Procrastinator’s Guide to the 2023 primary election in Philly

Cherelle Parker hails from Northwest Philadelphia, where her political career was kicked off under the tutelage of District 9 leaders like Marian Tasco — who brought Parker on as an intern after she won a high school speaking contest. 

Parker served as a state rep in Harrisburg for a decade between 2005-2015, and then was elected to Council, serving for seven years. Her experience is reflected in her endorsements; she’s backed by much of Philly’s delegation to Harrisburg and multiple members of City Council, plus perennial political players like the city’s Building Trades Coalition. 

Parker’s policy orientation has been towards building and sustaining “middle neighborhoods,” hence the importance she grants to providing assistance for homeowners, commercial corridor beautification, and a cautious approach to development. In this race, she’s taken a pro-policing stance, calling for 300 officers to consistently walk a beat and for the renewed use of Terry stops, which she also calls “constitutional stop and frisk.”

Three priorities:

1. Implementing her safety plan, involving more police presence and surveillance cameras, consistent city services, and more. 
2. Starting up robust year-round schooling in the public education system. 
3. Reducing wage and business taxes.

→ Campaign website

James “Jimmy” DeLeon is a West Philly-raised retired judge who served on Philly’s Municipal Court for 34 years, and then chaired the legal committee for the Democratic City Committee. DeLeon ran into disciplinary issues on two occasions — and was handed a three-month suspension in one case — during his time as a public official, and ran unsuccessfully for Pa. Supreme Court and Pa. Superior court. 

The core policy of DeLeon’s campaign has been what he calls the Local Incident Management System (LIMS), which would essentially coordinate the anti-violence efforts of law enforcement agencies, the mayor, and Council. 

Three priorities:

1. Setting up the LIMS system, based on the National Incident Management System.
2. Hiring 1,500 new PPD officers. 
3. Citywide rent control

→ Campaign website

Rhynhart, who grew up in Abington, moved to Philadelphia in 2008 and got her start in government as city treasurer under Mayor Michael Nutter after leaving a job on Wall Street. She later served as city budget director and chief administrative officer. Rhynhart ran for City Controller in 2017, besting a party-supported incumbent in the Democratic primary. As controller — the first woman to serve in the role — she started using the office to publish public-facing policy analysis on citywide issues, took the city to task on its confusing accounting methods, and found big disparities in 911 response times by neighborhood in an audit of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Three former mayors — Nutter, John Street, and Ed Rendell — have endorsed Rhynhart, and so has The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Three of her priorities:

• Reducing violent crime
• Providing a “quality education” using a “child-centered approach”
• Increasing economic opportunity and making prosperity “shared and sustainable”

→ Campaign website

Born in Philadelphia, Gray is a graduate of Bok High School and ITT Tech, where she earned an associate degree in cybersecurity. A former medical secretary, public health research assistant, and security officer, she currently serves as protective services officer with Jefferson Health in East Norriton.

Gray has stated she would like to see intensive foot patrols and mobile police units deployed within areas of the city with the highest crime rates. She has also acknowledged a need for greater transparency between the city and its residents but stopped short of providing any further information.

Beyond that, few details exist on Gray’s candidacy. A Twitter account exists under her name; the most recent tweet, from 2017, inquiring how to pay a red-light ticket online when the city’s website is down. There are only 7 other tweets on the account, all from 2016, in which she seems to be angling for a position as Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, claiming “I have the experience.” 

Three priorities:

1. Public safety
2. Public health
3. Protective services

→ No campaign site

Amen Brown is a West Philly native, and at 35, the youngest mayoral candidate. Brown has touted the fact that he’s experienced struggles similar to his constituents — including being shot as a minor, dealing with an arrest and pretrial detention, and navigating poverty. He won a seat in the state House in 2020 and was reelected in 2022.

Prior to public office, Brown ran nonprofits and dabbled in real estate, endeavors that accrued unpaid debts (including taxes to the city) and accusations that he bilked business partners. He’s also improperly filed candidate financial statements multiple times, including in this race. In office Brown has been known to break from fellow Democrats on issues of criminal justice, like when he pushed for new mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related crimes. 

