Did Little-Known Man Quietly Launch Mayoral Campaign at a Strip Club?

This is #whyilovephilly.

Juan Rodriguez, who ran a write-in campaign for mayor in 2011, announced Thursday that he is running for mayor again this year. According to Philly.com, the kickoff may or may not have taken place at a strip club:

“No, it’s not a strip club,” said campaign treasurer Nereida Zayas. “It’s called ‘Junior’s Night Club.’ It’s like a bar, it’s a club.”

But a Philly.com photographer couldn’t help but noticing a scantily clad woman depicted on the nightclub’s sign, which advertises “Exotic Dancers.” Zayas had trouble explaining the conspicuous metal pole near Rodriguez as he was making his announcement in the North Philadelphia “nightclub.”

Rodriguez is Latino, so we would normally say that his campaign announcement is bad news for former city solicitor Nelson Diaz, who until now was the only Latino in the mayor’s race. (Why? Because Philadelphians tend to vote along racial lines.) But that assumes that Rodriguez and his staff will convince at least 1,000 voters to sign his nomination petitions, a requirement to get onto the May 19th ballot. And that’s hardly a slam dunk.