2023 Philadelphia City Council election


The 2023 Philadelphia City Council election was held November 7, 2023; all seats on the Philadelphia City Council were up for election. The Democratic Party maintained its super-majority on the council. The election took place on the same day as the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election and other local elections in the Commonwealth.

Background

In 2019, Philadelphians re-elected Jim Kenney to a second term as mayor and four new councilmembers joined the city council. Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Isaiah Thomas were elected to at-large seats. Jamie Gauthier beat incumbent Jannie Blackwell in the District 3 primary and Kendra Brooks made history as the first third-party city councilmember in Philadelphia as a Working Families Party candidate.
In preparation for the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election, four City Councilmembers resigned to run or prepare to run for mayor. While three were still considering running. Council President Darrell Clarke announced a special election to replace the members.
6th District Councilmember Bobby Henon resigned after being convicted of corruption charges and was replaced with Michael Driscoll. 2nd District Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson was facing bribery charges in the months leading up to the election, but was acquitted on November 2, five days before Election Day.

1st District

Incumbent Mark Squilla ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Withdrew

2nd District

Incumbent Kenyatta Johnson ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Disqualified

  • Aaron Humphrey, campaign manager
  • Boogie Rose, community activist and former teacher

3rd District

Incumbent Jamie Gauthier ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Disqualified

  • Mustafa Majeed, community activist

Withdrew

  • Jabari Jones, trade association president ''''

Declined

Third party and independent candidates

  • Jabari Jones, trade association president

Disqualified

  • Andre Kersey

4th District

Incumbent Curtis J. Jones Jr. ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Disqualified

Declined

5th District

Incumbent Darrell L. Clarke is retiring. Clarke announced his retirement less than two weeks before the deadline to submit ballot petitions, in what media interpreted as an attempt to prevent state senator Sharif Street's preferred candidate from making the ballot. However, both Clarke's and Street's preferred successors failed to make the ballot, as did every other candidate except for one.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Did not qualify

Withdrew

  • Jose Miranda, former state representative and convicted felon
  • Isa Matin

Declined

6th District

Incumbent Michael Driscoll ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Republican primary

Did not qualify

  • Russell Kubach, realtor

7th District

The 7th district seat was filled by Quetcy Lozada in the 2022 special election. Lozada ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

  • Andrés Celin, community organizer

Republican primary

Did not qualify

8th District

Incumbent Cindy Bass ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

  • Seth Anderson-Oberman, community organizer

Declined

  • Erika Almirón, candidate for an at-large seat in 2019 ''''

9th District

The 9th district seat was filled by Anthony Phillips in the 2022 special election. Phillips ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Republican primary

Withdrawn

10th District

Incumbent Brian J. O'Neill ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Nominee

Did not qualify

  • Roman Zhukhov, real estate professional and neighborhood watch group president

Democratic primary

Nominee

At-Large Seats

Philadelphia City Council has seven at-large seats, two of which must be represented by a minority party. Two at-large seats were temporarily vacant due to the resignations of Derek S. Green and Allan Domb to consider mayoral runs. They were filled in the special election on November 8, 2022. There will be three open seats in the 2023 election due to the resignations of Helen Gym and David Oh, and the retirement of Sharon Vaughn.
Each party may nominate five candidates for the general election. Voters can select up to five candidates in both the primary and general.

Democratic primary

Advanced to general election

Eliminated in primary

  • Erika Almirón, community organizer and candidate for an at-large seat in 2019
  • Jalon Alexander, attorney
  • Sherrie Cohen, former tenants rights attorney and independent candidate for an at-large seat in 2019
  • Luz Colón, former commissioner of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs
  • Wayne Dorsey
  • Abu Edwards, political action chair of the NAACP Philadelphia chapter
  • Christopher Gladstone Booth, public school teacher
  • Ogbonna Hagins, activist
  • Job Itzkowitz, director of Old City District
  • John Kelly III, biomedical company CFO and son of Jack Kelly Jr.
  • Amanda McIllmurray, cofounder of Reclaim Philadelphia
  • Matthew Modzelewski, customer service professional
  • Daniel Orsino, housing counselor and Republican nominee for the 1st district in 2019
  • Michelle Prettyman, educator and small business owner
  • Charles Reyes, former Philadelphia Department of Education official
  • Melissa Robbins, activist and Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy at the Urban League of Philadelphia
  • Eryn Santamoor, former chief of staff to then-councilor Allan Domb
  • Curtis Segers, assistant elementary school principal
  • Derwood Selby
  • George Stevenson
  • Donovan West, business owner and former CEO of the Pennsylvania African American Chamber of Commerce
  • Deshawnda Williams

Did not qualify

  • Terrill Haigler, community organizer and former sanitation worker
  • Ronald Martin, security guard and small business owner
  • Billy McCann
  • Will Mega, activist and contestant on Season 1 of Big Brother USA
  • Matthew Modzelewski, customer service professional
  • Clayton Price
  • Max Tuttleman, philanthropist

Withdrawn

Declined

Republican primary

Advanced to general election

  • Jim Hasher, real estate agent, bar owner, and nominee for an at-large seat in the 2023 special election
  • Drew Murray, Philadelphia Republican ward leader and nominee for an at-large seat in the 2023 special election

Withdrew after primary

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Working Families Party

Advanced to general election