Three priorities:

1. A 3-year Business Income & Receipts Tax abatement for Philly small businesses.
2. Banning ski masks and starting a Social Media Task Force to “aggressively monitor gang activity.”
3. Crafting a new blight removal plan

→ Campaign website

The only declared candidate who has never worked in government or run for office, the grocery store magnate was initially known for opening stores in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods that were food deserts — and winning the Obamas’ praise for that work – as well as for hiring formerly incarcerated people. He entered the political scene as a vocal critic of Mayor Jim Kenney’s sweetened beverage tax. 

A dark-money super PAC spent heavily on TV commercials supporting Brown, boosting his prominence early in the race. He vowed to improve basic services like trash pickup, attacked rivals as career politicians who had accomplished little in elected office, and was endorsed by the FOP, the transit workers union and the largest municipal workers union. But he was criticized for ads that incorrectly implied Michelle Obama had endorsed him and others that seemed racially insensitive, and took heat for dismissing environmental justice concerns in Chester, where much of Philly’s trash is burned.

In April the city’s Board of Ethics sued the super PAC, alleging it had flagrantly violated campaign finance laws last year by illegally coordinating fundraising with Brown. He admitted soliciting donations for the PAC but attacked the charges as a “political hit job.”

Three priorities:

1. Fight poverty by encouraging minority entrepreneurs
2. Hire more police officers
3. Provide opportunities to returning citizens

→ Campaign website

Bloom is a lifelong Philadelphian and perennial candidate who’s run for other positions at least six times. According to his campaign website, he’s worked as a minister, music and media professional, and public claims adjuster, as well as spending time as a community organizer, block captain, and volunteer. News outlets vetting Bloom’s candidacy for traffic court a decade ago found he’d pled no contest to charges of simple assault, indecent assault, and corrupting a minor in 1992. Bloom told journalists he didn’t personally think he was guilty, but he didn’t know what the term meant and had wanted to spare the teenager “any more emotional stress.”

Three of his priorities:

• Strengthening public schools and ensuring “excellence for teaching and learning”
• Children, families, and “a safer city”
• Pushing for “fair and competitive” wages

→ Campaign website

A self-made businessman known as Philadelphia’s “Condo King,” Domb served two terms as councilmember, resigning last August before announcing his mayoral campaign. The real estate magnate – his current properties are worth upwards of $400M – has often focused on fiscal solutions and job creation. As councilmember, Domb donated his salary to Philadelphia public schools, advocated for a wage tax refund for low-income families, and chaired the Fiscal Stability and Intergovernmental Cooperation committee.

Despite being the biggest spender in the race by a wide margin, Domb has earned fewer high-profile endorsements than some competitors, but did win the backing of former Mayor Bill Green.  

Three priorities:

1. Bringing “the violence under control,” with a 10-point action plan for his first 100 days in office
2. Providing affordable housing.
3. Improving education standards, with a focus on teaching “financial literacy and entrepreneurship to the kids in all of our schools, from K-12.”

→ Campaign website

Gym, a Penn grad who’s spent around three decades in Philly, served two terms on City Council — from 2016 to 2022 — until her resignation. Before, she was known for her local education activism and leadership of the group Parents United for Public Education. As a councilmember, Gym focused her efforts on education, labor, and housing, spearheading fair workweek legislation and an eviction diversion program that’s been nationally recognized. 

Gym has garnered a lot of progressive support both inside and outside Philadelphia. She’s been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, as well as Working Families Party, Reclaim Philadelphia, and state Sen. Nikil Saval. She has some union support too, including from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, UNITE HERE Philadelphia, and AFSCME District Council 47.

Three priorities:

• Employing a “comprehensive, unified approach to public safety”
• Ensuring access to safe and fully-funded public schools
• Growing a “fair, inclusive, innovative, and vibrant” economy

→ Campaign website

Selby, of Strawberry Mansion, grew up in Philadelphia, lived abroad, and moved back 10 years ago. He’s been a chef and hosted television and radio food shows on the cable access network PhillyCAM, where he is a board member. He also worked for a marketing firm that developed Philly 4 Life, a school violence-prevention project.

