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Candidates jockeying in three special elections

PHILADELPHIA-AREA voters in three legislative districts will head to the polls to pick a new state representative in today's special elections. Here's a look at who's running for each district seat:

PHILADELPHIA-AREA voters in three legislative districts will head to the polls to pick a new state representative in today's special elections. Here's a look at who's running for each district seat:

195th Legislative District

The district is located in North Philly, where Sharswood neighborhood residents are upset over the Philadelphia Housing Authority's plan to replace its Norman Blumberg Apartments and seize more than 1,300 nearby properties for mixed-income housing and business development.

Three candidates are vying for the seat for five years:

Donna Bullock, 36, a Democrat and the former special assistant to City Council President Darrell Clarke. Bullock resigned from her council job, which she held for five years, in June to run for the state Legislature. She lives in Strawberry Mansion.

Adam Lang, a Republican who works as a computer engineer. Lang has said that PHA wants to seize, through eminent domain, four vacant lots that he owns. Lang, 37, who lives in Sharswood, sits on the board of the Brewerytown-Sharswood Community Civic Association.

Judith Robinson, 58, a write-in candidate and real-estate broker and lifelong resident of North Philly. Like Lang, Robinson has said she opposes PHA's redevelopment plan, noting what she describes as the agency's poor track record.

The 174th Legislative District

There are more than 23,000 registered Democrats in the district, compared with about 8,200 registered Republicans, according to the County Board of Elections.

There are two candidates vying for the seat:

Ed Neilson, 51, a Democrat and former city councilman, who is running in his third special election in four years. Neilson had won a special election for a City Council at-large seat last year, but lost his bid in the May 19 Democratic primary for a full term. Democratic ward leaders handpicked Neilson to run for Sabatina's old seat. Neilson lives in Chalfont.

* Timothy Dailey, a Republican and lifelong resident of Northeast Philly. Dailey, 43, who grew up in Bustleton and now lives in Rhawnhurst, taught English and history at Father Judge High School for 20 years. He lost to Sabatina in the May special election for Stack's old Senate seat.

The 191st Legislative District

Voters in this district, which includes parts of West and Southwest Philly and a sliver of Delaware County, will pick a new representative. In the Philadelphia section alone, registered Democrats outnumber Republican voters by 26-1.

Three candidates are vying for the House seat:

Joanna McClinton, 32, a Democrat, who is on leave from her job as the chief counsel for state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams. McClinton lives in West Philly.

Charles Wilkins Jr., a Republican, who served than 20 years in the Army and had spent 11 months in Iraq. Wilkins, 40, lives in Yeadon and is a small business owner.

Tracey Gordon, a former Democrat, who is running as the "Tracey Gordon Party" candidate. Gordon, 53, of Southwest Philly, is a former deputy commissioner for the city Board of Elections, where she worked from 2012 to 2014. She now works as a political consultant.

- Source: Committee of Seventy and candidate websites