Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her support Wednesday of the Philadelphia mayor’s proposed plan to tax soda sales in order to fund universal pre-school in the city.
Appearing at a forum hosted a gun control advocacy group, Mothers of the Movement, Clinton said she was “very supportive” of the proposal, which was introduced by newly-elected Mayor Jim Kenney in March but has drawn fire from opponents following the announcement.
“It starts early with working with families, working with kids, building up community resources — I’m very supportive of the mayor’s proposal to tax soda to get universal pre-school for kids,” Clinton said during the event.
“I mean, we need universal pre-school. And if that’s a way to do it, that’s how we should do it,” Clinton added.
Kenney, a Democratic mayor elected in November, is not the first Philadelphia mayor to propose a tax on soda. Former Mayor Michael Nutter, Kenney’s predecessor, proposed a two cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks twice, only to have it defeated on both times back in 2010 and 2011.
The most famous battle against sugary drinks was waged, however, by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who tried to ban oversized sodas before his efforts were struck down by the New York Court of Appeals in 2014.
