Daniel Orsino

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Daniel Orsino

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 16, 2023

Education

Associate

Rowan College of South Jersey, 2012

Personal

Birthplace

New Jersey

Religion

Roman Catholic

Profession

Social services

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Daniel Orsino (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Philadelphia City Council in Pennsylvania. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on May 16, 2023.

Orsino completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Daniel Orsino was born in New Jersey. Orsino earned an associate degree from Rowan College of South Jersey in 2012. His career experience includes working in social services. On June 28, 2023, Orsino was named as a member of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs.

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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates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.

2019

See also: City council elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2019)

General election

General election for Philadelphia City Council District 1

Incumbent Mark Squilla defeated Daniel Orsino in the general election for Philadelphia City Council District 1 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Squilla (D)	82.6	27,062
		Daniel Orsino (R)	17.2	5,627
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	56

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,745
= 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 Philadelphia City Council District 1

Incumbent Mark Squilla defeated Louis Lanni in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Council District 1 on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Squilla	81.4	16,785
	Submit photo	Louis Lanni	18.6	3,830
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	13

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,628
= 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 Philadelphia City Council District 1

Daniel Orsino advanced from the Republican primary for Philadelphia City Council District 1 on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Orsino	99.9	2,020
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,022
= 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.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Daniel Orsino completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Orsino's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Daniel Orsino (aka Duke to close friends). I was born & raised in the Philadelphia region. I spent my teenage years living outside of Camden in Gloucester City, NJ. I attended Gloucester County College and Rowan University. I am a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and am in a loving domestic partnership with my husband, Rithy Ros. We live in North Philadelphia with our Pitbull Delilah.

I have worked as a professional cook, a factory worker, and a senior center social services coordinator. In 2020, I created Project Norci, a program designed to connect LGBTQ+ elders of Color in the North Philadelphia community to the social, medical, and community services many individuals have difficulty accessing due to many systemic barriers in place. Because of this and other work, I was named one of AL DÍA's "Forty Under 40" in 2021.

I currently work as a HOPWA (Housing for Persons Living With HIV/AIDS) housing counselor in North Philadelphia. I also serve on the LGBT Elder Initiative at William Way's Advisory Committee, and previously served as a planner for Philadelphia's forum on HIV and aging, The Reunion Project.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A city government should be able to provide basic services like functional roads, safe schools, clean water& air, and reliable trash pickup.
• I will create a city-wide universal healthcare system, modernize our schools, establish tuition-free community college, expand social services, and do everything in my power to stop climate change.
• I will initiate the single largest transit expansion in Philadelphia in nearly a century, expanding the number of subway lines, completing the Center City Loop, building more transit connections to NJ, investing in more regional rail routes, and building up other mass transit infrastructure.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am very passionate about Public Housing. The current state of public housing in Philadelphia is inexcusable. Housing is a human right. No one should be on a multiyear waitlist for a place to live. Not only do we need more housing; we need to examine new housing concepts, and programs such as rent control that will promote upward mobility, equity & inclusion.

Another policy are I am passionate about is helping older adults. Many of our city's older adults lack access to many of life's most basic of necessities. Many are on fixed incomes and do not have the luxury of owning a personal vehicle for travel so getting around is difficult. From proper medical care, adequate food, or even opportunities for socialization, many of our seniors are forced to go without.

Workers Rights are an issue I care deeply about, especially because I've been on the receiving end of a boss who liked to exploit workers back in my twenties. Too often, a worker's right to organize is illegally denied. Unionbusting can take many forms. I personally am in favor of advocating to amend the City Charter to include the right for workers to organize, so we can send a strong message to would-be exploiters and profiteers .

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Daniel Orsino completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Orsino's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Daniel Orsino (aka Duke to close friends). I was born & raised in the Philadelphia region. I spent my teenage years living outside of Camden in Gloucester City, NJ. I attended Gloucester County College and Rowan University. I am a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and am in a loving domestic partnership with my husband, Rithy Ros. We live in North Philadelphia with our Pitbull Delilah.

I have worked as a professional cook, a factory worker, and a senior center social services coordinator. In 2020, I created Project Norci, a program designed to connect LGBTQ+ elders of Color in the North Philadelphia community to the social, medical, and community services many individuals have difficulty accessing due to many systemic barriers in place. Because of this and other work, I was named one of AL DÍA's "Forty Under 40" in 2021.

I currently work as a HOPWA (Housing for Persons Living With HIV/AIDS) housing counselor in North Philadelphia. I also serve on the LGBT Elder Initiative at William Way's Advisory Committee, and previously served as a planner for Philadelphia's forum on HIV and aging, The Reunion Project.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A city government should be able to provide basic services like functional roads, safe schools, clean water& air, and reliable trash pickup.
• I will create a city-wide universal healthcare system, modernize our schools, establish tuition-free community college, expand social services, and do everything in my power to stop climate change.
• I will initiate the single largest transit expansion in Philadelphia in nearly a century, expanding the number of subway lines, completing the Center City Loop, building more transit connections to NJ, investing in more regional rail routes, and building up other mass transit infrastructure.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am very passionate about Public Housing. The current state of public housing in Philadelphia is inexcusable. Housing is a human right. No one should be on a multiyear waitlist for a place to live. Not only do we need more housing; we need to examine new housing concepts, and programs such as rent control that will promote upward mobility, equity & inclusion.

Another policy are I am passionate about is helping older adults. Many of our city's older adults lack access to many of life's most basic of necessities. Many are on fixed incomes and do not have the luxury of owning a personal vehicle for travel so getting around is difficult. From proper medical care, adequate food, or even opportunities for socialization, many of our seniors are forced to go without.

Workers Rights are an issue I care deeply about, especially because I've been on the receiving end of a boss who liked to exploit workers back in my twenties. Too often, a worker's right to organize is illegally denied. Unionbusting can take many forms. I personally am in favor of advocating to amend the City Charter to include the right for workers to organize, so we can send a strong message to would-be exploiters and profiteers .

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2019

Daniel Orsino completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Orsino's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Public Education Reform, ending Philadelphia's tax abatement program, and fighting poverty.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

LGBTQ rights legislation and environmentalism

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

JFK. JFK was a president that was able to cross party lines and unite people by doing what was best for the country. He put the interests of his constituents before those of his own and became one of history's most successful presidents.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, and putting the needs of the People before the needs and interests of yourself.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

A District City Councilperson is responsible for proposing and voting on legislation and various budgets. The District Councilperson also has what is know as "Councilmanic Prerogative" which gives them vast control over the affairs of their districts (which I think is completely undemocratic) including major decisions in public land use.

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

While I wouldn't exactly call her a "thing", I would definitely have to say my dog, Delilah.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

In most of my adult life I have struggled with issues relating to poverty. I have fought hard and overcome much adversity just to put a roof over my head or food on my plate. It has been a truly humbling experience.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Councilmanic Prerogative is a responsibility granted to 10 of Philadelphia's 17 Council members and allows for vast powers including major land-use decisions within a council-district.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the local government?

I am an LGBTQ blue-collar individual working in the medical device manufacturing industry. In my adult life, I have experienced much adversity, both economic and otherwise. I understand the plight of the worker and the plight of those in poverty. I feel that having these types of life experiences are critical to understanding many of the issues facing the populace of our city and allow me to bring intuitive and practical solutions to the table.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, I don't. I believe in a democracy every person has the right to run for office, no matter who they are or what experience they have. We are a government of the People, by the People, and to insist that a person have a particular type of "experience" to be qualified for representative government is a form of elitism that goes against the democratic principals this nation was founded upon.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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