Ward elections recap and analysis!

Reclaim celebrates the victories of the recent ward elections where over 150 of the committee people we supported won. They went on to organize and democratize wards bringing the total number of open wards in the city to 12! 

Reclaim Philadelphia first got involved with organizing around Ward elections in 2017 as part of a joint campaign with people powered organizations like Neighborhood Networks as well as labor and community leaders across the city. Together, we saw the need to elect a new wave of committee people who could reimagine these antidemocratic structures. One that was actually democratic, transparent, and in line with the values of the voters of Philadelphia.

The vast majority of the 66 Democratic wards in the city have long operated as “closed wards”. In these wards, the ward leaders alone have a say in who their individual wards endorse. The goal of this campaign was to return that endorsement power back to the committee people serving at the most grassroots level. We know once open, empowered and independent committee people will have more power to endorse, and elect, progressive candidates from City Hall to Harrisburg.

In 2018 we had great success electing ideologically aligned and power hungry committee people across the city. The biggest victories came a few weeks later during the ward reorganization meetings where we helped flip two wards in South Philadelphia! Many of the leaders who became invested through the campaign of Elizabeth Fiedler for State Representative and Reclaim’s citywide committee person campaign headed by Kelly Morton went on to elect movement ward leaders in the 1st and 2nd Wards. Through this election, Nikil Saval, a Reclaim cofounder, became Philly’s first AAPI Democratic ward leader leading the 2nd Ward, and set the stage for his future successful run to become Pennsylvania’s first AAPI State Senator!

Leading up to the 2022 ward elections, Reclaim again built coalitions and invited in more allies including Philly DSA. Together we  shared a vision of using the ward system to elect bold new leaders. Leaders in our coalition led trainings on the role and how to win, shared resources, supported candidates through their court challenges, ran write-in candidates where there were vacancies, and taught duly elected committee people how to show up powerfully in the vote for leadership in their wards. 

Last Monday, committee people across the city gathered for the ward reorganization meetings. This critical meeting is seen as the one chance for the next four years of deciding which wards would redistribute power back to the grassroots. And just like in 2018, we had some incredible wins! The 1st Ward which had previously been led by Reclaim Steering Committee Member Adams Rackes elected Philly public school teacher Kathleen Melville with the outgoing ward leader's full support. The 2nd Ward stayed open and aligned with the election of Reclaim leader Julia Tackett who replaced outgoing ward leader Colleen Puckett who chose not to seek reelection. In the Riverwards, the 18th Ward which had already been open moved into alignment with movement organizing through the election of visual artist Lauren Rinaldi who defeated John Scott.  

The democratization ripples spread in South Philly to Ward 39A, one of the 3 wards in the city so massive that it’s split into A and B wards. Backed by organized progressives, Maureen Brown forced former ward leader Jonathan “JR” Rowan to step down rather than run against her. Similarly, in Fairmount’s 15th Ward, former Councilmember Bill Greenlee chose not to contest the winning coalition built by Fairmount Votes leader Matt Lowenthal. He will now likely be the youngest ward leader in the city at age 33. It is likely that any ward leader under the age of 40 now represents an open ward. The 24th Ward covering Mantua area of West Philadelphia elected civic association leader De’Wayne Drummond to replace Bernadette Wyche. Drummond, who has been a committee person since he first registered to vote, has committed to democratizing the 24th. 

There were several wards where our coalitions came up short, most notably in the 46th Ward led by former Councilmember Jannie Blackwell. The 46th ward has consistently endorsed several failed candidates rejected by the voters, including the former Councilmember herself. Blackwell declared herself the winner after denying the majority coalition of 23 duly elected committee from voting or even nominating their preferred candidate. If Blackwell had allowed a fair vote, Reclaim leader Sergio Cea, who also had led the committee person coalition citywide, would be ward leader today. Sergio first became involved with Reclaim when he ran for committee person in 2018 where he represented just a fraction of progressives in the 46th. Since then, Reclaim and movement endorsed candidates have consistently dominated election results in the 46th. Entrenched party leaders may be able to steal elections within the ward structure as it exists, but at the ballot box it will always be voters who have the final say. 

In the recent primary we saw big corporations, Republican donors and a billionaire who wants to defund our public schools collude with Bob Brady and the Democratic Party establishment. In the primary voters soundly rejected challenges to progressive incumbents Fiedler, Raab & Krajewski, all of whom were challenged by the Democratic Party establishment. Some of 39A’s success can be directly linked to the party’s decision to back a Trump sympathizer against Fiedler in South Philly and a large number of the 46’s coalition in West Philly formed as a reaction to Blackwell using her ward as a tool for petty personal grudges. We believe the party should be investing in its values driven base, instead of fighting against it. Because when they fight, they lose. 

All together, there’s a lot to be excited about with these results as we look forward to the future. In the fall midterm general election, open wards will be more invested in getting out the vote to elect a Democratic Senator and keep the Governor’s veto pen in the hands of Democrats. And in the 2023 primary, Progressive candidates running for mayor and city council will have a better chance running in areas of the city with open wards or where reformers came close. 

We know that the establishment doesn’t do real voter education and engagement – that’s why they keep losing! Each cycle, many ward leaders routinely give ballot endorsements out in exchange for money. Next year candidates should start asking ward leaders what kind of support ward leaders will actually give in exchange for these “donations.” Because from what we’ve seen, that money is better spent on organizations and open ward caucuses actually invested in boosting turnout.

Join our next Electoral Strategy meeting Monday July 18th at 7pm to get involved!