PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — All Philadelphia City Council seats were on the ballot on Election Day, and the Working Families Party (WFP) has come out on top.
Heading into the election, a lot of attention was on WFP’s push to claim both of the at-large council seats reserved for minority parties. As of Wednesday morning, WFP incumbent Kendra Brooks and running mate Nicolas O’Rourke were declared the winners.
Their wins mean there will only be one Republican on City Council. Republican Brian O’Neill won a 12th term and will keep his 10th District seat after defeating Gary Masino.
The rest of the at-large bids offered no surprises. Incumbent Democrats Isaiah Thomas, Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Jim Harrity will be joined by two newcomers: Nina Ahmad and Rue Landau. Ahmad will become the first South Asian member of council, and Landau will be the first openly LGBTQ+ member in council history.
In the 3rd District race, incumbent Democrat Jamie Gauthier defeated Jabari Jones.
Democrats also swept the city row offices.
There was one ballot question about amending the Home Rule Charter to officially create the Office for People with Disabilities. Eighty-six percent of voters were in favor.
Voter turnout in Philadelphia was around 28.5%, about the same as it was during the last mayoral election in 2019.