Knox is Out of the Mayor's Race – Again

Tom Knox must be hell ordering wine.

"I'll have the Pinot. No, make it the Chardonnay. No, wait..."

Just days after sending out invitations to the formal announcement of his campaign for mayor, Knox is declaring that he's out of the 2015 race.

"The significant toll a mayoral campaign would take on my family life was the motivating factor behind my decision," Knox said in a statement. "I put my family through one arduous mayoral campaign, I can't put them through another."

Knox put millions into his 2007 campaign for mayor, finishing second behind Michael Nutter in the Democratic primary.

Since then, he's just another guy who can't commit.

He announced his candidacy for governor in 2010, got consultants working for him, then abandoned the enterprise before even filing nominating petitions.

He publicly toyed with running for mayor again in 2011, conducting a poll and saying he could match Nutter dollar for dollar. He backed out again.

Last December, he was handing out "Knox for Governor" cards, telling people he'd be in the Democratic primary next year to challenge Gov. Corbett.

If the previous four paragraphs sound familiar, they're take verbatim from the last time I wrote about Knox changing course. Anyway, in April he announced he was out of the governor's race and seriously considering a run for mayor in 2015. This month he invited us to his formal announcement, then quit.

The Knox departure is no doubt welcome news to other potential candidates who would have to compete with his substantial wealth.

On the other hand, there's plenty of time for Knox to change his mind - again.


This story is reported through a newsgathering partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org.

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