PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The top of the ticket is getting all the attention this 2022 general midterm election, but Philadelphia voters will also be selecting four new City Council members in a special election on Tuesday's ballot.
Four members resigned in August and September to run — or consider running — for mayor next year. Two — Derek Green and Allan Domb — were at-large members, so voters citywide will choose their replacements.
In a quirk of the City Charter, these are head-to-head races, unlike regular at-large elections where voters pick five candidates at a time.
One race pits former Council staffer Sharon Vaughn against Republican Jim Hasher and Libertarian Marc Jurchak, but she's considered a shoe-in because of Democrats' registration edge.
The same is true of the other race. Jim Harrity, currently political director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, is heavily favored.
"I'm going to go in there and fight for new schools," said Harrity, who added the kids in his Kensington neighborhood motivate him to run.
"They have to see a myriad of things — people shooting up, people defecating outside, drug dealers all over the corners. It's just a list of things they have to see before they even get to school. Then they go to a school that's more like a prison than a school. The school in my neighborhood is 125 years old. It's just unacceptable."
Republican opponent Drew Murray is a former Democrat, active in his community, who has run before.
"Part of my selling point to get this nomination, I said, 'I'm electable,'" said Murray, who believes he can attract Democrats and Independents.
"As an RCO leader, as chairman of the Crosstown Coalition, I've proven that I'm a leader who is attractive to people on the other side of the aisle, and that's imperative for this special election and next November."
Voters in the 7th Council District will choose a successor for Maria Quiñones Sánchez and, in the 9th District, will elect Cherelle Parker's replacement.
In the 7th District, Democrat Quetcy Lozada was Sánchez's chief of staff. She says she knows the constituents' priorities.
"Those things that I've heard the community say very loudly that they'd like me to focus on, which are quality-of-life concerns, but very specifically better schools," Lozada said.
In the 9th District, Parker hand-picked 33-year-old nonprofit leader Anthony Phillips as her successor. He said he's running to have an impact on the future.
"We're going to create great schools, have an excellent quality of life in terms of cleanliness around the city," said Phillips.
There's just over a year left in the Council terms, but the candidates say they intend to run next year to keep the seats.