His platform focuses on promoting public safety, education, entrepreneurship, home ownership and health care, and “working strategically for an equitable, all-inclusive future.”

→ Campaign site is here

Cohen is a tenants rights lawyer who has previously run for Council three times, trying to follow in the footsteps of her father, a longtime Council member. She worked on a lawsuit against tobacco companies and a suit to block the closure of city libraries, among others, and has co-chaired the Civil Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club.

Her priorities include building community-led public safety programs to end gun violence, keeping libraries and rec centers open every day, and creating a Green New Deal for Philadelphia that will generate union jobs.

→ Facebook page is here

Shedrick is president of operations at Upper North Neighbors Association, a community group and RCO (registered community organization). She’s also worked for Jumpstart Tioga, a redevelopment and development training organization. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign website.

Alexander is an attorney who grew up in Strawberry Mansion. He is a business development manager for Makpar, an IT contractor for the federal government. He previously served as president of the Penn State Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, was a board member at WESA in Pittsburgh, and had an internship in the City Controller’s Office.

He has proposed a fleet of drones to help with law enforcement, and his priorities include public access to community surveillance cameras, providing STEM training, promoting education around LGBTQ discrimination laws, and higher teacher pay.

→ Campaign site is here

Luz Colon is executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Latino Affairs and previously worked in the offices of City Council members Angel Ortiz, Blondell Reynolds Brown and Bill Greenlee. She’s a 20th Ward committee person and was a board member at Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and Philadelphia Fight, an HIV/AIDS medical care organization.

Her campaign priorities include improving public safety, promoting economic opportunity, and investing in quality public education. 

→ Campaign site is here

Dorsey is a West Philadelphia resident who works as a driver, per his candidate filing with the city. He previously ran for an at-large seat in 2019. His priorities include mental health, education, neighborhood cleanups, food distribution, housing, and rebuilding and expanding city resources, according to his Facebook page.

→ Facebook page is here

Williams is a clinical social worker who runs a mental health and life coaching consultancy, and serves as a pastor at New Inspirational Baptist Church in Nicetown. She has been board president at the former Bluford Charter School in West Philadelphia, which is slated to return to district control this fall. 

Her goals include “education awareness,” making “environmental changes through economic development,” and increasing mental health access, according to her Facebook page.

→ Facebook page is here

Robbins is a Maryland native and former Army combat medic who moved to Philly in 1995, per a Tribune profile. She has been a radio host at WURD and political strategist, working on campaigns for Gov. Tom Wolf, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and other City Council candidates. 

Her platform calls for Comcast and other corporations to pay more taxes, and for PILOTs from nonprofits and universities. She’s also calling for public financing of political campaigns, and has previously focused on eliminating poverty by investing in schools. 

→ Facebook page is here

Raised in Northeast Philly and now a South Philly resident, McIllmurray is best known for her work as political director for Reclaim Philadelphia, a progressive group she co-founded in 2016. She’s also worked on other campaigns, per her LinkedIn page. Before politics, she was a legal assistant and held jobs in food service and retail.

McIllmurray has said she wants to “build a coalition between labor, progressives, and working-class people across the city” by pursuing priorities like rent controls, workers’ rights issues, and tax changes.” She’s been endorsed by the Working Families Party.

→ Campaign site is here

Edwards is a community organizer and political consultant who lives in Mt. Airy. He was a 2018 candidate for a North Philly Pa. House seat. He has worked for the Committee of Seventy, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, and the Biden and Obama presidential campaigns. He’s currently the political action chair of the NAACP Philadelphia branch, and a city committeeperson.

His priorities include improving 911 response times in communities of color, addressing illegal dumping, funding the Board of Ethics, and lowering business taxes.

→ Campaign site is here

Landau, a Bella Vista resident, previously directed the city’s Commission on Human Relations and Fair Housing Commission and has served as the director of law and policy for the Philadelphia Bar Association. Before that, she was a lawyer for Community Legal Services and a housing activist. If elected, she’d be the first openly LGBTQ city councilmember. Landau is the only non-incumbent Council candidate to be endorsed by the full Democratic City Committee, and she’s also been endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Landau bills herself as a longtime “fighter for Philly.” She says she’ll work to make sure “every person in our city” can have “the best we have to offer,” like an end to gun violence and access to safe and affordable housing.

