Matt Wolfe

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Matt Wolfe

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2019

Personal

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Contact

Campaign website

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Matt Wolfe (Republican Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Philadelphia City Council in Pennsylvania. Wolfe lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Wolfe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2019

See also: City council elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2019)

General election

General election for Philadelphia City Council At-large (7 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia City Council At-large on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Helen Gym (D)	15.4	205,661
✔		Isaiah Thomas (D)	14.7	196,733
✔		Derek Green (D)	14.2	189,819
✔		Katherine Richardson (D)	14.2	189,813
✔		Allan Domb (D)	13.9	186,665
✔		Kendra Brooks (Working Families Party)	4.5	60,256
✔		David Oh (R)	4.0	53,742
		Al Taubenberger (R)	3.6	47,547
		Nicolas O'Rourke (Working Families Party)	3.5	46,560
		Daniel Tinney (R)	3.5	46,270
		Bill Heeney (R)	3.2	43,249
		Matt Wolfe (R)	3.1	41,341
		Sherrie Cohen (A Better Council Party)	0.7	9,116
		Joe Cox (Independent)	0.7	8,880
		Maj Toure (L)	0.5	6,179
		Steve Cherniavsky (Term Limits Philadelphia Party)	0.3	3,480
	Submit photo	Clarc King (Independent)	0.2	2,959
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	745

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,339,015
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large (7 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Helen Gym	15.6	107,153
✔		Allan Domb	9.8	67,193
✔		Isaiah Thomas	9.2	63,295
✔		Derek Green	8.9	61,070
✔		Katherine Richardson	6.6	45,470
	Submit photo	Justin DiBerardinis	6.2	42,643
	Submit photo	Adrian Reyes	5.2	35,565
	Submit photo	Eryn Santamoor	5.1	35,026
	Submit photo	Erika Almiron	5.0	34,329
		Deja Alvarez	3.9	26,617
	Submit photo	Sandra Glenn	2.6	18,105
		Willie Singletary	2.6	17,858
	Submit photo	Ethelind Baylor	2.1	14,259
		Beth Finn	2.0	14,015
		Ogbonna Hagins	1.8	12,570
	Submit photo	Fernando Trevino	1.7	11,400
		Fareed Abdullah	1.6	10,676
	Submit photo	Asa Khalif	1.4	9,779
	Submit photo	Billy Thompson	1.3	8,976
		Latrice Bryant	1.3	8,966
	Submit photo	Joseph Diorio	1.1	7,803
		Hena Veit	0.8	5,405
	Submit photo	Edwin Santana	0.8	5,154
	Submit photo	Wayne Allen	0.7	4,941
	Submit photo	Vinny Blackwell	0.7	4,516
	Submit photo	Mark Ross	0.6	4,255
	Submit photo	Bobbie Curry	0.6	3,920
		Devon Cade	0.4	2,854
	Submit photo	Wayne Dorsey	0.4	2,780
		Sherrie Cohen	0.0	44

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 686,637
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Melissa Robbins (D)
• Mike Stack (D)
• Janice Tangradi (D)
• David Conroy (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large (7 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Tinney	21.0	13,611
✔		Al Taubenberger	19.4	12,542
✔		Matt Wolfe	19.1	12,362
✔		Bill Heeney	18.5	11,976
✔		David Oh	10.0	6,477
		Drew Murray	6.1	3,935
		Irina Goldstein	5.9	3,790

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 64,693
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015

See also: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania municipal elections, 2015

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. A primary election took place on May 19, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 10, 2015. There were seven at-large seats up for election, one of which was vacant at the time of the election. Two at-large seats on the Philadelphia City Council are reserved for members of the minority party. In the Democratic at-large primary, Derek Green, Allan Domb, Helen Gym and incumbents Blondell Reynolds Brown and William Greenlee advanced past incumbents Edward Neilson and W. Wilson Goode, Jr. and Jenne Baccar Ayers, Wilson Alexander, Thomas Wyatt, Carla Cain, Lillian Ford, Paul Steinke, Barbara Capozzi, Marnie Aument Loughery, Sherrie Cohen, Billy Ivery, Frank Rizzo and Isaiah Thomas. In the Republican at-large primary, incumbents David Oh and Dennis M. O’Brien and Terrence Tracy Jr., Daniel Tinney and Al Taubenberger advanced past James Williams and Matt Wolfe. Green Party candidate Kristin Combs, Independent candidate Sheila Armstrong, Philadelphia Party candidate Andrew Stober and Socialist Workers Party candidate John Staggs also ran in the general election. Gym, Green, Domb, Brown, Greenlee, Oh and Taubenberger won election to the at-large seats.

