Nina Ahmad

This page was last updated during the official's most recent election or appointment. Please contact us with any updates.

Nina Ahmad

Democratic Party

Philadelphia City Council At-large

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

1

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 7, 2023

Education

Ph.D

University of Pennsylvania

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }

Nina Ahmad (Democratic Party) is an at-large member of the Philadelphia City Council in Pennsylvania. She assumed office on January 1, 2024. Her current term ends on January 3, 2028.

Ahmad (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Philadelphia City Council in Pennsylvania. She won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Ahmad has worked as a molecular biologist and entrepreneur. Prior to running for auditor general, she was Deputy Mayor for Public Engagement in Philadelphia. Aside from her professional experience, she has served as president of the Philadelphia NOW and on the board of the Philadelphia Foundation. She was also a member of the National Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under President Barack Obama.

Ahmad earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. She immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh when she was 21 years old.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2023)

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 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Isaiah Thomas (D)	16.8	197,642
✔		Katherine Richardson (D)	16.1	189,917
✔		Nina Ahmad (D)	15.7	184,332
✔	Submit photo	Rue Landau (D)	14.9	175,976
✔	Submit photo	Jim Harrity (D)	13.1	153,839
✔		Kendra Brooks (Working Families Party)	7.1	83,616
✔		Nicolas O'Rourke (Working Families Party)	5.9	70,062
		Drew Murray (R)	5.1	60,277
	Submit photo	Jim Hasher (R)	5.1	60,274
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,622

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,177,557
= 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

• Gary Grisafi (R)
• Frank Cristinzio (R)
• Mary Kelly (R)

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 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Isaiah Thomas	12.7	107,315
✔		Katherine Richardson	11.1	93,418
✔	Submit photo	Rue Landau	9.0	75,798
✔		Nina Ahmad	7.9	66,689
✔	Submit photo	Jim Harrity	6.2	52,323
	Submit photo	Eryn Santamoor	5.6	47,410
		Amanda McIllmurray	5.5	46,379
	Submit photo	Erika Almiron	5.1	43,029
		Sherrie Cohen	3.9	32,430
	Submit photo	Job Itzkowitz	3.3	27,648
	Submit photo	Melissa Robbins	2.9	24,523
	Submit photo	Deshawnda Williams	2.7	22,506
		Luz Colon	2.6	21,917
	Submit photo	Donavan West	2.6	21,830
	Submit photo	John Kelly	2.5	21,153
	Submit photo	Jalon Alexander	2.0	16,628
	Submit photo	Qiana Shedrick	2.0	16,422
	Submit photo	Abu Edwards	1.8	15,105
		Michelle Prettyman	1.7	14,720
	Submit photo	Naderah Griffin	1.5	12,354
	Submit photo	Derwood Selby	1.4	11,952
	Submit photo	Charles Reyes	1.3	11,301
	Submit photo	Wayne Dorsey	1.2	10,378
		Ogbonna Hagins	0.9	7,403
	Submit photo	Christopher Booth	0.9	7,195
	Submit photo	George Stevenson	0.8	7,023
	Submit photo	Curtis Segers III	0.7	6,064
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	957

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 841,870
= 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

• Daniel Orsino (D)
• Clayton Prince (D)
• Max Tuttleman (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 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Drew Murray	18.7	10,584
✔	Submit photo	Frank Cristinzio	18.6	10,518
✔		Gary Grisafi	16.6	9,369
✔	Submit photo	Jim Hasher	16.5	9,333
✔	Submit photo	Mary Kelly	15.5	8,751
		Sam Oropeza	13.3	7,527
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	408

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,490
= 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.

Endorsements

   .ballot-measure-endorsements p {
       display: inline;
   }
   .ballot-measure-endorsements td {
       width: 35% !important;
   }
   .endorsements-header {
       margin-top: 10px !important;
       margin-bottom: 5px !important;
   }
   .ballot-measure-endorsements ul {
       margin-top: 0 !important;
       margin-bottom: 0 !important;
   }
   .split-cols-bm {
       columns: 2;
       -webkit-columns: 2;
       -moz-columns: 2;
   }
   @media screen and (max-width: 792px) {
       .split-cols-bm {
           columns: 1;
           -webkit-columns: 1;
           -moz-columns: 1;
       }
   }

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ahmad in this election.

