Forget that call for a new state senator for eastern Delaware County.
Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, D-8, isn't going anywhere.
He got waxed yesterday in his bid to become the next mayor of Philadelphia. Williams, despite doing well in in his West Philly stronghold, lost just about every other section of the city as he got walloped by former city councilman Jim Kenney in the Democratic Primary.
Kenney held a 2-1 margin over Williams with almost all city votes counted.
Of course, with the Dems' 7-1 voter registration edge in the city, that pretty much means Kenney will be the next mayor. That's not a slap at newcomer Republican Melissa Murray Bailey. To say she will be a longshot is aking to saying the Phillies will win the World Series. A Republican has not been elected mayor in Philadelphia since the 1940s.
Instead of heading east to City Hall, Williams will continue to go west, back to serving his constituents - including a lot of Delco folks - in Harrisburg.
Williams' 8th District Senate seat includes parts of Collingdale, Colwyn, Darby Borough, Darby Township, Folcroft, Lansdowne, Norwood, Sharon Hill and Yeadon.
Williams became the front-runner early in the race, pushing for changes in education and backed by some serious big-buck benefactors, suburban guys who were pushing school choice and charter schools.
But Williams seemed to back away from that stance during the campaign and never really identified who he is or what he stands for. In the meantime, he got lost in the backwash of a very smart campaign run by Kenney, who stunned a lot of people by winning the backing of several influential leaders in the African-American community.
It might herald the start of a new era of post-racial voting in the city. A white candidate had never topped a black candidate in as many minority communities as Kenney managed to do on Tuesday.
Kenney took 55 percent of the vote, compared to just 26 percent for Williams.
Former D.A. Lynne Abraham, Nelson Diaz, Doug Oliver and Milton Street lagged far behind in single digits.
Williams expected to roll up huge wins in African-American neighborhoods. It didn't happen. Kenney won almost every neighborhood in the city.
Perhaps the fatal flaw in the Williams' campaign came late, when the senator announced he would dump Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who just happens to be the most popular figure in the city.
Now Williams will limp back to Harrisburg. He's already lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor. Now he can add a failed mayoral run to his resume.
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