Candidates from a far-left splinter party won a pair of seats on the Philadelphia City Council on Tuesday, nabbing an unprecedented victory for liberals and handing defeat to Republicans, who had held the spots for more than seven decades.
Working Families Party candidates Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke defeated Jim Hasher and Drew Murray for two at-large council seats reserved for the minority party, which had gone to Republicans in the past, given the Democratic dominance in the city.
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“Philadelphia is officially a two-party town,” Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell wrote following the election. “But it’s not the Republicans and Democrats, it’s the Working Families Party and the Democrats. We are so proud of our two champions Kendra and Nicolas, and we know they’re going to wake up every day ready to fight for quality schools, clean air and water, and housing you can afford. The future of Philadelphia just got a little brighter.”
Their wins mean 116,000 registered Republicans will only have one representative fighting for them in the city council.
The fate of lone Republican Brian O’Neill was up in the air after he faced a challenger with deep pockets who threatened to put O’Neill, the son of a police officer, out of commission.
Sam Katz, a three-time mayoral candidate and former Republican, called Election Day “an existential test” for the GOP and said it is “facing losing its presence in Philadelphia.”
Republicans have watched their power and influence steadily fade in the city.
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The party has relied on the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to keep its voice from disappearing altogether, but it did not work out the way the party had hoped this year.
The 72-year-old document includes a resign-to-run rule for elected officials, prohibits city workers from working on political campaigns, and establishes recall procedures. It also mandates voting rules that require party diversity on the city council.
