Civics 101: A post General Election Day look at Philadelphia City Council

If you voted on November 7 or if you voted in advance of General Election Day via vote by mail, you did your civic duty. Bow and give yourself a round of applause. Feel good about it. That’s what grown folk do. They participate in the political process. They pay attention to what’s happening in local, state, and federal government, and they care about America.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, and some could say that for what Philadelphia City Council will look like come January 2024. Oh, there will definitely be some changes for sure. One thing that will remain the same is that 10th District Philadelphia City Councilman Brian O’Neal will be staying on after already serving for 44 years as a Philadelphia City Councilman. Is that too much? Is that too long of a time to serve? Well, if you want to blame anyone, blame the voters. It is the voters of the 10th District who keep re-electing him every four years. The really weird thing is that, that area of the city is largely a Democratic voting area. However, when it comes to Brian O’Neil, he must have the right stuff because he keeps winning again and again and again.
I just wonder at some point, doesn’t a longtime elected official think to themselves, “When is enough, enough, and when will I move out of the way to give other leadership an opportunity to work for the people?” The other interesting thing about another Brian O’Neal win is that it makes him the only Republican who will sit in Philadelphia City Council for the next four years unless something happens that we know not of at this time.
The Working Families Party will now hold two City Council at Large seats (out of seven available City Council at Large seats) that historically have gone to Republicans. With the emergence of the Working Families Party, Republicans, going forward, will have to work really hard to try and reclaim both, or at least one of those two at large city council seats.
On November 7, 2023, the Working Families Party showed Philadelphia what it’s made of, and incumbent City Councilwoman At Large Kendra Brooks had another victory, bringing along with her Nicholas O’Rourke, another member of the Working Families Party. Prior to Kendra Brooks getting elected to City Council four years ago, few voters really paid attention to the Working Families Party.
Philadelphia will see its first openly gay person to become a member of City Council, Rue Landau, who ran as a Democrat.
Another new member of City Council will be Nina Ahmad, the Council’s first female Asian Pacific member.
Isaiah Thomas, an incumbent Philadelphia City Council At Large member, was the top vote-getter amongst the Council at Large candidates in both the May primary election and again on November 7; he garnered 194,221 votes to claim that title.
Right behind him was an incumbent City Council At Large member, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who won with 186,719 votes.
Nina Ahmad was next in line with 181,272 votes.
Jimmy Harrity rounded off the top five democratic vote-getters for at-large council seats. Highly supported by PA State Senator Sharif Street and more than several unions, Councilman Harrity first came into office under a special election when several sitting councilmembers resigned to run for Mayor. Now he’s earned his seat fair and square after a sound win last Tuesday night.
1st Council District Councilman Mark Squilla easily won reelection.
2nd Council District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson easily won reelection.
Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier won reelection easily in the 3rd council district.
4th Council District Councilman Curtis Jones easily won reelection.
As did 5th District newcomer Jeffrey Young, Esq., who is taking over the seat being vacated by Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke.
6th Council District Councilman Mike Driscoll easily won reelection.
In the 7th District Quetcy Lozada, who ran in a special election to win the seat after Maria Quinones Sanchez resigned to run for Mayor, didn’t have to fight it hard to win her seat, now confirming herself for a full four-year term in Council.
8th District incumbent Councilwoman Cindy Bass easily won her reelection. During the primary election, she had an opponent who tried hard to unseat her. However, he was unsuccessful.
In the 9th Council District, Anthony Phillips, who won his seat in a special election after Cherelle Parker resigned from that seat to run for Mayor, handily defeated his opponent on election day and will now have a full four-year term to get some work done.
Looking to January 2024, we have a presidential election year to contend with, and locally, we’ll have some hot campaigns as well. Stay tuned for the next edition of our Civics 101 column. We’ll tell you exactly what races are up for grabs locally, and we’ll look at the national presidential picture, as well for next year.