→ Campaign site is here

Hagins, who describes himself as the “Philly Green Man,” is an activist and retired educator, according to his website. After years of what he says is “working hard to clean up the street from trash,” Hagins “now wants to clean up Philadelphia City Council.” He previously ran for an at-large seat in the 2019 primary.

Hagins’ priorities include education reform, better waste management, and creating Green New Deal-like policies at the local level.

→ Campaign site is here

Almirón is a social justice activist who was formerly executive director of Juntos, a Philadelphia immigrant rights nonprofit. The daughter of immigrants from Paraguay, she previously ran for an at-large seat in 2019. She has worked at the Philadelphia Student Union, the American Friends Service Committee U.S. Border Program, and Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Stated priorities include affordable housing, protection for renters, and property tax relief. She also backs environmental policies such as retrofitting city buildings to use solar energy and green job training in disinvested communities. Almirón has been endorsed by the Working Families Party.

→ Campaign site is here

Ahmad is an executive, activist, scientist, and former bureaucrat from Mt. Airy who’s previously run for two state-level offices: lieutenant governor and auditor general. She served as deputy mayor for public engagement in Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, and now leads the Pa. chapter of the National Organization for Women. Ahmad, who was born in Bangladesh, served on the National Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under Obama.

Ahmad has said she wants to look at the city’s myriad issues through a “public health lens,” centering wellness in her approach to issues like gun violence, the environment, education, and housing.

→ Campaign site is here

Reyes was until recently a community school coordinator at Murrell Dobbins CTE High School in North Philadelphia, and before that worked as a crisis manager in a youth behavioral program. In 2019, Good Morning America honored him for his education work. 

→ Facebook page is here

West was until recently president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He runs his own firm, Black Business Accelerator and Culturally Congruent Solutions, and was previously an executive at People For People, a North Philly nonprofit focused on education and family development. He grew up in North Philadelphia, lives in Fishtown, and is building a home in Fairmount.

His platform focuses on crime, affordable housing, education, health care, poverty, and business, according to his website.

→ Campaign site is here

Griffin is a math and reading teacher who has taught in city schools, served as a project manager and instructor for the district’s Bright Solar Futures youth training program, and been a board member at Serenity Soular, according to an online profile. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Harrity, who lives in Kensington, joined Council in November after winning a special election to replace Allan Domb. He has been political director of the state and city Democratic parties and was state Sen. Sharif Street’s executive director. He previously worked in union construction, was an auditor in the City Controller’s office, and serves on the board of addiction nonprofit One Day at a Time.

When he took office, Harrity said his first priority was adding more surveillance cameras in high-crime areas to help police arrest violent offenders. Other stated priorities include increasing resources for education and job training to improve social mobility. He is endorsed by the Democratic City Committee.

→ Facebook page is here

Santamoor, a Chestnut Hill resident, was chief of staff to former Councilmember Allan Domb and has held other government roles, including deputy managing director during the Nutter administration. She sits on the board of Uplift Center for Grieving Children, an East Falls-based nonprofit that supports children who’ve lost a loved one. This is Santamoor’s second time running for council — she also pursued an at-large seat in 2019.

As councilmember, Santamoor says she would prioritize public safety, substance use treatment, and “quality services for every neighborhood.”

→ Campaign site is here

Stevenson, of Nicetown, is a former constituent services representative for Councilmember Cindy Bass, and he runs the mentorship nonprofit Real Men Speak. He is also a Boy Scout leader, per his campaign paperwork.

In a Facebook video, Stevenson said a priority for him on City Council would be streamlining and speeding up city services.

→ Facebook page is here

Kelly is a consultant on alternative energy projects and CFO of a biomedical firm and an athletic apparel company. He previously worked in municipal finance for PNC. He’s a son of former Councilmember John B. Kelly and nephew of late Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly. He is president of the environmental group Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a board member at the Fairmount Park Conservancy, and treasurer of the Philadelphia Police Foundation.

