Municipal elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2015)

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2015 Elections for Mayors and City Councils

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The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. A primary election took place on May 19, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 10, 2015. All 17 city council seats—seven at-large and 10 districts—were up for election.

In the mayoral race, incumbent Michael Nutter (D) was ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits. Seven candidates filed to take his place: six Democrats and one Republican. James Kenney (D) defeated Melissa Lynn Bailey (R) and three other candidates in the general election.

In the city council race, 15 incumbents ran for re-election. Twelve incumbents won re-election. Prior to the election, Democrats held a 13-3 majority on the council. They maintained that same majority after the election. The only incumbent not to seek re-election was seven-term District 9 representative Marian B. Tasco (D). She announced her plans to retire from the council in January 2015. One of the seven at-large seats was vacant at the time of the election. The seat was previously held by James Kenney (D), who resigned in January 2015 in order to run for mayor.

Mayor

Candidate list

Note: Incumbent Michael Nutter (D) was ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits.
May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Anthony Williams - Pennsylvania State Senator
• T. Milton Street
• James Kenney a - Former Philadelphia City Council Member
• Doug Oliver
• Nelson Diaz
• Lynne Abraham

May 19 Republican primary candidates:

• Melissa Lynn Bailey a

November 3 General election candidates:
James Kenney
Melissa Lynn Bailey
James Foster (Independent)
Boris Kindij (Independent)
Osborne Hart (Socialist Workers Party)

Election results

Mayor of Philadelphia, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James Kenney	85.4%	203,730
	Republican	Melissa Lynn Bailey	13.2%	31,563
	Independent	James Foster	0.7%	1,713
	Socialist Workers	Osborne Hart	0.5%	1,234
	Independent	Boris Kindij	0.1%	321
		Write-in votes	0.04%	103
Total Votes				238,664
Source: City of Philadelphia, "Official general election results," accessed November 23, 2015

Mayor of Philadelphia Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
James Kenney	55.8%	130,775
Anthony Williams	26.1%	61,160
Lynne Abraham	8.4%	19,782
Doug Oliver	4.2%	9,934
Nelson Diaz	3.7%	8,691
T. Milton Street	1.7%	3,937
Write-in	0%	24
Total Votes		234,303
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Polling

Primary election polling

2015 Philadelphia Mayoral Election
Poll	James Kenney	Anthony Williams	Lynne Abraham	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (April 9-15, 2015)	26%	25%	22%	18%	+/-4.1	587
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

City council

Candidate list

At-large

Note: Seven at-large seats were up for re-election. One seat was vacant at the time of the general election. Two at-large seats on the Philadelphia City Council are reserved for members of the minority party.
May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Derek Green a
• Jenne Baccar Ayers
• Wilson Alexander
• Allan Domb a
• Thomas Wyatt
• Karen Gordon
• Carla Cain
• Blondell Reynolds Brown a - Incumbent Brown was elected in 1999.
• Lillian Ford
• Joseph Guerra
• Paul Steinke
• Barbara Capozzi
• Marnie Aument Loughery
• Sherrie Cohen
• William Greenlee a - Incumbent Greenlee was elected in 2006.
• Billy Ivery
• Helen Gym a
• Edward Neilson - Incumbent Neilson was elected in 2014.
• Frank Rizzo
• Isaiah Thomas
• W. Wilson Goode, Jr. - Incumbent Goode was elected in 1999.

May 19 Republican primary candidates:

• David Oh a - Incumbent Oh was elected in 2011.
• James Williams
• Terrence Tracy Jr. a
• Daniel Tinney a
• Dennis M. O’Brien a - Incumbent O'Brien was elected in 2011.
• Al Taubenberger a
• Matt Wolfe

November 3 General election candidates:
Derek Green
Allan Domb
Blondell Reynolds Brown
William Greenlee
Helen Gym
David Oh
Terrence Tracy Jr.
Daniel Tinney
Dennis M. O’Brien
Al Taubenberger
Kristin Combs (Green Party)
Sheila Armstrong (Independent)
Andrew Stober (Philadelphia Party)
John Staggs (Socialist Workers Party)

District 1

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Mark Squilla a - Incumbent Squilla was elected in 2011.

