Municipal elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2017)

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2017 Philadelphia elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: March 7, 2017 (partisan)

August 1, 2017 (nonpartisan)

Primary election: May 16, 2017
General election: November 7, 2017
Election stats
Offices up: District Attorney, City Controller, Municipal Judge
Total seats up: 13
Election type: Partisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2017
The race to replace District Attorney Seth Williams (D) following his indictment headlined Philadelphia's municipal elections on November 7, 2017. Williams did not file for re-election, was indicted in March 2017 on 23 federal bribery and fraud charges, and resigned from office on June 29, 2017.[1] Lawrence Krasner (D) defeated six other Democratic candidates in the primary election on May 16, 2017, and defeated Beth Grossman (R) in the general election. Click here to learn about issues in the race.

Philadelphia voters also found races for city controller, two municipal court seats, and retention elections for nine municipal court seats on the general election ballot. City controller Alan Butkovitz lost a Democratic primary challenge from Rebecca Rhynhart, who defeated Republican candidate Michael Tomlinson in the general election. Democratic municipal court nominees Matt Wolf and Marissa Brumbach won without opposition in the general election. All offices appeared on the general election ballot even if there was no opposition to filed candidates. Two ballot measures were approved in the primary election. The filing deadline for the partisan primary election was March 7, 2017, while the general election filing deadline for nonpartisan candidates was August 1, 2017. The deadline to protest independent candidate petitions was August 8, 2017.[2]

The Democratic race for district attorney drew attention from national figures including a PAC funded by $1,450,000 from George Soros that supported the primary campaign of Lawrence Krasner. Soros' PAC contributions from March 28, 2017, to May 1, 2017, exceeded the $1,288,287 spent by all candidates in the race over the same period. Read more about the PACs involved in the race by clicking here.[3]

Elections

District attorney

Incumbent Seth Williams did not file for re-election.[4]

General election

☑ Democratic Party Lawrence Krasner
☐ Republican Party Beth Grossman

Democratic primary

☐ Democratic Party Rich Negrin
☐ Democratic Party Joe Khan
☐ Democratic Party Teresa Carr Deni
☐ Democratic Party Michael Untermeyer
☑ Democratic Party Lawrence Krasner
☐ Democratic Party Tariq El-Shabazz
☐ Democratic Party John O'Neill

Republican primary

☑ Republican Party Beth Grossman

Campaign finance

The following table details campaign finance information submitted by district attorney candidates for the 6th Tuesday pre-general reporting deadline. These reports include contributions, expenditures, and cash on hand for each candidate from June 6, 2017, through September 18, 2017. A candidate with N/A under each column did not file a report for this period.[5]

Click [show] on the box below to view campaign finance information from previous reporting periods:

PACs back ads in Democratic primary

The Philadelphia Justice & Public Safety PAC scheduled $280,000 in television ads supporting Krasner's candidacy through May 2, 2017. The PAC had the same treasurer as other PACs funded by progressive activist George Soros.[6] Soros contributed $1,450,000 to the PAC through May 1, 2017, and the PAC spent $497,456.04 on ads and other expenses to express support for Krasner's campaign.[7] The Build a Better PA PAC scheduled $123,000 in ads to support O'Neill's candidacy prior to the primary. This PAC also ran ads in 2015 supporting Mayor Jim Kenney's (D) campaign.[8] Build a Better PA PAC spent $139,700 on ads and other expenses to express support for O'Neill's campaign through May 1, 2017.[7]

City controller

General election

☑ Democratic Party Rebecca Rhynhart
☐ Republican Party Michael Tomlinson

Democratic primary

☐ Democratic Party Alan Butkovitz (i)
☑ Democratic Party Rebecca Rhynhart

Republican primary

☑ Republican Party Michael Tomlinson

Campaign finance

The following table details campaign finance information submitted by city controller candidates for the 6th Tuesday pre-general reporting deadline. These reports include contributions, expenditures, and cash on hand for each candidate from June 6, 2017, through September 18, 2017. A candidate with N/A under each column did not file a report for this period.[5]

Click [show] on the box below to view campaign finance information from previous reporting periods:

Municipal court

First Judicial District (Two open seats)

General election

☑ Democratic Party Marissa Brumbach
☑ Democratic Party Matt Wolf

Democratic primary

☑ Democratic Party Marissa Brumbach
☐ Democratic Party Jon Marshall
☐ Democratic Party William Rice
☐ Democratic Party George Twardy
☐ Democratic Party Sherman Toppin
☑ Democratic Party Matt Wolf
Withdrawn candidates
☐ Democratic Party Christian DiCicco
☐ Democratic Party Shanese Johnson
☐ Democratic Party Crystal Powell
☐ Democratic Party Betsy Wahl

