Philadelphia City Council candidate tracker: Get to know everyone on the May primary ballot

Ballot position: 1

Selby, of Strawberry Mansion, grew up in Philadelphia, lived abroad, and moved back 10 years ago. He’s been a chef and hosted television and radio food shows on the cable access network PhillyCAM, where he is a board member. He also worked for a marketing firm that developed Philly 4 Life, a school violence-prevention project.

His platform focuses on promoting public safety, education, entrepreneurship, home ownership, and health care, and “working strategically for an equitable, all-inclusive future.”

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Ballot position: 2

Cohen is a tenants rights lawyer who has previously run for Council three times, trying to follow in the footsteps of her father, a longtime Council member. She worked on a lawsuit against tobacco companies and a suit to block the closure of city libraries, among others, and has co-chaired the Civil Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club.

Her priorities include building community-led public safety programs to end gun violence, keeping libraries and rec centers open every day, and creating a Green New Deal for Philadelphia that will generate union jobs.

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Ballot position: 3

Shedrick is president of operations at Upper North Neighbors Association, a community group and RCO (registered community organization). She’s also worked for Jumpstart Tioga, a redevelopment and development training organization. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign website.

Ballot position: 4

Alexander is an attorney who grew up in Strawberry Mansion. He is a business development manager for Makpar, an IT contractor for the federal government. He previously served as president of the Penn State Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, was a board member at WESA in Pittsburgh, and had an internship in the City Controller’s Office.

He has proposed a fleet of drones to help with law enforcement, and his priorities include public access to community surveillance cameras, providing STEM training, promoting education around LGBTQ discrimination laws, and higher teacher pay.

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Ballot position: 5

Luz Colon is executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Latino Affairs and previously worked in the offices of City Council members Angel Ortiz, Blondell Reynolds Brown and Bill Greenlee. She’s a 20th Ward committee person and was a board member at Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and Philadelphia Fight, an HIV/AIDS medical care organization.

Her campaign priorities include improving public safety, promoting economic opportunity, and investing in quality public education.

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Ballot position: 6

Dorsey is a West Philadelphia resident who works as a driver, per his candidate filing with the city. He previously ran for an at-large seat in 2019. His priorities include mental health, education, neighborhood cleanups, food distribution, housing, and rebuilding and expanding city resources, according to his Facebook page.

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Ballot position: 7

Williams is a clinical social worker who runs a mental health and life coaching consultancy, and serves as a pastor at New Inspirational Baptist Church in Nicetown. She has been board president at the former Bluford Charter School in West Philadelphia, which is slated to return to district control this fall.

Her goals include “education awareness,” making “environmental changes through economic development,” and increasing mental health access, according to her Facebook page.

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Ballot position: 8

Robbins is a Maryland native and former Army combat medic who moved to Philly in 1995, per a Tribune profile. She has been a radio host at WURD and a political strategist, working on campaigns for Gov. Tom Wolf, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and other City Council candidates.

Her platform calls for Comcast and other corporations to pay more taxes, and for PILOTs from nonprofits and universities. She’s also calling for public financing of political campaigns, and has previously focused on eliminating poverty by investing in schools.

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Ballot position: 9

Raised in Northeast Philly and now a South Philly resident, McIllmurray is best known for her work as political director for Reclaim Philadelphia, a progressive group she co-founded in 2016. She’s also worked on other campaigns, per her LinkedIn page. Before politics, she was a legal assistant and held jobs in food service and retail.

McIllmurray has said she wants to “build a coalition between labor, progressives, and working-class people across the city” by pursuing priorities like rent controls, workers’ rights issues, and tax changes.” She’s been endorsed by the Working Families Party.

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Ballot position: 10

Edwards is a community organizer and political consultant who lives in Mt. Airy. He was a 2018 candidate for a North Philly Pa. House seat. He has worked for the Committee of Seventy, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, and the Biden and Obama presidential campaigns. He’s currently the political action chair of the NAACP Philadelphia branch, and a city committeeperson.

His priorities include improving 911 response times in communities of color, addressing illegal dumping, funding the Board of Ethics, and lowering business taxes.

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Ballot position: 11

Landau, a Bella Vista resident, formerly directed the city’s Commission on Human Relations and Fair Housing Commission and has served as the director of law and policy for the Philadelphia Bar Association. Before that, she was a lawyer for Community Legal Services and a housing activist. If elected, she’d be the first openly LGBTQ city councilmember. Landau is the only non-incumbent Council candidate to be endorsed by the full Democratic City Committee, and she’s also been endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Landau bills herself as a longtime “fighter for Philly.” She says she’ll work to make sure “every person in our city” can have “the best we have to offer,” like an end to gun violence and access to safe and affordable housing.

