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It’s primary day. Get out and vote. | Endorsement

The Editorial Board offers its recommendations on the best choice for voters in contested races.

A "Vote Here" sign in different languages at City Hall. After a heated campaign, voters will speak their minds on the primary candidates running for public office.
A "Vote Here" sign in different languages at City Hall. After a heated campaign, voters will speak their minds on the primary candidates running for public office.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer

Primary day is today — Tuesday, May 16.

Prior to each election, The Inquirer Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom, identifies races in which an endorsement can help readers determine where candidates stand on issues and why we think voters should support (or oppose) a particular candidate.

We firmly believe that all elections are important, and the board works to provide as much guidance for Inquirer readers as we can. We typically limit our endorsements to highly competitive races and local ballot questions. This means that, unfortunately, we did not offer endorsements in many races. A lack of an endorsement is not a judgment by the board on the significance of any office or race.

We thoroughly research the candidates’ backgrounds, including a review of the published work of our newsroom colleagues, and additional reporting by the members of the board.

The board hosts meetings with candidates running in contested races, where we ask them about their stance on the issues we think are most important to their constituents. This year, we held virtual meetings with them on Zoom. The meetings are on the record, and political reporters and editors are invited to participate, but they do not weigh in on the endorsement process.

Here are the board’s recommendations:

Philadelphia Mayor

Rebecca Rhynhart

7th Council District

Quetcy Lozada

8th Council District

Seth Anderson-Oberman

9th Council District

Anthony Phillips

City Council At Large — Democrat

Nina Ahmad

Katherine Gilmore Richardson

Job Itzkowitz

Eryn Santamoor

Isaiah Thomas

Register of Wills

Rae Hall

Sheriff

Michael Untermeyer

City Controller

John Thomas

Philadelphia Ballot Questions

Question 1: Yes

Question 2: No

Question 3: Yes

Question 4: No

Pa. Supreme Court — Democrat

Deborah A. Kunselman

Pa. Supreme Court — Republican

Carolyn Carluccio

Central Bucks School Board

Dana Foley

Susan Gibson

Rick Haring

Heather Reynolds

Karen Smith

Montgomery County Board of Commissioners — Democrat

Neil Makhija

Noah Marlier

Montgomery County Board of Commissioners — Republican

Tom DiBello

Liz Ferry