Meet Gary Masino, the Democrat running for City Council in Northeast Philly

As the head of the sheet metal workers union, Gary Masino has endorsed and given money to myriad Philadelphia politicians.

This year, he’s one of those politicians.

Masino is challenging City Councilmember Brian O’Neill, a lawyer who has held the Northeast Philadelphia-based 10th City Council seat since 1980.

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Masino is a Democrat, and O’Neill is a Republican. But both are moderates, and you won’t hear either of them talking much about partisan politics on the campaign trail.

Instead, it’s all about issues near and dear to voters in the Far Northeast: cops (they like them), development (they’re skeptical), and neighborhood interests (you better listen to them).

The election is Nov. 7. Here’s what you need to know about Masino:

Masino, president and business manager of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, has never held public office. He said he is running for Council because O’Neill is an “absentee landlord when it comes to the Northeast.”

“Forty-four years is a long time for anybody to be in office. I never see Brian O’Neill around,” Masino said. “It’s no secret that the Northeast is going in the wrong direction. I’ve been here many years.”

Masino, for instance, said there aren’t enough police officers assigned to patrol the Northeast. Home to many Philly cops and firefighters, the Northeast has lower crime rates than other parts of the city. But Masino said he fears that will change due to the lighter police presence.

“If I’m a criminal, I’m going to the Northeast, and that’s what’s happening,” he said. “The Northeast has problems like any other place. We continue to get shortchanged, and I feel Brian O’Neill is not listening to us.”

O’Neill, who prides himself on being responsive to community needs, will undoubtedly object to Masino’s contention that he is an absent Council member, and has plenty of supporters in the district who say he is responsive.

But it will remain a core message for Masino, who said he isn’t at odds with O’Neill on most policy issues but objects to his management of affairs in the district.

“There’s no legislation that I’m against that he’s ran,” Masino said. “I don’t think he’s done enough.”

With a bald head, a big frame, and a gruff voice, Masino could play a sheet metal worker in a movie.

But he said he’s not just a tough guy.

“I am a good, fun-loving guy, family man, who is always there if you need a hand,” he said. “I care about people’s well-being.”

Still, he warned it’s best not to be on his bad side.

“I’d pack a lunch if you want to come here to fight,” he said.

Masino grew up in South Philadelphia and now lives with his family in Morrell Park, which is close to the Bucks County line. He has four sons and a daughter.

The Masinos are a union family. He is a third-generation member of the sheet metal workers, and two of his sons have taken up the family trade as fourth-generation members.

Masino even met his wife, Karen, through the building trades.

“She was one of the first women in Local 98″ of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, he said. “That’s how I met her, believe it or not. Small world.”

Taxes: Masino believes property taxes have increased too quickly, adding that his have doubled in recent years.

Recent increases have largely been driven by reassessments rather than rate hikes, and Masino said he is supportive of Council’s ongoing efforts to soften those increases for homeowners, especially seniors, through tax-relief programs.

Masino also said he wants the city to make it easier for small businesses to thrive, in part by lowering taxes for them.

As for the wage tax, which is the city’s largest revenue source, Masino said it is too high. He added that the city should lower it and other taxes by doing a better job of collecting from delinquent taxpayers.

Lastly, Masino said he is opposed to Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. Political momentum for repealing the tax has largely evaporated, but Masino appears to be a vote in favor of scotching the tax should the issue reemerge.

Public safety: Masino said one of the city’s top priorities should be hiring more police officers.

He supports further relaxing the residency requirement for police officers, which is already more flexible than it is for other city workers.

Almost all city employees are required to live in Philadelphia. But since former Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s administration, cops are allowed to move out of the city after five years of service.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, which represents Philly cops and plays a major role in local elections in the Northeast, has pushed for a further relaxation of the residency rule, while other Council members, including the outgoing Council President Darrell L. Clarke, have pushed to strengthen it.

76ers arena: The Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, a coalition of unions that includes Masino’s sheet metal workers, has endorsed the 76ers’ plan to build an arena in Center City, and Masino’s views are in line with the council’s.

In addition to the thousands of construction jobs it will create, Masino said the arena will help encourage development in a part of Center City that needs investment, the East Market Street corridor.

“I’m for anything that creates growth for the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s got to be done right, though.”