Philadelphia City Council At-large, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Helen Gym	15.9%	145,087
	Democratic	Derek Green	15.8%	144,337
	Democratic	Allan Domb	15.7%	143,265
	Democratic	Blondell Reynolds Brown Incumbent	15.5%	141,368
	Democratic	William Greenlee Incumbent	15.1%	137,315
	Republican	David Oh Incumbent	3.8%	34,887
	Republican	Al Taubenberger	3.8%	34,711
	Republican	Dennis M. O’Brien Incumbent	3.8%	34,324
	Republican	Daniel Tinney	3.5%	31,863
	Republican	Terrence Tracy Jr.	3.1%	28,050
	Philadelphia	Andrew Stober	1.8%	16,301
	Green	Kristin Combs	1.2%	11,366
	Independent	Sheila Armstrong	0.6%	5,466
	Socialist Workers	John Staggs	0.3%	3,028
		Write-in votes	0.01%	105
Total Votes				911,473
Source: City of Philadelphia, "Official general election results," accessed November 23, 2015

Philadelphia City Council, At-large Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Derek Green	10.6%	68,505
Blondell Reynolds Brown Incumbent	9.8%	62,922
Allan Domb	9%	57,691
William Greenlee Incumbent	7.9%	50,849
Helen Gym	7.7%	49,270
Isaiah Thomas	7.5%	48,000
W. Wilson Goode, Jr. Incumbent	7.2%	46,555
Sherrie Cohen	7.1%	45,847
Edward Neilson Incumbent	6.3%	40,786
Paul Steinke	5.8%	37,104
Jenne Baccar Ayers	5.1%	32,637
Thomas Wyatt	4.7%	30,310
Frank Rizzo	4.1%	26,260
Wilson Alexander	3%	19,210
Carla Cain	2.7%	17,115
Marnie Aument Loughery	1.7%	10,890
Write-in	0%	87
Total Votes		644,038
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Philadelphia City Council, At-large Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Oh Incumbent	18%	8,960
Dennis M. O’Brien Incumbent	16.2%	8,038
Terrence Tracy Jr.	15.7%	7,801
Daniel Tinney	15.1%	7,528
Al Taubenberger	13.2%	6,587
Matt Wolfe	11.7%	5,800
James Williams	10%	4,979
Write-in	0.1%	32
Total Votes		49,725
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matt Wolfe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wolfe's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Matt Wolfe is a former Deputy Attorney General. He also served in the administration of Governor Tom Ridge as the Chief Counsel of the Department of Labor and Industry, which played a key role in helping Pennsylvania's economy grow and attract new jobs. Before that he was Assistant Counsel at the Department of Transportation and he was appointed a Special Assistant District Attorney and Special Prosecutor in several counties. In Philadelphia, former District Attorney Ron Castille appointed him a Special Assistant District Attorney to represent the city to close down nuisance bars in his neighborhood. He helped close down the notorious Times Café and the Purple Fox. He also served with Sam Katz when Sam was on the School Board as a member of the Philadelphia School Board's Task Force on Scholastics and Sports, which developed academic standards for public school students to meet in order to be eligible for sports and extracurricular activities.

Matt Wolfe has been a community activist in West Philadelphia since he was in college. He was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Spruce Hill Community Association, also serving as its Vice President. Matt has served as a member of the 18th Police District Neighborhood Advisory Committee and was Vice Chairman of the Woodland District of the Boy Scouts of America. He is active in his parish, St. Francis DeSales, and has served on the Parish Pastoral Council and as a Eucharistic Minister.

Matt Wolfe has been an active Republican since college, is the Chairman of the University City Republican Committee and has served his community for years as a ward leader and committeeman. Wolfe is a lawyer, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova Law School, practicing election law and has taught other lawyers in continuing education classes in the area. He currently maintains his own law office, understanding the challenges that a small business owners face.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• End the culture of corruption on city council
• Bring common sense to city council
• Alleviate poverty by bringing encouraging job creation and giving our children better educational opportunities

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Philadelphia has gotten into the bad habit of simply raising taxes - on its citizens, businesses, and anyone else with the ability to pay - whenever it needs money or wants to fund some "program." The soda tax is a prime example. The city needed money for its general fund so it enacted a tax the negatively effects nearly every citizen. Oh, and City Hall said it was for Pre-K - a good goal - but only a small portion of the proceeds went to fund the program.

Fight New Taxes and Increases in Existing Taxes
Probably the biggest reason for decimation of Philadelphia's tax base has been the jobs chased out of the city by our high tax rates and our irrational tax structure. Our current tax structure is perfect for mid-19th Century Philadelphia. At that time, the economy of the city was driven by manufacturing. Manufacturing businesses had to be along the river or rail lines and within walking distance from their workforce. Manufacturing was very labor intensive. There was no moving your factory to Blue Bell. Taxing jobs and businesses made some sense.

The economics of the region changed but our tax structure did not evolve. We have a more mobile economy and service industries have become dominant, while less manufacturing takes place. Drive down City Line Avenue to see what happened.

We need a tax structure that will keep businesses in Philadelphia.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" speech: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Election of John Kennedy as President. I was about four.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Yorktown Seafood, three years in high school

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

My best qualification is that I am not on City Council right now. I do have governmental experience as a Deputy Attorney General, Special Assistant District Attorney and running the legal department for the state Department of Labor and Industry in the Ridge Administration. That being said, my more appropriate experience is that I spent most of my career as an attorney in private practice where I had to turn a profit. All too often in Philadelphia we are governed by elected officials who have never in their lives had to do that and it shows in their legislation that chases jobs, businesses, taxpayers and opportunity out of the city.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2019 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners - 2015 Primary Election Candidates