Mayor, 92, looks to four more years

Rather than attend the party celebrating his reelection as mayor of South Coatesville, James C. Kennedy thought that, under the circumstances, he was better off conserving his energy.

Kennedy just turned 92.

"We expect to do a lot of things," Kennedy, one of the oldest mayors in the United States, said yesterday. (Dorothy Geeben, mayor of Ocean Breeze Park, Fla., is 101.)

Kennedy, a Democrat who is older than his tiny Chester County borough, which was founded in 1921, defeated Republican William C. Jones on Tuesday to win a fifth term.

The tally was 85-59 - a tad dicier than the 2005 election, in which he was unopposed, but a comfortable margin nonetheless.

Kennedy stopped short of attributing his victory to campaign strategy. "I didn't campaign at all," he said. And he didn't party afterward. "They had a little celebration down in Thorndale," he said, "but I didn't go."

He said he expects to be busy the next four years. The predominantly African American town is growing, and new townhouses have sprouted. From 2000 to 2007, the population increased 7 percent, nudging just above 1,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"I want to see a new police station and a new borough hall," Kennedy said. "We don't have enough room." He said he also wants to gussy up First Avenue, South Coatesville's main drag.

However, Kennedy said he is confronting economic realities, and he'll be shopping for grant money. The South Coatesville municipal tax rate is among the highest in the region, and Kennedy said he thinks he'll be able to keep a lid on it.

"I'm quite sure of that," he said. "Unless the unthinkable happens."

In the meantime, he said, he doesn't even want to talk about new taxes. "Nobody wants to hear it," he said. "People are struggling."

Contact staff writer Anthony R. Wood at 610-313-8210 or twood@phillynews.com.