This Philly mayor’s race isn’t over yet. Here’s what to expect this fall. | 100th Mayor Newsletter

This fall, we’ll dig into the general election campaign, the transition process, and the spiciest City Council races.

Candidates for mayor, from left, Republican David Oh and Democrat Cherelle Parker during a forum in March. They are running against each other in the general election.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

Published Sep. 12, 2023, 6:30 a.m. ET

Welcome back to the newsletter that takes you inside the race for Philadelphia’s 100th mayor. If you’re just tuning in, you missed a messy spring.

After the most expensive mayoral primary in Philadelphia history, Cherelle Parker won the Democratic nomination and will take on Republican David Oh in the November general election. Reminder that this is Philadelphia. Democrats have held the mayor’s office since 1952, when it cost 13 cents to buy a loaf of bread.

But we at The Inquirer’s City Hall bureau still expect a campaign with competing visions, and will bring you the news and analysis you need. We’ll also be digging into the transition process, and covering the spiciest City Council races, which could have a big impact on Philly’s future.

And you know we’ll have some other surprises. 💁‍♀️

A quick note: We think Philly is better off when everyone has the facts needed to make an informed decision about this election. If someone forwarded you this newsletter, sign up for free here.

There are 57 days until election day. Let’s get (back) into it.

— Anna Orso and Sean Collins Walsh

Let’s get caught up

It was a weirdly quiet summer.

Cherelle Parker made some splashes in the weeks after she missed her own election-night event because of a dental emergency. She held a victory press conference, a victory dance party, and a victory breakfast alongside her Democratic opponents.

Then she largely receded from public view and declined to comment on major news stories, saying “the city has one mayor at a time.”

She said she spent time with family this summer, and planned to ramp up campaigning after Labor Day. Well, it is now After Labor Day, and we are starting to see Parker pop up at events.

In the meantime, David Oh spent much of his summer shaking hands, trying to draw attention to his campaign, and tweeting. There have been a few signs that Republican party officials and donors are taking his bid seriously and think that the former City Council member can build a broad enough coalition to at least make a dent.

Both candidates have had embarrassing flaps. Oh made a big deal about how Parker wasn’t attending a town hall event — then when he got there, the event had to be held on the sidewalk and only 30 people attended. He also keeps insinuating that he was a member of the Green Berets, the Army’s elite special ops force, even though he never completed the qualification course.

And last week, Parker released a statement saying she was “pissed and angry” after her campaign accidentally sent a dismissive internal email about reporters to a reporter. Not ideal!

💥 The key takeaway: It’s still not entirely clear how seriously Parker will campaign, and that may depend on whether Oh can show that he raised enough money to be competitive. The best way to evaluate their candidacies would be to get them on stage together and watch them hash it out. So we’ll wait patiently to see whether Parker will agree to a debate.

Spotlight on: The future of public safety

Past mayors will tell you that one of the most important decisions they made was whom to hire to lead the police department. Now that Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has announced she’s going to leave later this month, police leadership will be one of the hottest topics of the campaign.

One of the biggest considerations for any mayor is whether to hire internally (several names have already surfaced) or pick someone from outside the city. Parker’s campaign has said she’ll interview both types of candidates. Oh has signaled he’d pick someone from within the department.

What we’re watching: We’ll be looking to see whether either candidate floats names of potential police chiefs while campaigning.

📮 Do you have a question about public safety for Parker or Oh? Let us know, and you may see the answer in an upcoming newsletter. Email us here.

Mayoral moments: Sam Katz, John Street, and the bug

In the spring, we brought you a series of profiles on interesting Philly mayors from the past. This fall we are switching gears to highlight notable moments in mayoral history.

To explain why it’s unlikely that Republican David Oh will present a serious challenge to Democrat Cherelle Parker in this year’s mayoral race, we often point out that there hasn’t been a competitive general election for mayor in 20 years.

So who was the last Republican to threaten Democrats’ vice grip on the office? Why, that was Sam Katz, who ran against Mayor John F. Street in 1999 and 2003.

Here’s what to know about one of the most intense electoral match-ups in recent city history:

In their first contest, Katz, a public finance expert, lost to Street, a former City Council president, by about 8,000 votes, or less than one percentage point. In their second go-round, Street ended up with 58% of the vote.
The second election, which came on the heels of the infamous discovery that the FBI had planted a listening device in Street’s office, was one of the most bitterly fought races the city has seen. Street’s supporters blamed the bug on President George W. Bush’s administration, a dubious but effective claim that heightened partisan and racial tensions.

The results of both elections show a more pointed racial divide than any recent mayor’s race. Katz, who is white, won much of South Philadelphia, Center City, the Northeast, and other majority-white areas. Street, who is Black, dominated in North, West and Southwest Philadelphia.
Street survived the FBI investigation, although more than a dozen people in his orbit were later convicted on corruption charges. After leaving office, he became a professor at Temple, and this year was an adviser to mayoral candidate Rebecca Rhynhart.
Katz, meanwhile, has essentially become the Ken Burns of Philadelphia, producing a series of documentary films on city history. He has switched his party registration a couple times and is now an independent.

How it works: This year’s Council elections

The mayor’s race is not expected to be a thriller, but there will be three competitive City Council elections on the Nov. 7 ballot.

All three involve Republicans, and if they get swept, there may be no GOP member of Council for the first time in over a century. On the other hand, Republicans could make a comeback and take all three seats, restoring Council to its pre-2020 partisan divide.

Here’s what you need to know about the Council races:

🥊 At-large: GOP vs. WFP

Council has 10 district seats and seven at-large seats, which are elected citywide. Political parties can nominate only five members for the seven at-large seats, which sets aside two seats for members of minority parties or independents.

For 70 years starting in the 1950s, Democrats held five of the at-large seats and Republicans held the other two.

That streak ended in 2019, when Kendra Brooks of the progressive Working Families Party won a historic victory by becoming the first third-party member of Council in modern city history. This year, Brooks and her running mate, pastor Nicolas O’Rourke, are hoping to take both non-Democratic seats.

But Republicans, who were caught off-guard by Brooks’ success in 2019, have put together a more organized effort. They have nominated Drew Murray, a Center City civic leader, and Jim Hasher, a small business owner.

🥊 10th district: O’Neill vs. Masino

The other competitive race on the ballot is the 10th District, in the Far Northeast.

Home to many police officers and fire fighters, the 10th has long been the only Council district where the GOP has a prayer, and Republican Brian O’Neill has held the seat for a staggering 44 years.

This year, he’s facing a stiff challenge from sheet metal workers union leader Gary Masino, a Democrat.

Both men are political moderates within their own parties, and they are focusing on bread-and-butter issues such as development and public safety.

What else we’re reading

One of the biggest issues facing City Hall in the coming year is the proposed Sixers arena. A key factor is when Council will take up legislation.
A single election in Pennsylvania this year will have huge implications for the 2024 presidential race. This is why judges matter.
Have you been to the suburbs recently? The school culture wars out there are getting... intense.

Scenes from the campaign trail

In the above photo, Oh answers questions at the aforementioned sidewalk town hall, which itself raised a bunch of new questions.

Thanks so much for joining us for the first fall edition of the 100th Mayor newsletter. We’re pumped to be back in the saddle and glad you’re along for the ride. We’ll be spending the next two days mentally preparing for Thursday night football.

Cheers,

Anna and Sean