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Ballot position: 12

Hagins, who describes himself as the “Philly Green Man,” is an activist and retired educator, according to his website. After years of what he says is “working hard to clean up the street from trash,” Hagins “now wants to clean up Philadelphia City Council.” He previously ran for an at-large seat in the 2019 primary.

Hagins’ priorities include education reform, better waste management, and creating Green New Deal-like policies at the local level.

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Ballot position: 13

Almirón is a social justice activist who was formerly executive director of Juntos, a Philadelphia immigrant rights nonprofit. The daughter of immigrants from Paraguay, she previously ran for an at-large seat in 2019. She has worked at the Philadelphia Student Union, the American Friends Service Committee U.S. Border Program, and Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Stated priorities include affordable housing, protection for renters, and property tax relief. She also backs environmental policies such as retrofitting city buildings to use solar energy and green job training in disinvested communities. Almirón has been endorsed by the Working Families Party.

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Ballot position: 14

Ahmad is an executive, activist, scientist, and former bureaucrat from Mt. Airy who’s previously run for two state-level offices: lieutenant governor and auditor general. She served as deputy mayor for public engagement in Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, and now leads the Pa. chapter of the National Organization for Women. Ahmad, who was born in Bangladesh, served on the National Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under Obama.

Ahmad has said she wants to look at the city’s myriad issues through a “public health lens,” centering wellness in her approach to issues like gun violence, the environment, education, and housing.

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Ballot position: 15

Reyes was until recently a community school coordinator at Murrell Dobbins CTE High School in North Philadelphia, and before that worked as a crisis manager in a youth behavioral program. In 2019, Good Morning America honored him for his education work.

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Ballot position: 16

West was until recently president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He runs his own firm, Black Business Accelerator and Culturally Congruent Solutions, and was previously an executive at People For People, a North Philly nonprofit focused on education and family development. He grew up in North Philadelphia, lives in Fishtown, and is building a home in Fairmount.

His platform focuses on crime, affordable housing, education, health care, poverty, and business, according to his website.

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Ballot position: 17

Griffin is a math and reading teacher who has taught in city schools, served as a project manager and instructor for the district’s Bright Solar Futures youth training program, and been a board member at Serenity Soular, according to an online profile. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 18

Harrity, who lives in Kensington, joined Council in November after winning a special election to replace Allan Domb. He has been political director of the state and city Democratic parties and was state Sen. Sharif Street’s executive director. He previously worked in union construction, was an auditor in the City Controller’s office, and serves on the board of addiction nonprofit One Day at a Time.

When he took office, Harrity said his first priority was adding more surveillance cameras in high-crime areas to help police arrest violent offenders. Other stated priorities include increasing resources for education and job training to improve social mobility. He is endorsed by the Democratic City Committee.

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Ballot position: 19

Santamoor, a Chestnut Hill resident, was chief of staff to former Councilmember Allan Domb and has held other government roles, including deputy managing director during the Nutter administration. She sits on the board of Uplift Center for Grieving Children, an East Falls-based nonprofit that supports children who’ve lost a loved one. This is Santamoor’s second time running for council — she also pursued an at-large seat in 2019.

As councilmember, Santamoor says she would prioritize public safety, substance use treatment, and “quality services for every neighborhood.”

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Ballot position: 20

Stevenson, of Nicetown, is a former constituent services representative for Councilmember Cindy Bass, and he runs the mentorship nonprofit Real Men Speak. He is also a Boy Scout leader, per his campaign paperwork.

In a Facebook video, Stevenson said a priority for him on City Council would be streamlining and speeding up city services.

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Ballot position: 21

Tuttleman is an investor and philanthropist who spent 15 years running his family’s charity fund, the Tuttleman Foundation. He also has served on several nonprofit boards, including Recycled Artist in Residency (RAIR), FringeArts, Treehouse Books, and the Philadelphia Police Foundation. He has donated money to local journalism nonprofits, including Billy Penn.

Tuttleman’s main policy priorities include education, healthcare, jobs, and the environment. He wants to grow the city’s economy through grants, attracting and supporting businesses, improved services, and creating “more equitable access to capital,” per his website.