Campaign priorities include dismantling the “economic apartheid” in Philadelphia and tackling Black Americans’ barriers to financial and social capital rooted in slavery and institutionalized racism.

→ Campaign site is here

Segers, an Olney resident, is assistant principal of school culture at Mann Elementary Mastery Charter School in Wynnefield and was previously a special education teacher. He runs the Segers Foundation, a youth services organization.

Segers says his priorities are providing educational resources for all students, working with the community to come up with solutions to stop gun violence, and creating career pathways for youth that will lead to wealth.

→ Campaign site is here

When Richardson won the 2019 election, she was the youngest woman ever elected to citywide office and the youngest Black woman ever elected to Council. She previously served as chief of staff for former Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown and as vice president of the Young Philly Democrats. She serves on the U.S. EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee.

Among her achievements she counts bills requiring public hearings on police labor contracts, cracking down on nuisance businesses, and integrating climate risk disclosure into city operations. She created a guidebook on apprenticeship programs and worked to have the School District provide conflict resolution services. Richardson has been endorsed by the Democratic City Committee.

→ Campaign site is here

Prettyman is an educator and a small business owner who runs an event planning company called Impressed by M. Conquest, according to her website. She says she has seen the “social, emotional, and economic toll robbing Philadelphians from the quality of life they deserve” through her students.

Prettyman wants to run for office to be an “advocate for the needs of children and families.” On her website, she lists crime reduction, educational reform, and supporting small businesses as issues that need to be tackled. 

→ Campaign site is here

Itzkowitz has since 2014 been executive director of the Old City District, which oversees cleaning and economic development initiatives in the neighborhood. A resident of Point Breeze, he was previously deputy chief of staff and director of legislation for City Council, and before that was an attorney at Ballard Spahr. He co-founded Young Involved Philadelphia, and helped found Friends of Love Park.

Itzkowitz says he is focusing on creating a city with clean streets, safe neighborhoods, comfortable use of public transit at all hours, well-resourced public schools, and unique and vibrant local businesses.

→ Campaign site is here

Booth is a math teacher in city schools who was previously an IT manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also worked for the Department of Defense, according to his campaign bio, and has coached tennis at Haverford College and several clubs. He is an East Mount Airy Neighbors board member.

His stated priorities include increasing the number of Black male teachers and generally improving Philly schools, preventing crime, enhancing the city’s status as a historical and cultural destination, reducing its carbon footprint by promoting renewable energy, and creating a public bank.

→ Campaign site is here

Thomas won his seat in 2019, his third try. He was previously director of community affairs in the City Controller’s office, served as associate dean and athletic director at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School, and worked at nonprofit organizations. He co-founded a charitable foundation that puts on free summer youth programs and served on the Mayor’s Commission for African-American Men.

On Council he chairs the Streets Committee and is vice chair of the Children and Youth Committee. He hosts an annual Black-Owned Business Crawl, sponsored a Driving Equality bill that banned traffic stops for minor offenses, and introduced legislation to reward residents for reporting illegal dumping. He is endorsed by the Democratic City Committee and the Working Families Party.

→ Campaign site is here

Cristinzio, of Harrowgate, is a recently retired PPA maintenance worker who has worked in manufacturing since the 1970s, per his Philly GOP bio. He’s also a longtime Republican committeeperson.

He supports fully funding and staffing the police department, increased monitoring of city-funded drug recovery facilities, and school choice. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Grisafi is a musician and guitar teacher from Northeast Philly who runs a business called the Grisafi Music Institute and is a Ward 53 committee leader. He previously worked in constituent services for former Councilmember Al Taubenberger and served as a RNC delegate in 2020. per the Philly GOP. Over a decade ago he ran unsuccessfully for the District 7 Council seat and for the Pa. House. 