First Judicial District (Nine seats up for retention)

☑ James DeLeon III (i)
☑ Nazario Jimenez Jr. (i)
☑ Brad Moss (i)
☑ Karen Simmons (i)
☑ Joyce Eubanks (i)
☑ William Meehan Jr. (i)
☑ David Shuter (i)
☑ Marvin L. Williams (i)
☑ Thomas Gehret (i)

Additional elections

See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2017

Philadelphia's city elections shared the ballot with one statewide measure, one city ballot measure, and races for local and state court seats. The primary ballot featured two proposed amendments to the city charter.

General election measures

• Question No. 2: $172 Million Capital Bonds Approveda

A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing $172,000,000 in borrowing for capital projects including public transit, streets and sanitation, municipal buildings, parks and recreation, and economic development.
A no vote was a vote against authorizing $172,000,000 in borrowing for capital projects including public transit, streets and sanitation, municipal buildings, parks and recreation, and economic development.

Primary election measures

• Question No. 2: Philadelphia Community Reinvestment Commission Amendment Approveda

A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create the Philadelphia Community Reinvestment Commission.
A no vote was a vote against amending the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create the Philadelphia Community Reinvestment Commission.

• Question No. 1: Philadelphia Contracts Amendment Approveda

A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to allow contract awards based on value for public dollars.
A no vote was a vote against amending the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to allow contract awards based on value for public dollars.

Voters in Philadelphia also chose election judges and inspectors in the general election. These races are conducted at the precinct level with the city divided into 1,686 precincts. Each precinct has one election judge and two inspectors. The election judge oversees operations for the precinct's polling location, while the inspectors process voters as they arrive at the location. In each precinct, the winner of the inspector election becomes the majority party inspector and the runner-up becomes the minority party inspector. The minority party inspector in each precinct appoints a clerk to maintain the voter list.[9]

Past elections

2013

Philadelphia District Attorney, General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSeth Williams Incumbent 80.9% 89,238
     Republican Daniel Alvarez 19.1% 21,058
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0% 55
Total Votes 110,351
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2013 General Election," accessed March 9, 2017


Philadelphia City Controller, General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAlan Butkovitz Incumbent 82.3% 88,339
     Republican Terrence Tracy 17.6% 18,860
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.1% 75
Total Votes 107,274
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2013 General Election," accessed March 9, 2017

Primaries

District attorney

Williams and Alvarez were unopposed in their respective primaries.

City controller

Tracy was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Philadelphia City Controller, Democratic Primary Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAlan Butkovitz Incumbent 61.2% 38,733
     Democratic Brett Mandel 30.9% 19,542
     Democratic Mark Zecca 7.9% 5,034
     Democratic Write-in votes 0% 24
Total Votes 63,333
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2013 Primary Controller-D," accessed March 9, 2017

2009

Philadelphia District Attorney, General Election, 2009
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSeth Williams 75.1% 92,273
     Republican Michael Untermeyer 24.9% 30,640
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0% 33
Total Votes 122,946
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2009 General District Attorney," accessed March 9, 2017


Philadelphia City Controller, General Election, 2009
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAlan Butkovitz Incumbent 72.1% 84,489
     Republican Al Schmidt 27.8% 32,612
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0% 34
Total Votes 117,135
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2009 General Controller," accessed March 9, 2017

Primaries

District attorney

Untermeyer was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Philadelphia District Attorney, Democratic Primary Election, 2009
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSeth Williams 41.8% 43,672
     Democratic Daniel McCaffery 30.2% 31,590
     Democratic Daniel McElhatton 14.7% 15,327
     Democratic Michael Turner 8.8% 9,234
     Democratic Brian Grady 4.6% 4,766
     Democratic Write-in votes 0% 11
Total Votes 104,600
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2009 Primary District Attorney-D," accessed March 9, 2017
City controller

Schmit was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Philadelphia City Controller, Democratic Primary Election, 2009
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAlan Butkovitz Incumbent 41.8% 36,610
     Democratic John Braxton 30.4% 26,656
     Democratic Brett Mandel 27.8% 24,329
     Democratic Write-in votes 0.1% 44
Total Votes 87,639
Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2009 Primary Controller-D," accessed March 9, 2017

Issues

Policy differences, endorsements among DA candidates

Forums held prior to the primary and general elections illuminated policy differences among the candidates for district attorney in 2017.[10][11] The table below provides comparisons between candidates on major issues facing the office.

