Gary Grisafi

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

Gary Grisafi

Republican Party

Personal

Birthplace

Philadelphia, Pa.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Musician

Contact

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Gary Grisafi (Republican 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 general election on November 7, 2023.

Grisafi completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Gary Grisafi was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His career experience includes working as a musician, construction safety consultant, and educator. Grisafi has been affiliated with the Burholme Town Watch and Civic Association, the Phila Republican Party, and the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

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

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	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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates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

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	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

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	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

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Grisafi in this election.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Gary Grisafi completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grisafi'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.

Gary Grisafi, raised in the Oxford Circle section of Northeast Philadelphia and now residing in the Burholme section with his wife. Attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he majored in Music. He has been teaching music (guitar) since 1985. Gary is a small business owner which includes two music schools: Grisafi Music Institute of Bensalem and of Ambler. He is also an entertainer performing in many bands and has been a professional musician for the past 42 years. Republican Ward leader of the 53rd Ward since 2013 and a committeeman since 1999. He was formally employed by City Councilman Al Taubenberger as a Constituent Services Representative. He is presently Vice-President of Burholme Town Watch and Civic Association. He also works as a Construction Safety Inspector and Educator. Gary is authorized by OSHA to teach the OSHA 10 & 30 classes.

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?

• Crime: Murder, gun violence and all types of crime has been increasing over the past four years. I will pass stiffer gun and crime laws and will give the police the funds and tools to do their job.
• Education: new courses will be added in our public schools that include: Gun violence, crime, respect for other people, pride in your neighborhood, Math, English, the dangers of doing drugs and the preparation for high school, college and trade schools.
• Lowering taxes will help small businesses and residents of Philadelphia. Lowering Real Estate tax, City wage tax and Sales tax will keep people living here, buying here, and investing here in Philadelphia.

Community Question Featured local question

Did the COVID-19 pandemic change your approach to local policy issues? If so, please give us an example. If not, why?

keep politicians out of the medical field.

Community Question Featured local question

Do you believe crime rates are changing? Where do you get your crime rate data from? Would you make any changes to existing public safety policy?

seeing it myself is my data. talking to people around the city is my data, talking to my police friends is my data.
yes crime is on the rise!!!! see above answers about this subject.

Community Question Featured local question

Do you think the downtown area is healthy? What is your definition of a healthy downtown? What changes, if any, would you like to make?

clean, respectable, safe and thriving of businesses and people who have pride in their neighborhood.

Community Question Featured local question

How important is it to involve residents in the government’s decision-making process? What plans do you have regarding resident involvement in this process?

it is very important for residents to be involved in local government. interacting with residents by calling, emailing or knocking on their door.

Community Question Featured local question

How should record requests from the public be handled? Do you have any policies around transparency and accountability you want to enact?

city records must be transparent

Community Question Featured local question

How would you address crime and public safety? Do you have a different stance than current city council policy?

create laws that will punish criminals who comment crimes from robbery to gun to vandalism. I will fund the police and give the police the tools to do their job.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you balance the needs and desires of existing business and housing communities with new development? Would you take gentrification and displacement into consideration when planning neighborhood development?

if building new homes and businesses in neighbors that will improve the quality of life and put jobs into the community, then I'm for this new development.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you set priorities and develop plans in a way that will reflect community values and goals?

every neighborhood must have their own goals. I will communicate and visit each neighborhood in Philadelphia, and will support them and give them the tools to achieve their goals and values.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's current approach to public safety? Would you take any different positions?

funding is only part of it. the proper education like I stated earlier and also educating and informing parents and help give them the tools to be a good parent. pushing kids through the school system does not benefit the child. they should stay until they are ready to move to the next grade.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's environmental health? Would you make any changes to current policy?

its better now than it was when I was a child. we must keep checking the air and water quality. stiffer policies can also help.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

our roads, bridges and side walks must be safe for drivers and pedestrians. funding for all this must come from City, State and federal governments.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding the police department? Would you make any changes from current policy?

I will fund the police. I support having them stop and frisk and give them the authority to pull over driving violators.

Community Question Featured local question

What policies would you have implemented in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic? Why did you select those policies?

I would have let the doctors and medical community make the policies not politicians.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Putting music programs back into our schools. Make it mandatory for students to learn a musical instrument so they grow mentally, spiritually and enhance learning abilities and encourage cognitive development.

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

this is a city government position. the city can write their own laws except certain gun laws.

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

all people with knowledge, that are hard working and with talent. at my age I still get inspired by people.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I recommend a phone call or face to face meeting

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

honesty, integrity and love for our city, state and country.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

these qualities is what sets me apart from other candidates is all the different experiences I had throughout my entire life in Philadelphia. Being a father, grandfather, husband, business owner, owner of two music schools, teacher, performer, guitar player, entertainer, ward leader, committee person, constituent representative for a Philadelphia Councilman, construction safety specialist and educator, VP of my local civic and town watch association, security guard, cook, restaurant manager and most important I’m a very hard worker who is honest and loves his community and city.

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

be true to the city and people, the residents of this city must come first!

What legacy would you like to leave?

the hardest working councilman who still has time for his family and his guitar playing

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

when the first man walked on the moon. I was 5 years old

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked as a cook in pizzeria and a seafood restaurant my first two years in college. But before that I worked at Sears out of high school

What is your favorite book? Why?

sorry no favorites

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

none at this time

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

as a musician, it was probably the last tune I played or earned. sorry too many

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

resting and relaxing

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

constituent service can help people in many ways. from taxes, to street lights, to zoning issues to neighborhood nuisances, just to name a few.

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

no, just common sense, ability to communicate and listen, have an open mind and hard working.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

communication skills, be compassionate, tough when needed and must be a good organizer and manager.

Tell us your favorite joke.

ill keep it clean lol

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.

Note: Community Questions were submitted by the public and chosen for inclusion by a volunteer advisory board. The chosen questions were modified by staff to adhere to Ballotpedia’s neutrality standards. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Expansion Project, click here.

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