2023 Philadelphia City Council election

The 2023 Philadelphia City Council elections was held November 7, 2023 for elections of all seats in the Philadelphia City Council. The Democratic Party maintained its super-majority on the council. The election took place on the same day as the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election and other local elections in the Commonwealth.

Background
In 2019, Philadelphians re-elected Jim Kenney to a second term as mayor and 4 new councilmembers joined the city council. Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Isaiah Thomas were elected to at-large seats. Jamie Gauthier beat incumbent Jannie Blackwell in the District 3 primary and Kendra Brooks made history as the first third-party city councilmember in Philadelphia as a Working Families Party candidate.

In preparation for the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election, 4 City Councilmembers resigned (Green, Domb, Parker, and Quiñones-Sánchez) to run or prepare to run for mayor. While 3 were still considering running (Gym, Oh, and Bass). Council President Darrell Clarke announced a special election to replace the members.

6th District Councilmember Bobby Henon resigned after being convicted of corruption charges and was replaced with Michael Driscoll. 2nd District Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson was facing bribery charges in the months leading up to the election, but was acquitted on November 2, five days before Election Day.

1st District
Incumbent Mark Squilla is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Mark Squilla, incumbent councilor and majority whip

Withdrew

 * Amanda Mclllmurary, cofounder of Reclaim Philadelphia (ran for an at-large seat)

2nd District
Incumbent Kenyatta Johnson is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Kenyatta Johnson, incumbent councilor

Disqualified

 * Aaron Humphrey, campaign manager
 * Boogie Rose, community activist and former teacher

3rd District
Incumbent Jamie Gauthier is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Jamie Gauthier, incumbent councilor

Disqualified

 * Mustafa Majeed, community activist

Withdrew

 * Jabari Jones, trade association president (running as an Independent)

Declined

 * Amen Brown, state representative (running for mayor)

Third party and independent candidates

 * Jabari Jones (Independent), trade association president

Disqualified

 * Andre Kersey (Libertarian)

4th District
Incumbent Curtis J. Jones Jr. is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Curtis J. Jones Jr., incumbent councilor and majority leader

Disqualified

 * Darrel Smith Jr., child welfare worker

Declined

 * Alexandra Hunt, public health researcher and candidate for PA's 3rd congressional district in 2022 (ran for controller)

5th District
Incumbent Darrell L. Clarke is retiring. Clarke announced his retirement less than two weeks before the deadline to submit ballot petitions, in what media interpreted as an attempt to prevent state senator Sharif Street's preferred candidate from making the ballot. However, both Clarke's and Street's preferred successors failed to make the ballot, as did every other candidate except for one.

Nominee

 * Jeffery Young Jr., attorney

Did not qualify

 * Patrick Griffin, attorney
 * Jon Hankins, pastor and member of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee
 * Aissia Richardson, staffer for state senator Sharif Street
 * Curtis Wilkerson, former chief of staff to incumbent Darrell L. Clarke

Withdrew

 * Jose Miranda, former state representative and convicted felon
 * Isa Matin

Declined

 * Darrell L. Clarke, incumbent councilor and council president (endorsed Wilkerson)

6th District
Incumbent Michael Driscoll is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Michael Driscoll, incumbent councilor

Did not qualify

 * Russell Kubach, realtor

7th District
The 7th district seat was filled by Quetcy Lozada in the 2022 special election. Lozada is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Quetcy Lozada, incumbent councilor

Eliminated in primary

 * Andrés Celin, community organizer

Did not qualify

 * James Whitehead, nominee for this district in the 2022 special election

8th District
Incumbent Cindy Bass is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Cindy Bass, incumbent councilor

Eliminated in primary

 * Seth Anderson-Oberman, community organizer

Declined

 * Erika Almirón, candidate for an at-large seat in 2019 (running for an at-large seat)

9th District
The 9th district seat was filled by Anthony Phillips in the 2022 special election. Phillips is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Anthony Phillips, incumbent councilor

Eliminated in primary

 * Janay Hawthorne, co-chair of New Leaders Council Philadelphia
 * James Williams, former city council staffer
 * Yvette Young, Pottsgrove School District facilities director

Withdrawn

 * Roslyn Ross, nominee for this district in the 2023 special election

10th District
Incumbent Brian J. O'Neill is running for re-election.

