Philadelphia 3.0 Announces Endorsements for City Council At-Large Elections

Philadelphia 3.0, a non-profit and political action committee formed in 2014 to support new leadership for Philadelphia City Council, announced a slate of endorsed candidates in the 2023 Democratic At Large primaries on Monday. In the race for City Council At-Large Democrats, the group announced its support for incumbents Katherine Gilmore-Richardson and Isaiah Thomas, along with newcomers Job Itzkowitz, Eryn Santamoor, and Donavan West.  Continue reading

2023 Issues: Fair Citywide Rules vs. Councilmanic Prerogative

(Photo credit: Jon Geeting) Inquirer reporters Jake Blumgart and Sean Walsh talked to outgoing Council President Darrell Clarke about one of the big themes of his tenure in office, which we also focused on in our last newsletter: the steady power shift from the Mayor toward District City Council members on land use and built-environment questions. "Clarke announced Feb. 23 that he is not seeking reelection, ending a 40-year career in City Hall, which includes almost a quarter-century on City Council, 12 of those years as the Council’s leader. The defining principle of Clarke’s tenure — empowering hyperlocal decision-making, often at the expense of citywide policy — could last long after he is gone. It can be seen in the ever greater latitude of district Council members to set rules specific to their territory — to the chagrin of those who argue that it creates a patchwork of rules that makes it harder to do everything from making streets safer to opening a new coffee shop. It also tends to privilege the loudest voices, which are usually those most opposed to change."   Continue reading

Council President Clarke's Departure Dramatically Raises the Stakes for 2023 City Council Elections

(Photo Credit: Thom Carroll | Philly Voice) Further cementing the 2023 election’s status as a pivotal election year for the city of Philadelphia, Council President and 5th District Councilmember Darrell Clarke announced last Thursday he would not run for another term.   Continue reading

2023 Issues: Two Million Philadelphians!

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been reporting on some of the horse-race news about Philadelphia’s 2023 elections, like who’s running for At-Large and District primaries, how much money everybody’s been raising, and what could happen in the general election.  Continue reading

How Did Philly's 2023 City Council Candidates Perform in the Money Race?

(Photo: Michael Bryant / Philadelphia Inquirer) Christmas Day for 2023 election observers came earlier this week with the release of candidates’ Cycle 7 campaign finance reports—the first real concrete gauge of the candidates’ electoral viability. Continue reading

Previewing the 2023 Philly General Election

In two recent newsletters we previewed the emerging field for City Council District primaries and the At-Large primary, based on what we know from the confirmed candidate committee filings and what various political observers are saying. This week we’ll take a look at some of the emerging general election dynamics that are visible at this point in time. Continue reading

The Emerging At-Large Primary Field for Philly City Council

With three Democratic At-Large members having resigned to run for Mayor, the At-Large City Council candidate field in 2023 was expected to be pretty crowded. So far, though, it doesn’t appear the race will be quite as crowded as it was in the 2019 cycle when there were just two open seats. The 2019 Democratic primary had attracted 30 At-Large candidates, while the 2015 primary—with just one open seat—featured 15 At-Large Democrats on the ballot.  Continue reading

The Emerging Primary Field for Philly's City Council District Elections

No matter what else happens in the 2023 elections, one thing is for sure: there are going to be a lot of new faces on City Council in 2024.  Continue reading

And They're Off! The 2023 Mayor's Race Starts in Earnest

With Councilmember Helen Gym’s entrance into the 2023 Philadelphia Mayoral race this week, all of the candidates we mentioned in our overview from earlier this fall have now declared their candidacies, and the race has begun in earnest.  Continue reading

Philadelphia's 2022 Turnout Was Lower Than the Suburbs'

(Chart: Lara Putnam) Pennsylvania Democratic voters turned out in surprising numbers for a midterm election last week, as we recapped in our last article, but the situation in Philadelphia was a lot more mixed. Jonathan Tannen at the Sixty-Six Wards blog published a preliminary review of the turnout situation in Philadelphia, noting that while Pennsylvania as a whole turned out at a higher rate than in 2018, Philadelphia’s turnout fell short of matching 2018, though it was higher than in 2014. Continue reading