2020

See also: Pennsylvania Auditor election, 2020

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Auditor General

Timothy DeFoor defeated Nina Ahmad, Jennifer Moore, and Olivia Faison in the general election for Pennsylvania Auditor General on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Timothy DeFoor (R)	49.4	3,338,009
		Nina Ahmad (D)	46.3	3,129,131
		Jennifer Moore (L)	3.1	205,929
		Olivia Faison (G)	1.2	78,588

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,751,657
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nina Ahmad	36.4	551,144
		Michael Lamb	27.1	410,556
		Christina Hartman	14.0	211,281
		Tracie Fountain	9.0	136,130
		H. Scott Conklin	7.5	112,952
		Rosie Davis	6.0	90,558

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,512,621
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General

Timothy DeFoor advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Auditor General on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Timothy DeFoor	100.0	1,042,092

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,042,092
= 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

• Cris Dush (R)

2018

See also: Pennsylvania gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

John Fetterman defeated Jeff Bartos, Kathleen Smith, and Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Fetterman (D)	58.7	2,895,652
		Jeff Bartos (R)	41.3	2,039,882
		Kathleen Smith (L)	0.0	0
		Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick (G)	0.0	0

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,935,534
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

John Fetterman defeated Nina Ahmad, Kathi Cozzone, incumbent Mike Stack, and Ray Sosa in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Fetterman	37.5	290,719
		Nina Ahmad	23.8	184,429
		Kathi Cozzone	18.5	143,849
		Mike Stack	16.6	128,931
		Ray Sosa	3.6	27,732

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 775,660
= 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

• Craig Lehman (D)
• Aryanna Berringer (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

Jeff Bartos defeated Kathleen Coder, Diana Irey Vaughan, and Marguerite Luksik in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Bartos	46.8	319,811
		Kathleen Coder	21.8	148,863
		Diana Irey Vaughan	17.6	120,482
		Marguerite Luksik	13.8	94,451

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 683,607
= 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

• Joe Gale (R)

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Nina Ahmad did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Nina Ahmad did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ahmad's campaign website highlighted the campaign themes below.

Climate Change & Energy

“

As a scientist, Nina believes in an evidence-based approach to all problems, and the evidence is telling us that we are on a calamitous path. We need to quickly rejoin the Paris Agreement and promote policies that will take us to a future where we are no longer emitting poisonous greenhouse gases. To achieve this, Nina would push to implement a carbon tax and use that revenue to reinvest in a green energy future. This will create thousands of new green jobs that can replace those in the dirty energy industry. Nina opposes the process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” and sees that beyond the issues of carbon or habitat, environmentally unfriendly practices can even alter our geology. The rise in earthquakes in places without fault lines, like Ohio, offer worrying examples of the ways the planet has been negatively altered by human activity. Nina also understands that environmental issues disproportionately affect low-income communities that disproportionately contain people of color due to structural barriers to racial equity. A study by the NAACP and National Medical Association showed that communities of color are 75% more likely to be located near a major source of pollution. We have seen in Flint, MI and South Philadelphia the alarmingly disproportionate impact on minorities. This needs to change.

”

Healthcare

“

Nina worked for years in medical research, and she knows what exactly what a diagnosis provides a patient. It provides them hope. After Nina completed her foundational work on Stickler syndrome, she watched as those who learned about their condition became empowered. They formed support groups and nationwide networks to learn and grow together. This is what health care is, it’s hope for those facing the ultimate uncertainty. Nina believes that health care is a basic human right. This country is one of a few in the world that fails to provide its citizens with health care. In Congress, she would vote to support a Medicare-for-all system with little to no copay. She will fight efforts to make healthcare a privilege for the wealthy and ensure that health care decisions are between a patient and their doctor. As a woman and leading women’s rights activist, Nina believes that no restrictions should be placed on a woman’s right to choose.

”

Education

“

Education plays a central role in social mobility, so when one’s ZIP code determines one’s level of education, the American dream is denied to those whose Nina believes we need reform at all levels of education, from pre-K right up to college including establishing a robust vocational track. Nationally, we need to offer universal pre-K to all citizens. In Philadelphia, we were able to achieve this, and Nina knows that we can make it happen nationwide. In elementary and secondary education, we are spending too much money for negative results. We need to move away from “learning to the test” mode of education to allow teachers to innovate for their students and engage in project based learning. We must also end for-profit charters and ensure that no student fails to move past secondary ed because they can’t afford the necessary testing. Additionally, Nina believes we need make college debt-free, and we can achieve this by placing a small transaction fee on Wall Street speculators.