Stated priorities include combating crime by funding the police and stiffening gun laws, improving education, and lowering real estate taxes, the wage tax, and sales taxes. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

A Logan Square resident, Murray is a regional sales manager at O’Brien Systems, a storage manufacturer based in Montgomery County. In addition to being a ward leader, he serves on the boards of his neighborhood association and the Center City District. Murray was on the ballot in last November’s special election for Council at-large. He also ran for Council in 2019 and for a Pa. House seat in 2020.

Murray’s platform includes returning “law and order” to the city, getting rid of the soda tax in favor of alternative funding, and lowering the wage tax. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee.

→ Campaign site is here

Hasher, a Torresdale resident, is a longtime realtor, the owner of a Northeast Philly sports pub, and a youth sports volunteer and leader. His past political involvement includes serving as a ward leader, running for Congress in the 1990s, and managing a successful Council campaign. He was on the ballot in November in one of the at-large Council special elections. 

Hasher, a self-described moderate, lists public safety, supporting small businesses, and addressing the opioid epidemic as his campaign priorities. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee.

→ Campaign site is here

A Torresdale resident, Kelly is a retired clerk who worked in the Philadelphia court system for 26 years, per the Philly GOP, and has worked for a decade and a half as a “premium service hostess” for the Phillies.

Kelly has been endorsed by the Republican City Committed. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Former boxer and mixed martial arts fighter Oropeza is a real estate agent and the leader of River Wards group Rescuing Streets through Clean-Ups. A resident of Bridesburg, he has appeared on the ballot once before, when he ran in a May 2022 special election for a Northeast Philly state Senate seat. 

Oropeza says he’s running to “actively strive for a safer community” by holding people like “violent repeat offenders, an absent city hall, and a rogue district attorney” accountable.

→ Campaign site is here

Squilla took office in 2012 and is serving his third term on Council. A South Philadelphia native, he previously worked as a systems analyst for the Pa. Auditor General’s Office.

In recent years he has sponsored bills creating a new “road diet” layout for part of Washington Avenue, banning single-use plastic bags, and tightening oversight of Airbnb rentals, and he co-sponsored renewal of the LOOP tax relief bill for longtime homeowners. He’s proposed mandating sprinkler systems in all tall buildings to put out fires, and has voiced support for the Sixers’ proposal to build a new arena on Market Street. He also plays Santa Claus in Franklin Square’s holiday celebration. 

→ Facebook page is here

First elected in 2011, Johnson is running for his fourth term representing his native Point Breeze and surrounding area. He came to public service after founding anti-violence org Peace Not Guns, and served as state rep from 2009 to 2012.

Johnson chairs Council’s Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention, and has made job training a priority while in office. He was recently acquitted on federal bribery charges related to an alleged consulting deal given to his wife in exchange for favorable zoning legislation — but constituents said they’d reelect him anyway.

→ Campaign site is here

Gauthier is an urban planner who grew up in West Philly. She worked at the community development nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and served as executive director of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and Fairmount Park Conservancy. 

Gauthier in 2019 surprised the political establishment by unseating longtime Councilmember Jannie Blackwell. Since then, she has become one of the city’s more activist lawmakers, and has proposed legislation to slow development. She is chair of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless.

→ Campaign site is here

First elected in 2007, Jones is seeking a fifth term representing Northwest Philadelphia. He currently serves as Council majority leader, a position he previously held from 2012-2016. A graduate of Overbrook HIgh School and Penn’s Fels School of Government, he has been appointed to several statewide boards, including the Pa. Human Relations Commission. 

While in office, he has introduced bills on criminal justice reform measures and community-driven economic development. 

→ Campaign site is here

Young is an attorney who specializes in real estate, government affairs, and business law. He previously worked as retiring Council President Darrell Clarke’s legislative counsel, and is a partner at Legis Group LLC. Young is a committeeperson in the Ward 32 and has previously served on the board of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation.

→ Campaign site is here

Driscoll, of Torresdale, is a former state representative who won a special election last year to replace former Councilmember Bobby Henon, who quit after he was convicted of corruption charges. Driscoll previously worked for Gov. Bob Casey Sr. and the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union.

His priorities include making more funding available for early education, creating jobs, developing the waterfront and attracting manufacturers to his district. He’s also focused on putting more cops in neighborhoods, cleaning streets, removing blighted properties and repairing streets and sidewalks. He opposes safe injection sites in Northeast Philadelphia.

→ Campaign site is here

Lozada, who grew up in Hunting Park and lives in Northwood, won a special election in November to succeed Maria Quiñones Sánchez, whose chief of staff she was for a decade. Lozada worked as director of community engagement for DA Larry Krasner and as vice president of community organizing and engagement at the social services provider Esperanza.

When elected, Lozada said she wanted to work on quality of life improvements and end the open public opioid use that plagues the district.

→ Facebook page is here

Celin is an educator, social worker and community organizer. He works as a trauma trainer at Lakeside Global Institute, previously served as Councilmember Helen Gym’s outreach director, and has worked for Youth United for Change and Congreso de Latinos Unidos. He volunteers with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project and LULAC Philadelphia, which provides scholarships to high school graduates.

Celin says he wants to boost low voter turnout in the district by engaging underserved residents. He called for “safe communities, affordable housing, and opportunities for our young people to learn and grow.”

→ Facebook page is here

Anderson-Oberman, an organizer at SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, previously worked for the AFL-CIO and was political director at the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey. Raised in Germantown, he has been a board member at the Philadelphia Student Union and recently cofounded the Philadelphia Labor for Black Lives Coalition. 

He wants the city to fund crisis responders, provide legal aid for people facing eviction, rent and mortgage relief, reform the Land Bank, and launch a Public Bank.

→ Campaign website is here

Bass was first elected to represent Northwest Philly in 2012 and is running for a fourth term. She serves as Council’s deputy majority whip and is chair of two committees: Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and Public Health and Human Services. She was a policy advisor to former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and an assistant to state Sen. Allyson Schwartz.

On Council, Bass has championed quality-of-life improvement legislation, like increased regulation on clothing donation bins that often collect litter, and advocated for security cameras to be installed at rec centers and playgrounds across the city.

→ Facebook page is here

Young is an administrator and construction manager who has overseen projects for the School District of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Gas Works. A native of West Oak Lane, she’s director of facilities for the Pottsgrove school district. She has served on the board of Life Turning Point of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that provides shelter and Biblical life skills training to women and children.

Priorities include repairing failing schools, adopting harm reduction approaches to substance abuse to save lives, and opening more older adult centers. 

→ Campaign site is here

Phillips joined Council after winning a special election in November to succeed Cherelle Parker. A PhD student in Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, he founded the mentoring program Youth Action as a teen. He has worked at CCP and taught at a charter high school in Philadelphia.

Stated priorities include community policing, more responsive city services, beautification of 9th District business corridors, and working with block captains to provide resources.

→ Campaign site is here

Williams, who lives in Cedarbrook, is the publisher of Uptown Standard, a newspaper that covers several Northwest Philly neighborhoods. He’s previously worked in education, mental health, college athletics, and as a staffer for former Councilmember David Oh. He ran for City Council at large in 2015 as a Republican, and per his LinkedIn, has served as a Republican ward leader.

Per his campaign website, he wants a digital town watch program, to hold gun shops accountable for straw gun purchases, to end the tax abatement, and add a track and field training facility in his district.

→ Campaign site is here

Masino is president and business manager of Sheet Metal Workers Local 19. He serves on the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority, a state body that offers low-interest financing options to businesses. During the Nutter administration he was on the Department of Licensing and Inspection’s board of appeals and the Zoning Board of Adjustments.

Masino has cited priorities including increased funding for the police and teachers, helping small businesses thrive, and promoting job creation. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

O’Neill, Philly’s only current Republican councilmember, is serving his 11th term. Before he was elected in 1979 he was a juvenile probation officer, law clerk in the Court of Common Pleas and attorney in private practice. He serves on the Philadelphia Airport Advisory Board and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau board.

During his last reelection campaign, O’Neill said he was focused on “protecting neighborhoods, strengthening playgrounds, and making sure volunteer groups are recognized by the city.” In 2019 he tried and failed to ban roof decks and limit the height of homes in his district.

→ Campaign site is here