The 2027 Philadelphia City Council election will be held November 2, 2027, with all seats on the Philadelphia City Council up for election. The Democratic Party enters the election with a super-majority on the council, with the Working Families Party and Republican Party in the minority. The election will take place on the same day as the 2027 Philadelphia mayoral election and other local elections in the Commonwealth.
Background In 2023's council election, nine of the ten district seats re-elected their incumbent councilmembers, with Jeffrey (Jay) Young winning the 5th district, the only open district election. Five council spots had previously been filled during the 2022–23 Philadelphia City Council special elections, with Bobby Henon resigning due to being convicted on corruption charges, and the other four councilmembers resigns to run for Mayor of Philadelphia, as required by Philadelphia law. One of those councilmembers, Cherelle Parker, would go on to win the mayoral election.
All incumbent councilmembers have indicated they intend to pursue reelection. Should they all follow through, it would be the first time in 75 years.
Philly for Growth, a super PAC which is funded by Philadelphia's real estate developers, plans to spend $1.5 million to support centrist incumbent councilmembers, including Mark Squilla, Cindy Bass, and Quetcy Lozada. They will back a challenger to incumbent councilmember Jeffrey Young.
1st District
Democratic primary Publicly expressed interest Mark Squilla, incumbent councilor and majority whip
Potential Will Gross, 2nd Ward leader and coffee shop owner
2nd District
Democratic primary Declared Kenyatta Johnson, incumbent councilor and council president
3rd District Democratic primary Publicly expressed interest Jamie Gauthier, incumbent councilor
4th District Democratic primary Publicly expressed interest Curtis J. Jones Jr., incumbent councilor Leigh Owens, former SEIU staffer
Potential Morgan Cephas, state representative from the 192nd district (2017–present) Ryan Spak, housing developer Celeste Trusty, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons and criminal justice reform advocate
5th District Democratic primary Declared Jeffery (Jay) Young Jr., incumbent councilor Jalon Alexander, lawyer
Publicly expressed interest Dustin Dove, lawyer and president of the Fairmount Civic Association Max Tuttleman, philanthropist and candidate for an at-large council seat in 2023 Curtis Wilkerson, chief of staff to councilmember Darrell L. Clarke Kellan White, political operative and former deputy City Controller
6th District Democratic primary Publicly expressed interest Michael Driscoll, incumbent councilor
7th District Democratic primary Publicly expressed interest Quetcy Lozada, incumbent councilor Andres Celin, social worker and candidate for the 7th District in 2023
Potential Andres Celin, social worker and candidate for this district in 2023
8th District Democratic primary Declared Jeff Jones, community leader and social justice advocate Publicly expressed interest Cindy Bass, incumbent councilor and deputy majority whip Seth Anderson-Oberman, executive director of Reclaim Philadelphia and candidate for the 8th District in 2023
9th District Democratic primary Publicly expressed interest Anthony Phillips, incumbent councilor
10th District Republican primary Declared Brian J. O'Neill, incumbent councilor
At-Large Seats Philadelphia City Council has seven at-large seats, two of which must be represented by a minority party. In 2023, five of the at-large seats were won by members of the Democratic Party, while the two minority party seats were won by Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O'Rourke of the Working Families Party.
Each party may nominate five candidates for the general election. Voters can select up to five candidates in both the primary and general.
Democratic primary Declared Billy McCann, former teacher Isaiah T. Martin, community development nonprofit leader Isaiah Thomas, incumbent councilor and majority whip Jude Husein, community activist and former staffer for Art Haywood Publicly expressed interest Katherine Gilmore Richardson, incumbent councilor and majority leader Sue Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia Jim Harrity, incumbent councilor Nina Ahmad, incumbent councilor Rue Landau, incumbent councilor David Alexander Jenkins, cultural strategist
Working Families primary Publicly expressed interest Kendra Brooks, incumbent councilor and minority leader Nicolas O'Rourke, incumbent councilor and minority whip
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