”

Economy

“

Right now, we are going through a historic period of growth, but the benefits going to a small number of people at the top of the pyramid while the burdens are being unfairly imposed on those not reaping the bounty in so many ways. We need to undo the unnecessary tax cuts Congress just passed to shift more of the burden to those who are making out in this economy. We also need to increase our nationwide minimum wage to $15/hour to give an instant raise to the most vulnerable in our economy and fight against unfair trade deals that put the government in the role of corporate negotiator instead of arbiter of the interest of all of the people in our economy. To grow jobs, our city and region needs a global focus and a local plan. We need to reverse this tax plan that further helps the top and hurts the bottom. We need to connect business leaders with communities that have a lot to offer but have received little attention. Nina tried to raise these issues in her role as Deputy Mayor, and she will certainly do it as a Congresswoman. Nina has seen how this can work. Philadelphia has a growing biotech industry, and while these high-tech jobs might seem out of reach for many without advanced degrees, Nina knows that if we create pipelines to work for people with a high school diploma. She did it in her labs, and she’s ready to prove it’s possible on a bigger scale. We need to invest in the jobs that are both sustainable in the long-term and family sustaining. And while a select few areas of the 1st Congressional district are thriving, many are not. This has resulted in the concentration of wealth in a few places, which has rapidly increased the cost of living there. The result is that low-to-middle income people are being pushed away from the transit systems necessary to maintain their jobs and out of neighborhoods where they had always lived. To combat this, Nina would fight to reverse the decades of cuts we have seen to federal housing budgets and work with state and local leaders to mandate affordable housing in any larger development. She will also work with members of the House to make sure federal funding of the transit systems and alternative transportation systems is increased.

”

Criminal Justice Reform

“

For far too long in this country, we have had an unequal system of justice. When it primarily affected communities of color, drug addiction was treated without mercy, and addicts were met with punishment instead of treatment. These communities were devastated by a school-to-prison pipeline that took juveniles out of classrooms for minor offenses, then forced them into cycles of poverty and prison. Nina Ahmad knows we need to change the system if we’re ever going to achieve true equality. She believes we need to end the “war on drugs,” stop-and-frisk, and other policies that have been designed to push people of color into jail. We need to provide an alternative to prison for non-violent crimes, eliminate mandatory minimums, take on the school-to-prison pipeline and take sensible steps to reduce criminal activities like restoring the legal sale of marijuana. Nina opposes the death penalty in all cases. She categorically opposes the use of for-profit prisons, and she believes we need to eliminate cash bail all but the most heinous of circumstances. It will also be critical to review why there is such a high probation recidivism rate resulting in further incarceration.

”

Immigration

“

Nina understands immigration because she herself is an immigrant. After surviving a violent civil war in South Asia, she came to the United States when she was twenty-one and put herself through college and graduate school. Since her arrival in our country, she has dedicated herself to serving Philadelphia and the United States through her research, entrepreneurship, activism, and public service. She is a striking example of the benefits that immigrants bring to our country and will fight for the rights of others to have similar paths to citizenship. Almost a million DACA recipients face an uncertain future and the threat of possible deportation. Many of these immigrants know only this country. They succeeded in school, served in our military, and are now working as educators, conducting research, providing healthcare, and giving back to their communities. Nina will work tirelessly to ensure that these Americans are able to remain here and eventually become citizens. Nina believes that we should reform our system of enforcement, but that building an incredibly expensive wall is absolutely the wrong approach. Additionally, she knows that the legal path to entering the United States is broken, antiquated, and in desperate need of reform. Many immigrant families are being torn apart by ICE raids of questionable legality, detained for months on end in private detention centers with inhumane conditions, and in some cases, returned to countries where they may face violence, persecution, or years in prison. “Sanctuary” cities like Philadelphia that seek to protect these immigrant communities from such abuses are under assault by the current administration. In Washington, Nina will fight to ensure that our immigration laws are upheld, but that they are enforced in a humane – and constitutional – fashion.

”

See also

2023 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

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

   .contact_entity {font-size: 1.5em ;margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
   .contact_office { margin-top: 0.3em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
   .external_links_table { width: auto !important; }
   @media (max-width:600px) {
       .contact_entity {font-size: 1.0em ;margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0.5em;}
       .contact_office { font-size: 0.8 em; margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}  
   }

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Philadelphia City Council At-large

Website

Officeholder

Philadelphia City Council At-large

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Personal

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn