The 2023 Philadelphia City Council election was held November 7, 2023; all seats on the Philadelphia City Council were up for election. 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 four 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, four City Councilmembers resigned (Green, Domb, Parker, and Quiñones-Sánchez) to run or prepare to run for mayor. While three 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 ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Withdrew
Results
Republican primary
Results
General election
Results
2nd District
Incumbent Kenyatta Johnson ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Disqualified
- Aaron Humphrey, campaign manager
- Boogie Rose, community activist and former teacher
Results
Republican primary
Results
General election
Results
3rd District
Incumbent Jamie Gauthier ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Disqualified
- Mustafa Majeed, community activist
Withdrew
- Jabari Jones, trade association president (ran as an Independent)
Declined
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
Results
Third party and independent candidates
- Jabari Jones (Independent), trade association president
Disqualified
General election
Results
4th District
Incumbent Curtis J. Jones Jr. ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Disqualified
- Darrel Smith Jr., child welfare worker
Declined
Results
Republican primary
Results
General election
Results
5th District
Incumbent Darrell L. Clarke retired. 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.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Did not qualify
Withdrew
- Jose Miranda, former state representative and convicted felon
- Isa Matin
Declined
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
Results
General election
Results
6th District
Incumbent Michael Driscoll ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Results
Republican primary
Did not qualify
Results
General election
Results
7th District
The 7th district seat was filled by Quetcy Lozada in the 2022 special election. Lozada ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
- Andrés Celin, community organizer
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
Did not qualify
Results
General election
Results
8th District
Incumbent Cindy Bass ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
- Seth Anderson-Oberman, community organizer
Declined
- Erika Almirón, candidate for an at-large seat in 2019 (ran for an at-large seat)
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
Results
General election
Results
9th District
The 9th district seat was filled by Anthony Phillips in the 2022 special election. Phillips ran for re-election.
Democratic primary
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
Withdrawn
Results
General election
Results
10th District
Incumbent Brian J. O'Neill ran for re-election.
Republican primary
Nominee
Did not qualify
- Roman Zhukhov, real estate professional and neighborhood watch group president
Results
Democratic primary
Nominee
Results
General election
Results
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.
Democratic primary
Advanced to general election
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 (2015âÂÂ2023)
- 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
Endorsements
Results
Republican primary
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
Declined
Endorsements
Results
Working Families Party
Advanced to general election
Endorsements
General election
Results
Notes
References