While the race for mayor will get most of the attention, Philadelphians will also vote this Tuesday for judgeships, City Council and other local offices.
The Tribune has endorsed Cherelle Parker, a former City Council member and state representative, for mayor, for her proven leadership and pragmatic plans to improve Philadelphia.
However, a mayor regardless of how capable also needs a competent City Council to pass legislation and approve budgets that will make Philadelphia better.
The Tribune is not endorsing Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, the two at-large candidates from the Working Families Party.
A case can be made that the Working Families Party members are really ultra- progressive Democrats and therefore are not eligible for minority party representation on City Council. The charter requires seven seats on City Council to be elected at-large and allows each political party to put up five nominees, which guarantees that two of those at-large seats are held by a minority party. In Philadelphia, those seats have traditionally been held by Republicans.
The Working Families Party is a left-wing minority party that seeks to grab endorsements and peel votes away from the larger Democratic Party while harshly criticizing the Democratic establishment. TV ads for Brooks and O’Rourke urge voters to vote for them first and then pick three Democrats, which would effectively take votes from Democrats.
Both Brooks and O’Rourke support safe injection sites, which would be counterproductive in solving the city’s drug crisis. More treatment is needed for addicts and not a city sanctioned site where addicts can inject dangerous drugs. Candidates who support supervised injection sites are ignoring the wishes of most Philadelphians who are opposed to the idea, according to polls.
In Tuesday’s general election, the Tribune endorses the following candidates:
City Council at-large
Katherine Gilmore Richardson
Isaiah Thomas
Nina Ahmad
Jim Harrity
Rue Landau
City Council districts
1st District: Mark F. Squilla
2nd District: Kenyatta Johnson
3rd District: Jamie Gauthier — Gauthier should rethink her counterproductive support for supervised injection sites which if allowed would bring more drugs and users from across the region to the West and Southwest Philadelphia communities she represents.
4th District: Curtis Jones Jr.
5th District: Jeffrey Jay Young Jr.
6th District: Mike Driscoll
7th District: Quetcy Lozada
8th District: Cindy Bass
9th District: Anthony Phillips
10th District: Brian O’Neill
City commissioner
Omar Sabir
Lisa Deeley
City controller
Christy Brady
Justice of the Supreme Court
Daniel McCaffery
Justice of the Superior Court
Timika Lane
Jill Beck
Justice of the Commonwealth Court
Matt Wolf
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas
Natasha Taylor-Smith
Samantha Williams
Tamika Washington
Kay Yu
John Padova
Chesley Lightsey
Brian McLaughlin
Damaris Garcia
Caroline Turner
Judge of the Municipal Court
Barbara Thomson
Colleen McIntyre Osborne
Ballot question
Vote yes, to approve an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create a permanent Office for People with Disabilities.
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