What we learned watching four noobs on City Council

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, both of whom took office in January, have understandably taken up most of the oxygen in City Hall so far this year.

But Council has an interesting freshman class, with some of the members making history just by being sworn in.

Here’s a look at how Council’s four freshmen fared between the start of the session and summer recess:

Legislation: Ahmad was the primary author of one bill, requiring the owners of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations to maintain and repair their stations if they go out of service. It passed.

Notable moment: A Bangladeshi immigrant, Ahmad is the first South Asian person to win a Council seat in Philly, and she made history when she took the oath of office in January.

Analysis: First-year Council members are often encouraged to keep their heads down and learn the legislative process by passing one bill, ideally on a noncontroversial topic. Ahmad played it by the book in her first six months. Ahmad, a former scientist and public health researcher, also chaired a hearing on maternal health that she expects will lead to legislation later this year.

Legislation: Landau was the primary author of three bills, all of which passed. One increases transparency around fees charged by professional tax preparers. Another empowers the city to address consumer protection cases, such as fraud and scams. And the third allows restaurants to expand outdoor dining to adjacent properties if the property owner agrees.

Notable moment: Landau, the first openly gay member of Council, has made Philly LGBTQ history several times. In 2014, she and her wife, Kerry Smith, obtained the first marriage license for a same-sex couple in Pennsylvania. And in June she sponsored a resolution recognizing Pride Month, becoming the first member of the LGBTQ community to do so.

Analysis: A former civil rights attorney, Landau is a progressive — but she isn’t as closely tied to the city’s progressive political organizations as Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke. So City Hall observers have been watching to see how closely she works with her colleagues on the left. So far, Landau appears to be sticking with the group on major issues such as budget requests, but also carving out her own lanes, such as by championing restaurant streeteries.

Legislation: O’Rourke wasn’t the primary author of any new bills.

Notable moment: O’Rourke, who is a pastor, made a splash on the first regular Council meeting of the year with a lengthy introductory speech that included singing a hymn. He later poked fun at himself in a social media post.

Analysis: Over the last two election cycles, O’Rourke and Councilmember Kendra Brooks have won two Council seats set aside for minority party or independent candidates that were held by Republicans for 70 years, marking a major leftward shift in Council’s composition.

Although he hasn’t been the primary author of any bills, he worked closely with Brooks and other progressive members, and by sticking together during budget negotiations the group scored victories including funding the city’s rental assistance program. O’Rourke said through a spokesperson that he has been “intentional about leaning into collaboration, which manifested through his work as an effective budget advocate.

Legislation: Young was the primary author of 18 bills, 10 of which have passed. He is involved in more bills than his fellow freshmen because he is the only new member who represents a district, which requires him to introduce legislation for zoning and parking changes and sales of city-owned land.

Notable moment: When news broke in May that Parker’s administration was planning to expand a homeless shelter in Young’s district to add residential drug treatment beds, Young was outraged that he didn’t get advance notice and went all out to block it, which he did by passing a bill in June that prohibits the city from renewing its lease at the facility.

Analysis: Young won his seat under bizarre circumstances last year when all other candidates seeking to replace former Council President Darrell L. Clarke were disqualified from the ballot. Consequently, few knew what to expect this year from Young, who is a former Clarke staffer but did not have his old boss’ endorsement. Young has surprised some by weighing in on major policy issues and being unafraid to clash with powerful opponents from the mayor to the 76ers, whose Center City arena proposal he opposes.

As soon as State Rep. Donna Bullock (D., Philadelphia) announced that she will take over Project HOME, several Democrats were already lining up to take her spot in Harrisburg.

At least three people — two ward leaders and one of Bullock’s top staff — are rumored to be considering a run at filling Bullock’s seat once she leaves the state House.

The 32nd Ward leader Darnell Deans, 28th Ward leader Keith Sea Harris, and Bullock’s chief-of-staff Odessa Tate are all front-runners to fill the vacancy.

Bullock hasn’t said when she’ll resign — but House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Philadelphia) said she’d stay at least through budget negotiations. She also said she won’t run for reelection, so whoever would run to fill her vacancy in a special election would presumably also replace her on the November ballot.

Harris, Deans, and Tate could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The ward leaders in Bullock’s district — which includes parts of Strawberry Mansion, Fairmount, Brewerytown and North Philly — will come together in the next few months to choose a candidate for the overwhelmingly Democratic district.

This is a programming note: The Clout column is going on vacation until after the November election.

To our readers: You’ll still be able to find plenty of reporting on political hijinks across The Inquirer’s coverage.

To our tipsters: Keep ‘em coming! We’ve still got a website to fill. You can reach Anna Orso at [email protected] and Sean Collins Walsh at [email protected].

And to our subjects: Our column might be going on an extended break, but unfortunately for you, we are not.

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this column.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.