Upper Darby’s Council President Brian Burke announced Thursday he’s now a candidate for mayor, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY.

The 57-year-old Republican, life-long Upper Darby resident, and member of Steamfitters Local Union 420, said he intends to address issues of crime and taxes in his campaign.

“We have X amount of parks that have been neglected over many years. We have a police force, to me, that is not big enough to support this town,” Burke said.   

His announcement came a day after current Democratic Mayor Barbarann Keffer announced she would finish out her term but not seek re-election.

Keffer took office in 2020 but has been physically absent since late January while she seeks treatment following a DUI arrest in January.

Burke was elected council president as a Democrat in 2019 but he was formally condemned in July 2022 by the Upper Darby Democratic Committee due to an ongoing feud.

His father was the first Democrat to ever be elected to council in Lansdowne in 1976. His father came back in 1992 and served as the only Republican on Lansdowne’s council.

This will be Burke’s second run for mayor, after running a little more than a decade ago.

Read more about Upper Darby Council President Brian Burke at WHYY.