Helen Gym Campaign Not Very Happy With Steve Keeley Tweet

Left: Helen Gym (Getty Images) | Right: Steve Keeley (Image via Fox 29)

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Helen Gym Campaign Not Very Happy With Steve Keeley Tweet

It was 5:42 p.m. on Tuesday. Just about 90 minutes earlier, one man shot and killed another man near the Ogontz section of the city. News of this began to break. And early reports suggested that the men might have been working for Helen Gym. Brendan McPhillips, Gym’s campaign manager, was quick to act.

“A few minutes ago, Steve Keeley of Fox29 tweeted a statement that two Helen Gym campaign workers were involved in a shooting,” wrote McPhillips on Twitter. “This is not true. All of our staff are safe and accounted for – and neither Keeley, nor anyone at Fox reached out to our campaign to fact check this.”

By 5:49 p.m., Keeley, who didn’t respond to my request for comment, had deleted his original tweet. He replaced it with one that merely mentioned that the men were handing out campaign literature. Keeley didn’t mention the Helen Gym campaign in this new tweet. Other outlets began reporting that the men were working for One PA, an organization that canvasses for Gym, among other progressive candidates.

On the McPhillips thread, noted conservative Christine Flowers called out McPhillips, asking “Why is your first thought ‘protect the campaign’ instead of worrying that someone handing out literature is dead?”

And on the Keeley thread, Keeley’s followers called him out for deleting his original post.

It didn’t take long for Gym herself to weigh in on all this with a much more measured and compassionate approach.

“I was devastated to hear about the tragic death of a canvasser today,” Gym wrote on Twitter. “My thoughts are with the family of the victim, the One PA community, and everyone impacted by this irrevocable loss. Though the canvasser was not part of our campaign, this loss is deeply felt by all of us.”

Police are investigating the shooting.

Mayor Kenney Takes a Shot at Allan Domb Endorsement

Last week, after Rebecca Rhynhart secured the endorsements of former mayors Ed Rendell, Michael Nutter and John Street, Allan Domb found a former mayor of his own to endorse him: Bill Green, who served as mayor from 1980 to 1984. (Green’s son, also named Bill, later served as a member of City Council). And on Monday, Kenney used the opportunity of a press conference to take a shot at this endorsement from Green, who is 84.

“I mean, look, I don’t know how many people were alive when Green was mayor,” Kenney said, according to this account in the Inquirer. “I’m waiting to see who Mayor Rizzo and Tate endorse.”

Uh, who was alive when Green was mayor? You were, Jim. And voting age, to boot.

Speaking of Allan Domb Endorsements…

Bernard Hopkins?! I have to say, this is the first time I recall a boxer endorsing a Philadelphia mayoral candidate. Hopkins also did a commercial for Domb back when Domb was running for City Council-at-Large. Given that Hopkins is a generally beloved and well respected figure in the world of boxing, it can’t hurt!

Escapees Escape Notice

Last night, when news broke that two men (one of whom is said to be a multiple murderer) escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center in Northeast Philly nearly 24 hours earlier, was anybody else’s first thought, And we are just hearing about this now why? Police continue to search for the men while a separate investigation tries to figure out how the hell their escape went unnoticed for so long.

Good Question!

“Why did the Mutter Museum take down all their Youtube videos and online exhibits?”

By the Numbers

$351,354: Fines the PPA handed out to drivers over the last week for parking in street-sweeping zones, according to a PPA spokesperson on Tuesday morning. That’s 11,334 tickets at $31 a pop. The PPA issued just over 90 tickets to cars parked in bike lanes. Those fines range from $51 to $76, depending on the location.

75: Average high temperature forecasted over the next week. I’ll take it!

$6,000: Money a West Philly church got for its old stained glass windows, which they wanted to remove in an effort to “modernize” the place. Turns out the windows were Tiffany glass. Whoops!

And from the Go-Get-’Em! Sports Desk …

So tonight the Sixers are back at TD Garden for Game 5 in their playoff series vs. the Celtics. It’s been a hair-raising ride so far. The two games the Sixers won have been squeakers; the two the Celts took were blowouts. In the two the Sixers won, James Harden scored 45 and 42, respectively. The two they lost, he notched a combined 28. Who do you think has to have a hot game tonight? Luckily, the Beard can take inspiration from this song Doc texted to him before Sunday’s win.

Tip-off’s at 7:30. Go, team!

The Phillies start a series at home against Toronto tonight at 6:40. And the Union have a home match at 8:30 vs. Minnesota to start the round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup.

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.