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Ballot position: 22

Prince, of Northwest Philly, is an actor whose given name is Clayton Tanksley, per a 2011 article about his car getting hit. Prince appeared in the movie Hairspray and many television shows, including Another World and The Cosby Show. He currently operates Musical History Tours in the city. According to his website, Prince worked with Councilman David Oh to bring movie projects to Philadelphia, has patrolled with citizen watch groups, and served as a Guardian Angel in New York.

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Ballot position: 23

Kelly is a consultant on alternative energy projects and CFO of a biomedical firm and an athletic apparel company. He previously worked in municipal finance for PNC. He’s a son of former Councilmember John B. Kelly and nephew of late Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly. He is president of the environmental group Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a board member at the Fairmount Park Conservancy, and treasurer of the Philadelphia Police Foundation.

Campaign priorities include dismantling the “economic apartheid” in Philadelphia and tackling Black Americans’ barriers to financial and social capital rooted in slavery and institutionalized racism.

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Ballot position: 24

Segers, an Olney resident, is assistant principal of school culture at Mann Elementary Mastery Charter School in Wynnefield and was previously a special education teacher. He runs the Segers Foundation, a youth services organization.

Segers says his priorities are providing educational resources for all students, working with the community to come up with solutions to stop gun violence, and creating career pathways for youth that will lead to wealth.

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Ballot position: 25

When Richardson won the 2019 election, she was the youngest woman ever elected to citywide office and the youngest Black woman ever elected to Council. She previously served as chief of staff for former Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown and as vice president of the Young Philly Democrats. She serves on the U.S. EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee.

Among her achievements she counts bills requiring public hearings on police labor contracts, cracking down on nuisance businesses, and integrating climate risk disclosure into city operations. She created a guidebook on apprenticeship programs and worked to have the School District provide conflict resolution services. Richardson has been endorsed by the Democratic City Committee.

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Ballot position: 26

Prettyman is an educator and a small business owner who runs an event planning company called Impressed by M. Conquest, according to her website. She says she has seen the “social, emotional, and economic toll robbing Philadelphians from the quality of life they deserve” through her students.

Prettyman wants to run for office to be an “advocate for the needs of children and families.” On her website, she lists crime reduction, educational reform, and supporting small businesses as issues that need to be tackled.

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Ballot position: 27

Itzkowitz has since 2014 been executive director of the Old City District, which oversees cleaning and economic development initiatives in the neighborhood. A resident of Point Breeze, he was previously deputy chief of staff and director of legislation for City Council, and before that was an attorney at Ballard Spahr. He co-founded Young Involved Philadelphia, and helped found Friends of Love Park.

Itzkowitz says he is focusing on creating a city with clean streets, safe neighborhoods, comfortable use of public transit at all hours, well-resourced public schools, and unique and vibrant local businesses.

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Ballot position: 28

Booth is a math teacher in city schools who was previously an IT manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also worked for the Department of Defense, according to his campaign bio, and has coached tennis at Haverford College and several clubs. He is an East Mount Airy Neighbors board member.

His stated priorities include increasing the number of Black male teachers and generally improving Philly schools, preventing crime, enhancing the city’s status as a historical and cultural destination, reducing its carbon footprint by promoting renewable energy, and creating a public bank.

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Ballot position: 29

Thomas won his seat in 2019, his third try. He was previously director of community affairs in the City Controller’s office, served as associate dean and athletic director at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School, and worked at nonprofit organizations. He co-founded a charitable foundation that puts on free summer youth programs and served on the Mayor’s Commission for African-American Men.

On Council he chairs the Streets Committee and is vice chair of the Children and Youth Committee. He hosts an annual Black-Owned Business Crawl, sponsored a Driving Equality bill that banned traffic stops for minor offenses, and introduced legislation to reward residents for reporting illegal dumping. He is endorsed by the Democratic City Committee and the Working Families Party.

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Ballot position: 1

Cristinzio, of Harrowgate, is a recently retired PPA maintenance worker who has worked in manufacturing since the 1970s, per his Philly GOP bio. He’s also a longtime Republican committeeperson.

He supports fully funding and staffing the police department, increased monitoring of city-funded drug recovery facilities, and school choice. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 2

Grisafi is a musician and guitar teacher from Northeast Philly who runs a business called the Grisafi Music Institute and is a Ward 53 committee leader. He previously worked in constituent services for former Councilmember Al Taubenberger and served as a RNC delegate in 2020. per the Philly GOP. Over a decade ago he ran unsuccessfully for the District 7 Council seat and for the Pa. House.

