Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Longtime City Councilmember Mark Squilla<\/a> is on the short list to become the new leader of the Philadelphia Parking Authority<\/a>, Bob Brady, chair of the Democratic City Committee said Monday. <\/p>\n The potential of Squilla, 64, taking the job would shake up the race for Council\u2019s 1st District, which Squilla has represented for 14 years. It could also give progressives targeting the popular lawmaker\u2019s seat an easier path to grow their ranks on Council. <\/p>\n Will Gross, 44, a democratic socialist, South Philadelphia<\/a> ward leader, and the owner of OX Coffee in Queen Village, has already launched a campaign<\/a> to run in the 1st District Democratic primary next May. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Progressive ward leader eyes Philly City Council run \u2014 and a potential showdown with Mark Squilla<\/a><\/p>\n Gross declined to comment on the possibility of Squilla joining the PPA. <\/p>\n Squilla declined to discuss the possibility of him joining the PPA, but did not rule it out. <\/p>\n \u201cI would consider any offer if I had an offer,\u201d Squilla said. \u201cYou\u2019d be foolish to say I would never consider any offer.\u201d<\/p>\n But he noted that rumors about the possibility of him not running for reelection have been wrong in the past, including last cycle in 2023. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m running,\u201d Squilla said. \u201cAt this point, I\u2019m still having fundraisers, so the goal is to stay in it and see what happens.\u201d <\/p>\n The 1st District includes many of the most progressive neighborhoods in the city, including East Passyunk<\/a>, Queen Village, Fishtown<\/a>, and Northern Liberties<\/a>. And it could see one of the most competitive races in next year\u2019s city elections, when Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a> and all 17 Council seats are on the ballot. <\/p>\n Squilla has championed some liberal policies, especially on environmental issues<\/a>, but is generally seen as a centrist Democrat, with close ties to the building trades unions and party leaders.<\/p>\n Brady said he is confident the incumbent would prevail, should he seek a fifth four-year term. <\/p>\n \u201cIf Squilla runs, I think he\u2019ll win,\u201d Brady said. \u201dHe\u2019s been a great Council person. If he doesn\u2019t run, it\u2019s his choice.\u201d <\/p>\n In addition to Squilla, the PPA board is also said to be considering Keola Harrington, the authority\u2019s current chief financial officer. <\/p>\n Harrington did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n \u201cThe process is ongoing,\u201d PPA spokesperson Martin O\u2019Rourke said in a statement.<\/p>\n The state-appointed parking authority board is bipartisan and includes six members, leading to the potential for stalemates. <\/p>\n Rich Lazer, who had been a top aide to former Mayor Jim Kenney<\/a>, led the PPA for three years before stepping down at the end of May to become the executive director and CEO of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, or Philaport. <\/p>\n Lazer\u2019s PPA tenure was widely applauded<\/a>. He cracked down on sidewalk parking and aggressively towed abandoned cars while working closely with other government agencies. <\/p>\n PPA Deputy Director Gabe Roberts has served as interim executive director since June. <\/p>\n If Squilla were to resign in the coming months to take the PPA job, there would likely be a special election to fill out his current term, which ends in January 2028. <\/p>\n Ward leaders choose their party\u2019s nominees in special elections, and Democrats<\/a> hold an overwhelming advantage in the 1st District. That means the 1st District\u2019s ward leaders, many of whom have ties to the progressive movement, would be in the driver\u2019s seat to name a temporary successor while the race for a full term unfolds. <\/p>\n Progressives eye 1st District<\/p>\n First elected in 2011, Squilla is well-liked and widely viewed by constituents and colleagues as a responsive Council member. But he became a target of progressive activists during the 2024 debate over the 76ers\u2019 proposal to build an arena adjacent to Chinatown<\/a> at 10th and Market Streets, which is in the 1st District. <\/p>\n Squilla has strong ties to the building trades unions, which championed the project, and he sponsored legislation to authorize the arena<\/a> that was approved at the end of a tense Council session in late 2024. Weeks after his colleagues approved the package, the 76ers announced they were abandoning the proposal and instead plan to build a new arena in South Philadelphia with Comcast Spectacor<\/a>, which owns the Flyers. <\/p>\n All four members of Council with strong progressive ties voted against the unpopular project<\/a>. And although it never came to fruition, the Center City<\/a> arena plan could still be a potent line of attack in next year\u2019s elections against Squilla and other centrist Council members who backed it. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: How Philly City Council members voted on the Sixers arena<\/a><\/p>\n In addition to Gross, another potential candidate for the seat is Councilmember Rue Landau<\/a>, who currently holds an at-large seat, meaning she was elected citywide. (Landau, who lives in the 1st District, voted against the arena.)<\/p>\n Multiple stakeholders in the city\u2019s Democratic Party have asked Landau, a first-term lawmaker who in 2024 became Council\u2019s first openly LGBTQ member, to consider running for Squilla\u2019s seat if he does not seek reelection, according to a person with knowledge of the conversations who requested anonymity to speak freely about the political dynamic. <\/p>\n More than perhaps any other Council member, Landau has maintained strong relationships in both progressive circles and the party establishment. Party leaders may prefer her to Gross, who is more closely associated with the activist community. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for Landau declined to comment on her plans. <\/p>\n There are several reasons at-large members may want to seek district seats. District members are generally seen as less vulnerable to reelection challenges, and they enjoy substantial powers over land use decisions in their districts thanks the practice known as councilmanic prerogative. <\/p>\n A new reality in ward politics <\/p>\n Next year\u2019s race for the 1st District seat could mark a notable moment in the ongoing power struggle between left-leaning insurgents and the city\u2019s more moderate Democratic establishment: For the first time in a major city election, it appears likely that the official party endorsement will be determined by ward leaders aligned with the progressive movement. <\/p>\n The Democratic City Committee makes endorsements based on a vote of the ward leaders in a given district. Ward leaders are elected by Democratic committeepeople, who are in turn elected by neighbors in their voting precincts every four years. <\/p>\n In this past summer\u2019s ward elections<\/a>, progressive activists recruited scores of committeepeople and rallied around a roster of candidates challenging establishment-backed incumbents or targeting open seats. They fell well short of winning a majority of the 69\u2019s ward leader positions, allowing Brady to win a 11th four-year term as party chair. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Philly progressives made gains in Democratic ward elections. But party chair Bob Brady remains well-positioned for reelection.<\/a><\/p>\n But in the heavily gentrified 1st District, six of the seven wards are now led by people with ties to the left. If they unite around a candidate, progressives could have a unique opportunity to use the party machinery, so often wielded against them<\/a>, for their own designs. <\/p>\n