Candidate stances on major issues (General election)
Candidate Civil forfeiture Cash bail Prosecute police for on-duty shootings City's sanctuary status
Democratic Party Lawrence Krasner[10][11][12][13] Eliminate civil forfeiture Eliminate cash bail Support with evidence of criminal conduct Supported
Republican Party Beth Grossman[12][13][14] Maintain civil forfeiture Review cash bail for potential reform Support with evidence of criminal conduct Opposed
Candidate stances on major issues (Primary election)
Candidate Civil forfeiture Cash bail
Democratic Party Rich Negrin[15] Review civil forfeiture Review cash bail for potential reform
Democratic Party Joe Khan[10][11] Eliminate civil forfeiture Eliminate cash bail
Democratic Party Teresa Carr Deni[10][11] Eliminate civil forfeiture Keep cash bail, base on ability to pay
Democratic Party Michael Untermeyer[10][11] Eliminate civil forfeiture Eliminate cash bail
Democratic Party Tariq El-Shabazz[10][11] Eliminate civil forfeiture Keep cash bail, base on ability to pay
Democratic Party John O'Neill[10][11] Eliminate civil forfeiture Eliminate cash bail

The seven-candidate primary field for district attorney was the largest field in the past four races for the office. The 2009 election, the last time the office was open, featured five Democratic candidates including Williams. The 2005 and 2013 elections featured three candidates and two candidates, respectively, with incumbents running for re-election. Lawrence Krasner and Teresa Carr Deni were the only primary candidates who had worked in the district attorney's office in the past. Former assistant district attorneys won every election for the office between 1985 and 2013.

The Democratic primary drew attention from local and national groups. National progressive groups Democracy for America and Our Revolution issued endorsements for Krasner on April 21. Krasner was not the only candidate to receive boosts prior to the primary. Joe Khan received an endorsement from former Gov. Ed. Rendell (D) in April 2017, Rich Negrin was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police in March 2017, and John O'Neill received support from eight building trade unions.[16][17][18][19]

Philadelphia Weekly published a ward-by-ward breakdown of endorsements for Democratic district attorney candidates on May 9, 2017. The city has 66 election wards and Democratic ward endorsements became more important to candidates after the city party did not issue a primary endorsement. The following table details these endorsements:

Democratic ward endorsements[20]
Candidate Ward endorsements
Democratic Party Rich Negrin 9
Democratic Party Joe Khan 8
Democratic Party Teresa Carr Deni 0
Democratic Party Michael Untermeyer 9
Democratic Party Lawrence Krasner 9
Democratic Party Tariq El-Shabazz 7
Democratic Party John O'Neill 11
Independent Split, no endorsement, or unknown 13

Two of the eight candidates - Krasner and Michael Untermeyer - responded to Ballotpedia's candidate survey for this election prior to the primary. You can see their responses by clicking [show] on the blue boxes below.

Legal troubles for DA Seth Williams

Seth Williams

The district attorney's race attracted a large field of candidates after Seth Williams announced in February 2017 that he would not seek re-election. Williams was indicted in March 2017 on 23 federal fraud and bribery charges related to accepting gifts in excess of $175,000 and diverting funds from a relative's pension for his own use. Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced that his investigation did not reveal similar issues by other prosecutors in the district attorney's office.[21] On May 9, 2017, Williams was indicted on six additional charges of fraud related to the Friends of Seth Williams PAC. The indictment accused Williams of using the PAC's funds to pay for personal expenses and filing false reports between August 2010 and August 2016. State campaign finance laws restrict the use of PAC funds to political campaign expenses.[22] Judge Paul Diamond set a trial date of May 31, 2017, after rejecting a request by prosecutors to delay trial for document review.[23] The trial was moved to June 19, 2017, after the prosecution and defense filed a motion to delay the trial to allow more time for pretrial motions.[24]

On June 29, 2017, Williams pleaded guilty to one bribery charge and resigned from office as part of a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors. Williams was taken into custody until his sentencing hearing. He admitted that he had committed all of the acts alleged in his indictments, though the plea deal meant that he would only face sentencing for the one bribery charge.[1] Williams was sentenced to five years in prison by Judge Diamond on October 24, 2017.[25]

Following the March indictment, calls for Williams to resign came from Mayor James Kenney (D), the Philadelphia Bar Association, and Philadelphia NAACP President Rodney Muhammad.[26] Former DA Lynne Abraham (D) and attorney Richard Sprague filed a separate lawsuit on April 3, 2017, seeking Williams' removal from office and replacement by the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court prior to the end of his term in January 2018. The lawsuit argued that Williams was unable to serve as district attorney after the suspension of his law license.[27] Lawyers Adam Bonin and Gregory Harvey and Duquesne University Professor Bruce Ledewitz told The Philadelphia Inquirer that state law does not require district attorneys to be licensed during their tenure, only that they need to be licensed for one year prior to assuming office.[28]

About the city

See also: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is a city in Pennsylvania. The city is consolidated with Philadelphia County, which means that the city and county share a government and boundaries. It is the center of the Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area. As of 2010, its population was 1,526,006.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Philadelphia uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[29][30]

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau. 

