PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Democratic ward leaders met Wednesday to choose candidates for the two district City Council seats left vacant by members who resigned to run for mayor.
Ward leaders in the 9th District, the seat vacated by Cherelle Parker, voted first. Parker herself presided, since that honor goes to the ward that got out the most votes in the last election.
Parker handpicked the sole candidate. Though he’s only 33, he has an impressive resume — a master's degree from Yale.
Anthony Phillips has served as director of pre-college programs at the non-profit TeenSHARP, which works to get underrepresented youth into elite colleges.
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As the official Democratic candidate in November’s special election, he is a shoo-in to take Parker’s seat.
The 7th District candidate to replace Maria Quiñones Sánchez had some competition. Quetcy Lozada, Quiñones Sánchez’s chief of staff, faced state Rep. Angel Cruz and said even she was surprised by her 109-47 landslide victory because Cruz is more established in the Democratic party structure.
Sánchez herself never got much party support, but Lozada says she made her pitch as a lifelong resident of the district who worked at Esperanza, advocated for the community, and in her words, “they saw me as a better candidate.”