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Editorial: Endorsements for City Council and other races

City Hall in Philadelphia
City Hall in Philadelphia. / AP Photo/Matt Rourke

While the race for mayor will get most of the attention, Philadelphians will also vote this Tuesday for judgeships, City Council and other local offices.

The Tribune has endorsed Cherelle Parker, a former City Council member and state representative, for mayor, for her proven leadership and pragmatic plans to improve Philadelphia.

However, a mayor regardless of how capable also needs a competent City Council to pass legislation and approve budgets that will make Philadelphia better.

The Tribune is not endorsing Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, the two at-large candidates from the Working Families Party.

A case can be made that the Working Families Party members are really ultra- progressive Democrats and therefore are not eligible for minority party representation on City Council. The charter requires seven seats on City Council to be elected at-large and allows each political party to put up five nominees, which guarantees that two of those at-large seats are held by a minority party. In Philadelphia, those seats have traditionally been held by Republicans.

The Working Families Party is a left-wing minority party that seeks to grab endorsements and peel votes away from the larger Democratic Party while harshly criticizing the Democratic establishment. TV ads for Brooks and O’Rourke urge voters to vote for them first and then pick three Democrats, which would effectively take votes from Democrats.

Both Brooks and O’Rourke support safe injection sites, which would be counterproductive in solving the city’s drug crisis. More treatment is needed for addicts and not a city sanctioned site where addicts can inject dangerous drugs. Candidates who support supervised injection sites are ignoring the wishes of most Philadelphians who are opposed to the idea, according to polls.

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In Tuesday’s general election, the Tribune endorses the following candidates:

City Council at-large

Katherine Gilmore Richardson

Isaiah Thomas

Nina Ahmad

Jim Harrity

Rue Landau

City Council districts

1st District: Mark F. Squilla

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2nd District: Kenyatta Johnson

3rd District: Jamie Gauthier — Gauthier should rethink her counterproductive support for supervised injection sites which if allowed would bring more drugs and users from across the region to the West and Southwest Philadelphia communities she represents.

4th District: Curtis Jones Jr.

5th District: Jeffrey Jay Young Jr.

6th District: Mike Driscoll

7th District: Quetcy Lozada

8th District: Cindy Bass

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9th District: Anthony Phillips

10th District: Brian O’Neill

City commissioner

Omar Sabir

Lisa Deeley

City controller

Christy Brady

Justice of the Supreme Court

Daniel McCaffery

Justice of the Superior Court

Timika Lane

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Jill Beck

Justice of the Commonwealth Court

Matt Wolf

Justice of the Court of Common Pleas

Natasha Taylor-Smith

Samantha Williams

Tamika Washington

Kay Yu

John Padova

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Chesley Lightsey

Brian McLaughlin

Damaris Garcia

Caroline Turner

Judge of the Municipal Court

Barbara Thomson

Colleen McIntyre Osborne

Ballot question

Vote yes, to approve an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create a permanent Office for People with Disabilities.

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