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Demographic Data for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Population 1,526,006 12,702,379
Land area (sq mi) 134 44,742
Race and ethnicity**
White 40.7% 80.5%
Black/African American 42.1% 11.2%
Asian 7.2% 3.4%
Native American 0.4% 0.2%
Pacific Islander 0% 0%
Two or more 3.1% 2.5%
Hispanic/Latino 14.7% 7.3%
Education
High school graduation rate 84.7% 90.5%
College graduation rate 29.7% 31.4%
Income
Median household income $45,927 $61,744
Persons below poverty level 24.3% 12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Philadelphia Pennsylvania election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Municipal elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2017) - Google News

See also

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Municipal government Other local coverage
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams pleads guilty in his federal corruption trial," June 29, 2017
  2. ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Independent files to run for City Controller," August 2, 2017
  3. ↑ Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Candidates for Office," accessed March 31, 2017
  4. ↑ CBS Philly, "District Attorney Seth Williams Won’t Seek Re-Election For Third Term Following Ethics Violations," February 10, 2017
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 23, 2017 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "finance" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ Philadelphia Magazine, "A Super PAC Just Dumped a Whole Lot of Money Into the Philly District Attorney Race," April 25, 2017
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "2017 Campaign Reports - Cycle 2 - PACs and IEs," accessed May 8, 2017
  8. ↑ Newsworks, "Super PAC backs O'Neill in Philly DA's race," May 1, 2017
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named philly
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Newsworks, "Philly DA candidates debate bail reforms at packed forum," April 19, 2017
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 The Legal Intelligencer, "Eight Phila. DA Candidates Fight to Distinguish Themselves," April 18, 2017
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named police
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Philadelphia Inquirer, "At Philly DA debate, clashing on seized property, sanctuary cities," October 19, 2017
  14. ↑ Philadelphia Magazine, "Meet the D.A. Candidate Who Led Philly’s Civil Asset Forfeiture System," April 10, 2017
  15. ↑ Philadelphia Magazine, "The D.A. Candidate Who at 13 Saw His Father Murdered in the Street," February 23, 2017
  16. ↑ Krasner for District Attorney, "National Progressive Powerhouses Line Up Behind Krasner," April 21, 2017
  17. ↑ CBS Philly, "Ed Rendell Makes Endorsement In Philadelphia DA Race," April 5, 2017
  18. ↑ Philadelphia Weekly, "Criticism flies over police union's endorsement for Philly DA," March 15, 2017
  19. ↑ Philadelphia Magazine, "Labor Unions Endorse Jack O’Neill for Philly DA," April 27, 2017
  20. ↑ Philadelphia Weekly, "Ward Lords: The endorsements that matter in the Philly DA's race," May 9, 2017
  21. ↑ The New York Times, "Philadelphia Prosecutor Indicted on Corruption Charges," March 21, 2017
  22. ↑ NBC 10, "Philly DA Accused of Misusing PAC Funds, Government Vehicles in New Indictment," May 9, 2017
  23. ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Lawyers in Seth Williams' case: We need more time," April 7, 2017
  24. ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Philly DA Seth Williams' trial moved to June," May 12, 2017
  25. ↑ Governing, "Once Hailed as a Criminal Justice Reformer, Ex-Philadelphia DA Gets Max Prison Sentence for Corruption," October 25, 2017
  26. ↑ CBS Philly, "Black Leaders That Once Endorsed Seth Williams Now Call For His Resignation," April 4, 2017
  27. ↑ Philadelphia Magazine, "Former DA Lynne Abraham Sues to Oust Williams From Office," April 4, 2017
  28. ↑ The Philadelphia Inquirer, "What comes next for Philly DA Seth Williams and his office?" March 21, 2017
  29. ↑ City of Philadelphia, "Government Organization," accessed October 29, 2014
  30. ↑ Philadelphia City Charter, 1.101-102, accessed October 29, 2014
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