senator Anthony Williams has a large war chest. Many of his backers are wealthy proponents of more charter schools. Williams will not apologize for that.

"I've done a lot to support public education period. I don't agree you have to pick a traditional public school versus a charter school; they're all public schools," Williams said.

And the most familiar name in the tug of war for the Democratic nomination - Lynne Abraham, the legendary tough cookie and former hard-line D.A. of Philadelphia.

Surrounded by young staffers, she is promising a firm steady hand to take command in the post-Nutter era.

"Our education, job creation, safety and security of our community and neighborhoods. Those are the three things that resonate with everybody," Abraham said.

North Philadelphia minister Keith Goodman has announced he's running, but will have to overcome residency and petition questions first.

"Education is one of the most important and pressing issues to the city. But in particular, making sure whatever school they attend, there is accountability," Goodman said.

Former State Senator Milton Street, our town's reigning master of colorful political theater, claims he will join the race next month.

Someone from this Democratic field is more than likely to be the next mayor. The Republicans still have no handpicked candidate and registration-wise, they're outnumbered 6 to 1.