Brian O’Neill, Philly’s only GOP Council member, is facing a serious challenge from Democrat Gary Masino

Far Northeast Philadelphia has for years been the exception that proves the rules of Philadelphia politics.

In the suburban-style neighborhoods of Somerton and Bustleton, the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police is coveted, not shunned. Many voters are as concerned about zoning as they are racial justice. And the local City Council representative is a Republican.

Gary Masino is hoping to change that last part.

In one of the only competitive elections on the Nov. 7 ballot, Masino, a Democrat and a union leader, is challenging Brian O’Neill, a lawyer who has held the 10th District Council seat for a staggering 44 years.

O’Neill has fended off challenges in the past, some of them serious. But even he admits this year is different.

“It’s the first time I’ve had somebody with so much money, so it presents another challenge,” O’Neill, 73, said of Masino.

It’s a high-stakes race for the Philadelphia GOP. O’Neill is currently the only Republican on Council, and the party is locked in a battle with the progressive Working Families Party for two at-large Council seats that are for minority party or independent candidates. Republicans held those seats for 70 years before losing one in 2019.

It’s no secret why Masino has been able to raise much more money than a typical challenger for a district Council race. As the leader of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, he is raising money hand over fist from the building trades unions.

Masino, 58, had about $320,000 on hand as of the last campaign finance reporting period, which ended Sept. 18. And he had already spent $222,000 since June. O’Neill, who had about $409,000 on hand, is not hurting for cash, either.

Last election cycle, O’Neill fended off a challenge from Democrat Judy Moore that appeared at first like it also may be backed by deep-pocketed interests. Philadelphia 3.0, an outside spending group that has aligned with business and development interests to combat Council’s culture of incumbency, had endorsed Moore, a hospitality industry executive.

But 3.0 backed out of the race, and the money Moore needed never materialized. The group has never publicly explained its mysterious change of heart.

This time around, there is no mystery: Masino has the cash to compete thanks to his construction union allies. Both candidates are airing ads on cable, a rarity for a district Council race.

At first glance, the candidates appear as if they could not be more different. O’Neill is buttoned-up and smooth-tongued. Masino, a third-generation sheet metal worker, is a gruff and direct everyman.

But both are moderates in their respective parties, and both favor a tough-on-crime approach to public safety. Masino, who lives in Morrell Park, has said he doesn’t object to any of O’Neill’s legislative priorities and isn’t asking voters to choose him just because he’s a Democrat.

Instead, he is framing the race as a referendum on whether O’Neill has shown up for the Northeast in recent years.

“I’m running because I don’t think he’s doing the job,” said Masino, who has described O’Neill as “an absentee landlord.” “He’s got an advantage. He’s been in office 40 years. But it’s also a disadvantage, too.”

Masino’s TV ads echo that message.

“Forty-four years. That’s how long Brian O’Neill has served on City Council,” the narrator of one ad says. “But after 44 years, Northeast Philly is still getting shortchanged.”

O’Neill, who lives in Crestmont Farms, says he’d more than happy for voters to assess him on those terms.

“I’m actually known for being very accessible and being at every meeting I’m invited to that I can make,” he said. “You can make up whatever you want, and apparently that’s what he did.”

O’Neill prides himself on defending his constituents’ interests on development issues and frequently appears at Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings to denounce projects he says neighbors oppose. He points to his record of standing against multifamily developments that could threaten the Far Northeast’s suburban feel.

» READ MORE: Northeast Philly man’s planning roadblock shows how Councilman Brian O’Neill shapes the neighborhood

But despite focusing on those issues, O’Neill has his detractors. Leaders of some neighborhood groups in his district have said he isn’t responsive to their needs, and proponents of development in the Northeast contend he gets in the way of needed economic growth in an increasingly diverse part of the city.

O’Neill, meanwhile, is coming at his challenger over another issue that is central to Northeast politics: public safety. The Northeast is home to hundreds of Philadelphia police officers, as well as the headquarters of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5.

O’Neill has long had an exceptionally close relationship with the police union. But as a tough-on-crime Democrat and a labor leader himself, Masino had reason to hope he could win over John McNesby, the Lodge 5 president.

In an interview, McNesby called Masino “a nice guy.” But the Democrat never had a shot.

“Our allegiance and our loyalty right now is to Brian O’Neill,” McNesby said. “Brian has been with us from the beginning since I’ve been in office. He’s very accessible. He just helped work on [increasing] the budget for [police] recruitment.”

O’Neill’s campaign is pressing the attack with TV ads tying Masino to progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner, persona non grata to many voters in the Northeast.

“Council candidate Gary Masino helped elect Larry Krasner,” an O’Neill ad says.

The ad refers to a $5,000 donation Masino’s union gave to Krasner in August 2017. That contribution came after the Democratic primary, in which Krasner prevailed over more moderate opponents. It’s common for unions and other interest groups to line up behind candidates once it becomes clear they will win, as was the case for Krasner at that point.

Masino, on the other hand, says that O’Neill is failing on public safety because he is not doing a better job of preventing police patrols from being diverted from the Northeast, a relatively safe part of the city, to other neighborhoods.

“I don’t feel we’re getting a fair share. There’s a lack of police in the Northeast on any given night,” he said. “I’m not a career politician. I’m just a guy who knows what’s right and wrong, and how to get things done.”