Philadelphia Democrats on Tuesday nominated Mayor Jim Kenney for a second term, while both parties selected their five candidates to run for City Council at large in the general election.
Meanwhile, city election commission chairwoman Lisa Deeley, of East Torresdale, finished in the top two in the Democratic primary, basically guaranteeing her a second term.
Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez (D-7th dist.) won a bruising primary.
And Common Pleas Court Judge Dan McCaffery was among two Democrats who won nominations for a seat on state Superior Court.
Below is a closer look at the results.
Election commissioner: There were 13 Democrats running for two nominations. Omar Sabir finished first, followed by Chairwoman Deeley, who arrived at the Ashburner Inn at 10 p.m.
“I feel very positive,” she said. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done in the last four years. We’ve made a huge transformation in the office. We have great plans for the future.”
Sabir and Deeley were endorsed by the Democratic City Committee.
“That ballot means something,” Deeley said.
In the next term, Deeley plans a focus on voter education programs, voting accessibility and transitioning into new voting machines.
Deeley thanked, among others, her mom, former Sheriff Barbara Deeley; City Councilman Bobby Henon; state Rep. Ed Neilson; and campaign manager Danie Bendesky.
Commissioner Al Schmidt is the only Republican candidate, guaranteeing victory in the general election, unless an independent or minor-party candidate joins the race.
Council at large: Seven Republicans sought five nominations. The winners were, in order, 66th Ward leader Dan Tinney, Councilman Al Taubenberger, West Philadelphia lawyer and ward leader Matt Wolfe, 62nd Ward leader and businessman Bill Heeney and Councilman David Oh. Businessman and civic leader Drew Murray was sixth, followed by Irina Goldstein, a businesswoman from Bustleton.
Tinney, of the Far Northeast, will be listed first on the GOP ballot in November.
Taubenberger, of Fox Chase, did a lot better than in the 2015 primary, when he finished fifth.
“I’m absolutely in the winner’s circle,” he said at an election night get-together at Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5. “It’s a heck of an improvement over a few years ago.”
Heeney, of East Torresdale, watched the returns at the United Republican Club. He thanked his family, former state Rep. John Taylor, judicial candidate Beth Grossman and others.
“We’ve done everything we possibly could to make it a great race. We’re excited,” he said. “I’m going to reach out to citizens across the city like I did in the primary.”
The top five Democrats, in order, were Councilwoman Helen Gym, Councilman Allan Domb, challenger Isaiah Thomas, Councilman Derek Green and challenger Katherine Gilmore Richardson.
Thomas and Richardson had party backing, along with the three incumbents..
Northeast residents running were Fox Chase ironworker Vinny Black; Black Lives Matter leader Asa Khalif, of Frankford; Joseph Diorio, a Lawndale resident and Cardinal Dougherty High School graduate who has served on the Northeast Community Center for Behavioral Health; Ethelind Baylor, a Northwood resident and vice president of AFSCME District Council 47; and Hena Veit, a Mayfair resident who owns a forensic mitigation service. All of them finished well back in the pack of 28 candidates.
Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 7-to-1 margin and will almost certainly win five of the seven seats. Independents and minor-party candidates will likely run, but will have an uphill battle to knock off Republicans for the other two seats.
Mayor: Kenney rolled to victory with 67 percent of the vote. State Sen. Anthony Williams was second with 24 percent. Former City Controller Alan Butkovitz, of Castor Gardens, was last with 9 percent.
Kenney will face Republican Billy Ciancaglini, a lawyer from South Philadelphia. Independents and minor-party candidates might also jump into the race.
District Council: Most ward leaders in the 7th Councilmanic District endorsed state Rep. Angel Cruz, but Councilwoman Sanchez prevailed with 52 percent of the vote. There is no Republican in the race. The district includes Castor Gardens, Northwood, Frankford, Juniata, Feltonville and Kensington.
Councilwoman Cherelle Parker (D-9th dist.) was unopposed in the primary and general election, and many observers expect her to run for mayor in 2023.
Councilman Bobby Henon (D-6th dist.) and Republican Pete Smith, former president of the Tacony Civic Association, were unopposed in the primary. Henon sent five pre-primary campaign mailings, had a literature drop and paid for digital advertising despite being unopposed.
Councilman Brian O’Neill (R-10th dist.) and Democrat Judy Moore, a 66th Ward committeewoman and Garces Events executive, were unopposed in the primary.
Sheriff: Longtime Guardian Civic League president Rochelle Bilal easily won a four-way primary, ousting incumbent Jewell Williams. Bilal took 41 percent of the vote. Williams received 27 percent. Former deputy sheriffs Malika Rahman and Larry King trailed with 26 and 6 percent of the vote, respectively.
The party did not endorse a candidate in the race.
There is no Republican candidate.
Register of Wills: Incumbent Ron Donatucci, in office for 40 years, lost in an upset in a three-way primary to Tracey Gordon, who totaled 44 percent of the vote. Donatucci took 40 percent, followed by Jacque Whaumbush with 16 percent.
There is no Republican candidate.
Superior Court: McCaffery, an East Torresdale resident and younger brother of former state Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, was second to Allegheny County lawyer Amanda Green-Hawkins with 99 percent of the vote counted, but was 22,000 votes ahead of another Allegheny County lawyer, Beth Tarasi.
In the general election, Green-Hawkins and McCaffery will face Republicans Megan McCarthy King, a Chester County deputy district attorney, and Christylee Peck, a Cumberland County Common Pleas Court judge.
King finished first in the GOP primary with 35 percent. Peck took 34 percent. Former Montour County District Attorney Rebecca Warren was third with 31 percent.
The four nominees were all endorsed by their party. The top two finishers in the general election will join Superior Court.
Common Pleas Court: Democratic nominated six candidates among a field of 25.
The apparent winners were, in order, Jennifer Schultz, Anthony Kyriakakis, Joshua Roberts, Tiffany Palmer, James C. Crumlish and Carmella Jacquinto.
Democrats with party backing were Roberts, Kyriakakis and Jacquinto.
Beth Grossman, the 2017 Republican candidate for district attorney, was the only GOP candidate. She also ran on the Democratic ballot.
Municipal Court: David Conroy, who had Democratic Party backing, defeated Theresa Brunson with 56 percent of the vote. There is no Republican candidate.
Home Rule Charter: Voters approved four changes calling for gender neutral references (68 percent), establishment of an Office of Immigrant Affairs (74 percent), the General Assembly to increase the minimum age to $15 an hour by 2025 (82 percent) and establishment of public safety enforcement officers (69 percent). ••
Logan Krum and Jack Tomczuk contributed to this story.
