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Chester mayoral candidate strives to turn around beleaguered city
CHESTER, Pa. - The City of Chester, a beleaguered suburb of Philadelphia, will have a new mayor in January after a member of city council ousted their longtime mayor. Stefan Root, a 62-year-old Councilmember and electrical engineer, defeated two-term Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland by thousands of votes in the city's recent election. If he beats an independent challenger in the fall, Root will take the reins of the bankrupt city that's finances are currently controlled by a state-appointed receiver with a $45M hole in its pension. "Most of my work is going to be in city hall, straightening up city hall trying to turn it back into a business because it’s a $65M operation not a corner store operation.," Root told FOX 29's Jeff Cole. When manufacturing vanished in Chester the city faded. Some of its 33k residents struggle with poverty on streets marred by broken down homes. Roots said he wants to work with the state Receiver to fix the city’s deep financial problems.