November 3 General election candidates:
Mark Squilla

District 2

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Kenyatta Johnson a - Incumbent Johnson was elected in 2011.
• Ori Feibush

November 3 General election candidates:
Kenyatta Johnson

District 3

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Tony Dphax King
• Jannie L. Blackwell a - Incumbent Blackwell was elected in 1991.

November 3 General election candidates:
Jannie L. Blackwell

District 4

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Curtis Jones, Jr. a - Incumbent Jones was elected in 2007.

November 3 General election candidates:
Curtis Jones, Jr.

District 5

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Darrell L. Clarke a - Incumbent Clarke was elected in 1999.

November 3 General election candidates:
Darrell L. Clarke

District 6

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Bobby Henon a - Incumbent Henon was elected in 2011.

November 3 General election candidates:
Bobby Henon

District 7

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Manny Morales
• Maria Quinones-Sanchez a - Incumbent Quinones-Sanchez was elected in 2007.

November 3 General election candidates:
Maria Quinones-Sanchez

District 8

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Cindy Bass a - Incumbent Bass was elected in 2011.

November 3 General election candidates:
Cindy Bass
Michael Galganski

District 9

Note: Incumbent Marian B. Tasco (D) did not run for re-election.
May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Cherelle Parker a

May 19 Democratic primary candidates:

• Kevin Strickland a

November 3 General election candidates:
Cherelle Parker
Kevin Strickland
Bobbie Curry (Independent)

District 10

May 19 Republican primary candidates:

• Brian O'Neill a - Incumbent O'Neill was elected in 1979.

November 3 General election candidates:
Brian O'Neill

General election

Philadelphia City Council At-large, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Helen Gym	15.9%	145,087
	Democratic	Derek Green	15.8%	144,337
	Democratic	Allan Domb	15.7%	143,265
	Democratic	Blondell Reynolds Brown Incumbent	15.5%	141,368
	Democratic	William Greenlee Incumbent	15.1%	137,315
	Republican	David Oh Incumbent	3.8%	34,887
	Republican	Al Taubenberger	3.8%	34,711
	Republican	Dennis M. O’Brien Incumbent	3.8%	34,324
	Republican	Daniel Tinney	3.5%	31,863
	Republican	Terrence Tracy Jr.	3.1%	28,050
	Philadelphia	Andrew Stober	1.8%	16,301
	Green	Kristin Combs	1.2%	11,366
	Independent	Sheila Armstrong	0.6%	5,466
	Socialist Workers	John Staggs	0.3%	3,028
		Write-in votes	0.01%	105
Total Votes				911,473
Source: City of Philadelphia, "Official general election results," accessed November 23, 2015

Philadelphia City Council District 8, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cindy Bass Incumbent	96.9%	26,358
	Independent	Michael Galganski	3.1%	840
		Write-in votes	0.03%	8
Total Votes				27,206
Source: City of Philadelphia, "Official general election results," accessed November 23, 2015

Philadelphia City Council District 9, General election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cherelle Parker	91.1%	21,565
	Republican	Kevin Strickland	8.1%	1,920
	Independent	Bobbie Curry	0.8%	182
		Write-in votes	0%	1
Total Votes				23,668
Source: City of Philadelphia, "Official general election results," accessed November 23, 2015

