This past Sunday marked a milestone for my administration. It’s hard to believe, but September 30 was my 1,000th day as Mayor of this amazing city.
As we look back, there’s a lot to reflect upon. It’s been a pretty eventful 1,000 days to say the least!
The Philadelphia Beverage Tax was passed in 2016 and has already made a real impact in neighborhoods all over the city. Thousands of children and families have been served by PHLpreK and Community Schools, and we’re well on our way to making hundreds of millions of dollars of renovations to our aging rec centers, playgrounds, parks, and libraries through Rebuild.
After nearly two decades, our public schools are now led by a locally-appointed Board of Education, and the School District has more City resources to build on its hard-won progress over the last few years.
We’ve taken on the Trump administration, defending our most vulnerable communities. Crime rates are at the lowest levels they’ve been in 40 years and our criminal justice reforms have safely reduced the local prison population by a third.
Our beloved Eagles even won the Super Bowl! (OK, I definitely can’t take credit for that one, but I think you can agree that the victory parade was an incredible experience that we’ll never forget.)
In recognition of the first 1,000 days of the administration, we put together a report that highlights what we’ve been working on. This report covers our efforts to improve public safety, invest in quality education, reform our criminal justice system, restore equity in our neighborhoods, bolster our local economy, combat the opioid crisis, and so much more.
There are even some interesting efforts in there that you might not have known about.
For instance:
- Did you know that we’ve made a historic investment in repaving Philadelphia’s streets?
- Have you heard that our current tax collection rate of 96% is the highest on record?
- Are you familiar with what we’re doing to support local businesses?
When we started this journey together – all the way back in January 2016 — I told you that I was going to be a mayor for all Philadelphians.
It doesn’t matter what zip code you live in. I wanted to fight to create more opportunity in every corner of our city
In October 2018, we remain focused on the same goal: creating a more equitable city that works for everyone. This mission still keeps me going every single day.
I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made so far, and I hope you are too. But, make no mistake about it — there’s still much more work to be done.
I’m really excited for what’s still to come.