🗳️Philly’s voter turnout | Morning Newsletter
And welcome to the second week of Johnny Doc’s trial
The Morning Newsletter
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Happy Tuesday. Expect clear and sunny skies with a high of 53.
The off-year general election last week was a win for Philly Democratic leaders. They had their best performance in 20 years, and turnout numbers were up.
While the city’s voter turnout increased, it didn’t grow as much as elsewhere in the state. Our lead story breaks down the numbers and shows what could be a concern for Democrats in 2024.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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While turnout increased in Philadelphia this year — rising 10 percentage points from 2021, and 2 percentage points from 2019 — it still trails behind the rest of the state. The increase in Philly’s turnout was largely concentrated in wealthier, predominately white wards.
On top of that, the city’s share of the statewide Democratic vote once again slid downward.
Together, those figures point to potential problems in 2024, particularly in majority Black and Latino communities, which polls show slippage for Democrats as they look to Philadelphia for help winning the presidential and Senate races in a critical swing state.
Note: Philadelphia had the lowest overall turnout of any county in Pennsylvania, and the third lowest Democratic turnout statewide.
Dive into the data to compare with other past off-year elections.
Brian Burrows, the former president of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical workers, billed the union more than $65,000 for renovations on his New Jersey home and other properties he owned. That’s according to Anthony Massa, the contractor who oversaw that work.
He told the story to a federal jury Monday, and how he hid the cost of those jobs for years by padding bills he submitted to Local 98 for work he was simultaneously overseeing on union-owned buildings.
Massa’s testimony kicked off the second week of the federal embezzlement trial of Burrows and Local 98′s former leader John J. Dougherty. They are accused, along with other union officials, of embezzling more than $600,000 from the union.
His testimony is expected to continue today as prosecutors focus on the work he did for Dougherty for his home and those of his family members.
To keep up and go beyond the headlines, you should sign up for our weekly newsletter, Inside Johnny Doc’s Trial.
What you should know today
Convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante faces 20 criminal charges related to his actions during his two-week escape from Chester County Prison.
Philadelphia Gas Works customers might see their bill rise but it still won’t be as high as the utility originally wanted.
Maryanne Trump Barry, the former president’s older sister and retired federal judge, died at 86.
The Sixers visited their teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. as he continues to recover from a broken rib and other injuries to his hip and right leg. He was hit by a car Saturday night in Center City.
Philadelphia had its first freeze on Monday morning, bottoming out at 31 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Philly has the smallest average home lot size out of the the 50 largest U.S. cities.
A Pennsylvania dog, Ella, was adopted after seven years of waiting. She was wearing a bandanna from her adopter’s late pet.
🧠Trivia time
In 2004, storied paleontologist Ted Daeschler helped discover a prehistoric fishlike creature believed to be a key link between fish and humans.
How old is it?
A) 375 million years
B) 400 million years
C) 50 million years
D) 150 million years
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🎉 Celebrating: A Central High graduate is one of this year’s Rhodes Scholars.
🏠Watching: The housing market, which is only getting tighter. Baby boomers are buying up all the houses.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Christmas at FDR Park
INTENT OWLS
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Sharyn Redding, who correctly guessed Monday’s answer: Kris Jenner. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
I hope your morning is as peaceful as the picture above. Have a great day and I’ll catch you tomorrow. 👋🏽