Republicans and progressives battle to expand their bases in the final days of a heated Philly City Council campaign

In Northeast Philadelphia last week, as City Council candidate Jim Hasher was handing out campaign lawn signs, a resident asked him whether he was a Republican or a Democrat. Hasher, a Republican, responded: “I’m a Philadelphian.”

Days later in Germantown, progressive Working Families Party candidate Nicolas O’Rourke rallied with supporters, saying he can bring “moral clarity” to Council — and his party can kick Republicans out of City Hall.

In the final days of campaigning ahead of the Tuesday general election, two Republicans and two third-party candidates running for a pair of at-large seats on Council are trying to sell their competing visions to voters. And both sides are working to expand their bases by describing themselves as the right choice, regardless of party.

The Republicans — facing their party’s possible elimination from the city’s legislative body — believe Philadelphia’s future hinges on a law enforcement-driven approach to public safety and a more business-friendly environment. They’re trying to reach the city’s 115,000 registered Republicans, plus some moderate Democrats.

The Working Families Party says that inequality drives Philadelphia’s ills and that the city needs to pour resources into neighborhoods most affected by crime. They must win over some independents and convince some of the city’s nearly 800,000 Democrats to forgo voting for members of their own party.

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That complex dynamic is because of the city’s unique legislative makeup. Seven of Council’s 17 seats represent the entire city, but each party may only nominate five candidates, and voters can only pick five. In deep-blue Philadelphia, this has meant five seats traditionally went to Democrats and two to Republicans. General elections were not often competitive.

That changed in 2019, when Working Families Party member Kendra Brooks won more votes than four Republicans, becoming the first third-party candidate in generations to win a seat on Council.

She’s running for reelection alongside O’Rourke, a pastor who also ran in 2019 but was 7,000 votes short of a seat. This time, the Working Families Party raised more money, campaigned for months longer, and ran more television commercials — factors they think will reelect Brooks and bring O’Rourke to Council with her.

“I feel the momentum,” said Maurice Mitchell, the party’s national director who campaigned in Philadelphia this weekend. “Most people that I’ve talked to here think it’s time for us to not just allow whichever Republican could file the paperwork to have a seat. They should have to earn it.”

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The GOP, caught flat-footed in 2019, employed a new strategy this year to back only two nominees — Hasher and Drew Murray — so they could take on the Working Families Party head-to-head. They’re confident they’ll restore Republicans to both seats.

“When they say ‘Republicans out,’ I wonder what that means,” Murray, 51, said of his opponents. “Why do the 115,000 Republicans in the city not deserve representation on City Council?”

The Working Families Party has attempted to tie the Republicans to the national GOP and former President Donald Trump. Ads paid for by the party’s national organization feature images of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

But Hasher and Murray describe themselves as moderates. Hasher, 60, says he’s tried to avoid campaigning as a partisan, and is supported by the Building Trades & Construction Council, the politically powerful coalition of unions that’s led by mostly Democrats.

His support among both parties was evident last week during a fundraiser at the Bridesburg Pub. Hasher told attendees he’ll bring a small-business owner’s perspective to City Hall, and will advocate for hundreds more police officers.

He promised: “I’ll never forget where I came from.”

Connie O’Shea, a Democratic committeeperson from the Far Northeast, said she’s backing a Republican because Hasher “knows what the city needs.” Jerry Connor, a Democrat from East Falls, said he’s voting for Hasher because Council needs “more people who want their city to win, not just their party.”

And Joseph McHugh, a Republican from Tacony who hosted the fundraiser, said Hasher created a “safe haven” for kids at the Torresdale Boys’ Club where’s he’s been president for years — and can expand that sense of safety across the city.

“This guy has a vision that’s going to resonate,” McHugh said.

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Murray, himself a former Democrat, has also tried to make inroads with voters from both parties. He’s long been a civic leader in Logan Square, which is dominated by Democrats. Last week, he hosted the neighborhood association’s annual Halloween event, which drew dozens of neighbors in costume.

Dressed as Wolverine and wearing his campaign buttons, Murray explained how the Council races work to residents new and old, and described himself as a Republican “who can really work with both sides of the aisle.”

Several Democrats said they’d never supported a Republican, but are voting for Murray.

“We are so anti-Trump,” neighbor Anita Solis-Cohen said. “But there really should be a mix of representation on that Council, and Drew is really a good soul.”

The Working Families Party’s campaign is in a better financial position than in 2019. The two campaigns raised more than a million dollars combined — far out-raising the Republicans — and spent more than eight times what they spent four years ago on television advertising.

In addition, the national WFP organization has funded a robust canvassing program. Spokesperson Joe Dinkin said they’ve knocked on more than 100,000 doors.

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The wild card is a super PAC that’s running exclusively negative advertising about Brooks and O’Rourke. The group is largely funded by Jeff Yass, a Main Line billionaire and conservative megadonor.

Brooks, 51, says the campaigns have “people power” and a winning message to fight back.

“I have a proven record to show folks that the Working Families Party can make real change,” she said. “That’s going to be a motivating force.”

Campaign officials said the Working Families Party reevaluated its strategy after a disappointing spring, when former Councilmember Helen Gym finished third in the Democratic mayoral primary. Progressives staunchly supported Gym, who failed to make enough inroads in majority-Black neighborhoods, where nominee Cherelle Parker won overwhelmingly.

The Working Families Party says it has tried to grow beyond the city’s progressive enclaves and into neighborhoods with more traditional Democratic voters. Both candidates are Black and from majority-Black communities. They’ve held fish fry events, attended church, and leaned on messengers with ties to the neighborhoods they’re targeting.

On Saturday, the Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart knocked on doors in Northwest Philadelphia, where she lives, and distributed campaign literature for Brooks and O’Rourke. She bonded with one voter over their shared connections to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and told her voting for the Working Families Party would “restore wholeness and health” to communities.

It’s in some ways atypical for a candidate from the progressive movement to center faith. But O’Rourke, 35, has leaned into it, running a campaign ad featuring footage of him at a pulpit and hosting an interfaith rally this weekend.

He said he knows “the world is becoming less and less religious.”

“I’m not even advocating for religion,” O’Rourke said. “What I want to make sure is that those that have a reservoir of values, we should speak up about them. And I believe that the world will be much better when we are clear and advocating for love, justice, and care.”