Primary election

Philadelphia City Council, At-large Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Derek Green	10.6%	68,505
Blondell Reynolds Brown Incumbent	9.8%	62,922
Allan Domb	9%	57,691
William Greenlee Incumbent	7.9%	50,849
Helen Gym	7.7%	49,270
Isaiah Thomas	7.5%	48,000
W. Wilson Goode, Jr. Incumbent	7.2%	46,555
Sherrie Cohen	7.1%	45,847
Edward Neilson Incumbent	6.3%	40,786
Paul Steinke	5.8%	37,104
Jenne Baccar Ayers	5.1%	32,637
Thomas Wyatt	4.7%	30,310
Frank Rizzo	4.1%	26,260
Wilson Alexander	3%	19,210
Carla Cain	2.7%	17,115
Marnie Aument Loughery	1.7%	10,890
Write-in	0%	87
Total Votes		644,038
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Philadelphia City Council, At-large Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Oh Incumbent	18%	8,960
Dennis M. O’Brien Incumbent	16.2%	8,038
Terrence Tracy Jr.	15.7%	7,801
Daniel Tinney	15.1%	7,528
Al Taubenberger	13.2%	6,587
Matt Wolfe	11.7%	5,800
James Williams	10%	4,979
Write-in	0.1%	32
Total Votes		49,725
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Philadelphia City Council, District 2 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kenyatta Johnson Incumbent	62.1%	14,993
Ori Feibush	37.8%	9,123
Write-in	0%	12
Total Votes		24,128
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Philadelphia City Council, District 7 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Maria Quinones-Sanchez Incumbent	53.5%	6,557
Manny Morales	46.5%	5,689
Total Votes		12,246
Source: Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Historical Election Results," accessed August 24, 2015

Issues

Public schools

Since 2012, Philadelphia's public schools faced a yearly budget crisis. Because it had no independent taxing power, the school district relied entirely on federal, state and local funding. Collective bargaining agreements also restricted the district's ability to cut spending. Reaching a breaking point in 2014, the School Reform Commission refused to pass a budget. The governing body, imposed by the state, claimed that there were insufficient funds to create a budget. This was a direct violation of the city charter. "It is a sad day in public service that we find children being held on the railroad tracks awaiting some rescue to come from somewhere," said Mayor Michael Nutter (D).

Some mayoral and city council candidates supported a program called PILOTs, short for "payments in lieu of taxes," in order to financially support the school district. James Kenney (D) was one such candidate, who believed that nonprofits who traditionally do not pay property taxes should help fund the schools by paying the city directly. The city council passed a resolution calling for PILOTs in March 2015, but major nonprofits in the city, such as the University of Pennsylvania ("Penn"), were not supportive of the measure.

Other solutions to the financial crisis were proposed. Nutter suggested property tax hikes in his 2015 budget proposal, but no Democratic mayoral candidates supported that plan. Kenney and fellow candidate Anthony Williams (D) called for the city to sell municipal assets in order to provide funding for the school district. No matter the proposed plan, all parties agreed that solving the school system's funding problem was the key to keep young families in Philadelphia who might otherwise leave the city for better funded schools in the suburbs.

Police department

Similar to many other metropolitan areas in recent years, a focus on police conduct was a talking point during this election cycle. Students at Penn staged a number of protests, particularly after the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. City police came under scrutiny following a March 2015 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that Philadelphia police shot 390 suspects from 2006 to 2014, an unusually high number. That same report stated that African-Americans accounted for 80 percent of those shootings.

Five of the six Democratic mayoral candidates expressed support for Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. The lone exception was T. Milton Street, who did not publicly endorsed Ramsey. Doug Oliver drew criticism at a public forum for his comment on the police and race relations: "The sad truth is that the police have good reason to be afraid of black men." Oliver later clarified the comments, stating, "It was not meant to be prescriptive. I would do anything to ensure that African American men are safe in their communities."

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Philadelphia Pennsylvania Election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Municipal elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2015) - Google News

See also

• United States municipal elections, 2015
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

External links

Suggest a link

• City of Philadelphia
• Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners - 2015 General Election Candidates
• Philadelphia City Commissioners - Historical Election Results

Additional reading

The Philadelphia Inquirer posted a series of Q&As with mayoral candidates on a number of issues. Below are links to each of them.

• School Financing
• School Governance
• Ethics
• Pensions
• Safety
• Poverty
• Taxes