Nominee

 * Brian J. O'Neill, incumbent councilor and minority leader

Did not qualify

 * Roman Zhukhov, real estate professional and neighborhood watch group president

Nominee

 * Gary Masino, president of Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 19

At-Large Seats
Philadelphia City Council has seven at-large seats, two of which must be represented by a minority party. Two at-large seats were temporarily vacant due to the resignations of Derek S. Green and Allan Domb to consider mayoral runs. They were filled in the special election on November 8, 2022. There will be three open seats in the 2023 election due to the resignations of Helen Gym and David Oh, and the retirement of Sharon Vaughn.

Each party may nominate five candidates for the general election. Voters can select up to five candidates in both the primary and general.

Advanced to general election

 * Nina Ahmad, former deputy mayor, nominee for Pennsylvania Auditor General in 2020, and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2018
 * Katherine Gilmore Richardson, incumbent councilor
 * Jim Harrity, incumbent councilor
 * Rue Landau, community services attorney and former executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations
 * Isaiah Thomas, incumbent councilor

Eliminated in primary

 * Erika Almirón, community organizer and candidate for an at-large seat in 2019
 * Jalon Alexander, attorney
 * Sherrie Cohen, former tenants rights attorney and independent candidate for an at-large seat in 2019
 * Luz Colón, former commissioner of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs (2015–2023)
 * Wayne Dorsey
 * Abu Edwards, political action chair of the NAACP Philadelphia chapter
 * Christopher Gladstone Booth, public school teacher
 * Ogbonna Hagins, activist
 * Job Itzkowitz, director of Old City District
 * John Kelly III, biomedical company CFO and son of Jack Kelly Jr.
 * Amanda McIllmurray, cofounder of Reclaim Philadelphia
 * Matthew Modzelewski, customer service professional
 * Daniel Orsino, housing counselor and Republican nominee for the 1st district in 2019
 * Michelle Prettyman, educator and small business owner
 * Charles Reyes, former Philadelphia Department of Education official
 * Melissa Robbins, activist and Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy at the Urban League of Philadelphia
 * Eryn Santamoor, former chief of staff to then-councilor Allan Domb
 * Curtis Segers, assistant elementary school principal
 * Derwood Selby
 * George Stevenson
 * Donovan West, business owner and former CEO of the Pennsylvania African American Chamber of Commerce
 * Deshawnda Williams

Did not qualify

 * Terrill Haigler, community organizer and former sanitation worker
 * Ronald Martin, security guard and small business owner
 * Billy McCann
 * Will Mega, activist and contestant on Season 1 of Big Brother USA
 * Matthew Modzelewski, customer service professional
 * Clayton Price
 * Max Tuttleman, philanthropist

Withdrawn

 * Michael Galvan, nonprofit executive and former Philadelphia Director of Education Policy

Declined

 * Sharon Vaughn, incumbent councilor (2023–present)

Advanced to general election

 * Jim Hasher, real estate agent, bar owner, and nominee for an at-large seat in the 2023 special election
 * Drew Murray, Philadelphia Republican ward leader and nominee for an at-large seat in the 2023 special election

Withdrew after primary

 * Frank Cristinzio
 * Gary Grisafi, music teacher
 * Mary Jane Kelly

Eliminated in primary

 * Sam Oropeza, real estate professional, mixed martial artist, and nominee for Pennsylvania Senate's 5th district in 2022 special election

Declined

 * David Oh, at-large councilor (2012-2023) (running for mayor) (endorsed Oropeza)

Advanced to general election

 * Kendra Brooks, incumbent councilor
 * Nicolas O’Rourke, director of the Pennsylvania Working Families Party and nominee in 2019