Stated priorities include combating crime by funding the police and stiffening gun laws, improving education, and lowering real estate taxes, the wage tax, and sales taxes. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 3

A Logan Square resident, Murray is a regional sales manager at O’Brien Systems, a storage manufacturer based in Montgomery County. In addition to being a ward leader, he serves on the boards of his neighborhood association and the Center City District. Murray was on the ballot in last November’s special election for Council at-large. He also ran for Council in 2019 and for a Pa. House seat in 2020.

Murray’s platform includes returning “law and order” to the city, getting rid of the soda tax in favor of alternative funding, and lowering the wage tax. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee.

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Ballot position: 4

Hasher, a Torresdale resident, is a longtime realtor, the owner of a Northeast Philly sports pub, and a youth sports volunteer and leader. His past political involvement includes serving as a ward leader, running for Congress in the 1990s, and managing a successful Council campaign. He was on the ballot in November in one of the at-large Council special elections.

Hasher, a self-described moderate, lists public safety, supporting small businesses, and addressing the opioid epidemic as his campaign priorities. He has been endorsed by the Republican City Committee.

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Ballot position: 5

A Torresdale resident, Kelly is a retired clerk who worked in the Philadelphia court system for 26 years, per the Philly GOP, and has worked for a decade and a half as a “premium service hostess” for the Phillies.

Kelly has been endorsed by the Republican City Committed. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 6

Former boxer and mixed martial arts fighter Oropeza is a real estate agent and the leader of River Wards group Rescuing Streets through Clean-Ups. A resident of Bridesburg, he has appeared on the ballot once before, when he ran in a May 2022 special election for a Northeast Philly state Senate seat.

Oropeza says he’s running to “actively strive for a safer community” by holding people like “violent repeat offenders, an absent city hall, and a rogue district attorney” accountable.

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Brooks became the first Working Families candidate ever elected to Philadelphia City Council in 2019. She previously worked for Easter Seals, a disability services organization, organized with Parents United for Public Education, and helped lead the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia.

On Council, Brooks proposed a rent control law and a wealth tax, and has advocated for bills protecting people seeking abortions, mandating paid COVID-19 sick leave, and providing rental assistance. She has opposed wage and business tax cuts and called for more spending on crisis counselors rather than police.

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O’Rourke, a pastor at Living Water United Church of Christ in Northeast Philly and longtime organizer, has served as the Pennsylvania Organizing Director for the Working Families Party. He’s also worked with POWER, an interfaith organization of Pennsylvania congregations that’s “committed to racial and economic justice on a livable planet.” O’Rourke ran for an at-large seat in 2019 alongside now-Councilmember Kendra Brooks.

O’Rourke plans to run on an agenda of “community safety and reducing gun violence, developing affordable and accessible housing, creating good jobs, and advancing climate justice,” per his campaign.

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Ballot position: 1

Squilla took office in 2012 and is serving his third term on Council. A South Philadelphia native, he previously worked as a systems analyst for the Pa. Auditor General’s Office.

In recent years he has sponsored bills creating a new “road diet” layout for part of Washington Avenue, banning single-use plastic bags, and tightening oversight of Airbnb rentals, and he co-sponsored renewal of the LOOP tax relief bill for longtime homeowners. He’s proposed mandating sprinkler systems in all tall buildings to put out fires, and has voiced support for the Sixers’ proposal to build a new arena on Market Street. He also plays Santa Claus in Franklin Square’s holiday celebration.

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Ballot position: 1

Boogie Rose, whose given name is Chamara Cotton, is a former public school teacher, spoken word poet, and community activist who grew up in Point Breeze, according to her website. In 2020, she spearheaded an effort to turn a vacant lot in Grays Ferry into a community garden.

Rose is promising transparency and “comprehensive constituent services.” She wants Hilco to negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement at the PES Refinery/Bellwether District site, and supports prioritizing affordable housing, increasing library funding, and passing the Philly Wealth Tax.

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Ballot position: 2

Humphrey attended a private high school in the Philadelphia suburbs, spent much of his life in New York, and moved back to Philly in 2019. He has been a campaign manager for New York City Council and N.Y. Senate candidates, per his website and served on a number of volunteer boards.

His agenda includes creating a database of public land sales, term-limiting Council members, rezoning single-family homes to mixed use, and instituting weekly street cleaning.

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Ballot position: 3

First elected in 2011, Johnson is running for his fourth term representing his native Point Breeze and surrounding area. He came to public service after founding anti-violence org Peace Not Guns, and served as state rep from 2009 to 2012.

Johnson chairs Council’s Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention, and has made job training a priority while in office. He was recently acquitted on federal bribery charges related to an alleged consulting deal given to his wife in exchange for favorable zoning legislation — but constituents said they’d reelect him anyway.

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Ballot position: 1

Cobbs Creek resident Majeed, whose given name is Raymond Grant, wrote in campaign paperwork that he’s a community activist. He did not list an employer. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 2

Gauthier is an urban planner who grew up in West Philly. She worked at the community development nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and served as executive director of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and Fairmount Park Conservancy.

Gauthier in 2019 surprised the political establishment by unseating longtime Councilmember Jannie Blackwell. Since then, she has become one of the city’s more activist lawmakers, and has proposed legislation to slow development. She is chair of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless.

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Ballot position: 1

Smith, a lifelong West Philly resident, is director of community engagement and prevention/intervention at Turning Points for Children, a child welfare and foster care organization in Philadelphia. His previous positions include foster care worker with Northeast Treatment Centers and case worker with Carson Valley Children’s Aid. He is a Freemason and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

He plans to advocate for vocational training, greening of vacant lots, more recreation center programming, and ensuring children read at grade level by 4th grade.

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Ballot position: 2

First elected in 2007, Jones is seeking a fifth term representing Northwest Philadelphia. He currently serves as Council majority leader, a position he previously held from 2012-2016. A graduate of Overbrook High School and Penn’s Fels School of Government, he has been appointed to several statewide boards, including the Pa. Human Relations Commission.

While in office, he has introduced bills on criminal justice reform measures and community-driven economic development.

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Ballot position: 1

North Philly resident Miranda is a former one-term state representative who faced five years of probation for funneling state money to his sister through a “ghost employee.” Miranda was 26 years old and a student at West Chester University during his 2012 campaign.

Miranda’s campaign filings indicate that he’s currently a “transporter/activist” but do not specify an employer. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 2

Young is an attorney who specializes in real estate, government affairs, and business law. He previously worked as retiring Council President Darrell Clarke’s legislative counsel, and is a partner at Legis Group LLC. Young is a committeeperson in the Ward 32 and has previously served on the board of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation.

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Ballot position: 3

Matin is a Brewerytown resident and crisis intervention specialist who works for the Urban Affairs Coalition, per his campaign filings. According to LinkedIn, he’s also been a martial arts instructor, school principal, imam, and self-employed. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 4

Hankins is a state Democratic committee member, entrepreneur, and pastor, according to his campaign.

He lists as top priorities facilitating access to jobs, addressing parent concerns about schools, quality of life improvements, and dedicating resources toward gun violence investigations, prosecutions, and victim well-being.

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Ballot position: 5

Wilkerson, a Brewerytown resident, is Council President Clarke’s former chief of staff and a Democratic committeeperson in Ward 29. Per his LinkedIn, Wilkerson started working for the city in 2007 and before that, worked for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as a technician.

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Ballot position: 6

Griffin is a Fairmount resident and intellectual property lawyer at Volpe Koenig. He grew up in the suburbs and went to college at Drexel, then returned to Philadelphia in 2015 after attending law school in Michigan and working in the DC area.

His top policy priorities are crime and safety, he told Billy Penn. Per his website, he supports “enforcing quality of life ordinances when a person regularly abuses public spaces.”

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Ballot position: 7

Richardson works as a deputy chief of staff for state Sen. Sharif Street, handling things like drafting senate resolutions, managing volunteers, and organizing food distributions. She has served as president of the African American United Fund, VP of operations at Uptown Entertainment and Development, and as a member and leader of several boards, per a bio she provided to Billy Penn. Richardson lives in North Central Philadelphia.

Her top priorities include education, increased transportation funding, addressing homelessness, and effective violence prevention.

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Ballot position: 1

Driscoll, of Torresdale, is a former state representative who won a special election last year to replace former Councilmember Bobby Henon, who quit after he was convicted of corruption charges. Driscoll previously worked for Gov. Bob Casey Sr. and the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union.

His priorities include making more funding available for early education, creating jobs, developing the waterfront and attracting manufacturers to his district. He’s also focused on putting more cops in neighborhoods, cleaning streets, removing blighted properties and repairing streets and sidewalks. He opposes safe injection sites in Northeast Philadelphia.

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Ballot position: 1

Lozada, who grew up in Hunting Park and lives in Northwood, won a special election in November to succeed Maria Quiñones Sánchez, whose chief of staff she was for a decade. Lozada worked as director of community engagement for DA Larry Krasner and as vice president of community organizing and engagement at the social services provider Esperanza.

When elected, Lozada said she wanted to work on quality of life improvements and end the open public opioid use that plagues the district.

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Ballot position: 2

Celin is an educator, social worker and community organizer. He works as a trauma trainer at Lakeside Global Institute, previously served as Councilmember Helen Gym’s outreach director, and has worked for Youth United for Change and Congreso de Latinos Unidos. He volunteers with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project and LULAC Philadelphia, which provides scholarships to high school graduates.

Celin says he wants to boost low voter turnout in the district by engaging underserved residents. He called for “safe communities, affordable housing, and opportunities for our young people to learn and grow.”

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Ballot position: 1

Anderson-Oberman, an organizer at SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, previously worked for the AFL-CIO and was political director at the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey. Raised in Germantown, he has been a board member at the Philadelphia Student Union and recently cofounded the Philadelphia Labor for Black Lives Coalition.

He wants the city to fund crisis responders, provide legal aid for people facing eviction, rent and mortgage relief, reform the Land Bank, and launch a Public Bank.

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Ballot position: 2

Bass was first elected to represent Northwest Philly in 2012 and is running for a fourth term. She serves as Council’s deputy majority whip and is chair of two committees: Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and Public Health and Human Services. She was a policy advisor to former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and an assistant to state Sen. Allyson Schwartz.

On Council, Bass has championed quality-of-life improvement legislation, like increased regulation on clothing donation bins that often collect litter, and advocated for security cameras to be installed at rec centers and playgrounds across the city.

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Ballot position: 1

Young is an administrator and construction manager who has overseen projects for the School District of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Gas Works. A native of West Oak Lane, she’s director of facilities for the Pottsgrove school district. She has served on the board of Life Turning Point of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that provides shelter and Biblical life skills training to women and children.

Priorities include repairing failing schools, adopting harm reduction approaches to substance abuse to save lives, and opening more older adult centers.

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Ballot position: 2

Phillips joined Council after winning a special election in November to succeed Cherelle Parker. A Ph.D. student in Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, he founded the mentoring program Youth Action as a teen. He has worked at CCP and taught at a charter high school in Philadelphia.

Stated priorities include community policing, more responsive city services, beautification of 9th District business corridors, and working with block captains to provide resources.

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Ballot position: 3

Williams, who lives in Cedarbrook, is the publisher of Uptown Standard, a newspaper that covers several Northwest Philly neighborhoods. He’s previously worked in education, mental health, college athletics, and as a staffer for former Councilmember David Oh. He ran for City Council at large in 2015 as a Republican, and per his LinkedIn, has served as a Republican ward leader.

Per his campaign website, he wants a digital town watch program, to hold gun shops accountable for straw gun purchases, to end the tax abatement, and add a track and field training facility in his district.

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Ballot position: 4

Hawthorne has worked in HIV prevention for the city’s Health Department and as an analyst for the Office of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services. A PhD student at Johns Hopkins, she teaches at Arcadia University and previously worked for AFSCME DC47 and Drexel University.

Her campaign platform includes preventing illegal access to guns, ending charter school expansion, and implementing rent control.

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Ballot position: 1

Masino is president and business manager of Sheet Metal Workers Local 19. He serves on the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority, a state body that offers low-interest financing options to businesses. During the Nutter administration he was on the Department of Licensing and Inspection’s board of appeals and the Zoning Board of Adjustments.

Masino has cited priorities including increased funding for the police and teachers, helping small businesses thrive, and promoting job creation. Billy Penn could not locate a campaign site.

Ballot position: 1

O’Neill, Philly’s only current Republican councilmember, is serving his 11th term. Before he was elected in 1979 he was a juvenile probation officer, law clerk in the Court of Common Pleas and attorney in private practice. He serves on the Philadelphia Airport Advisory Board and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau board.

During his last reelection campaign, O’Neill said he was focused on “protecting neighborhoods, strengthening playgrounds, and making sure volunteer groups are recognized by the city.” In 2019 he tried and failed to ban roof decks and limit the height of homes in his district.

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