Mayoral candidate Derek Green, who proposed publicly financed elections, is dropping out due to fundraising challenges

As a City Council member, Derek Green fought unsuccessfully for Philadelphia to adopt a system to publicly finance city elections to level the playing field against deep-pocketed candidates and special interests.

As a mayoral candidate, he was a victim of that uneven playing field.

Green on Thursday told The Inquirer he is suspending his campaign for the May 16 Democratic primary election, saying he made the decision after “realizing how we get to the end of this race and the dollars that are necessary to do what we need to do.”

Green had raised about $657,000 as of the most recent campaign finance reporting period, not enough to compete in a crowded race that has seen candidates and outside spending groups raise a combined $22.2 million.

Green is not yet endorsing one of his former rivals, but he said he is optimistic that Philadelphians will choose a leader who will help the city emerge from the ongoing gun violence crisis.

“I’m hopeful that we will have a city rise up and provide leadership, and I’m hopeful that the citizens will hold people accountable to make sure that occurs,” Green, a former prosecutor, banker, and small-business owner, said in an interview at his Center City campaign headquarters.

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Green added that he hopes the city will one day change its campaign finance laws, which he predicted will lead to more residents getting involved in politics.

“It’s one of the things that I think impacts the turnout we have in elections and how we get more and more citizens engaged in that process,” he said.

He follows former Councilmember Maria Quiñones Sánchez in dropping out of the race about seven months after the pair became the first official candidates by throwing their hats in the ring on the same day last September.

Not coincidentally, Green and Quiñones Sánchez, who left the race Sunday, were also the only two major candidates who never benefited from spending by an independent expenditure group, or “super PAC,” or from immense amounts of self-funding. Quiñones Sánchez said she dropped out due to the “obnoxious, obscene amount of money” in the race.

Of the remaining top contenders, Cherelle Parker, Rebecca Rhynhart, Jeff Brown, and Helen Gym all have the backing of super PACs, which are political groups that can raise unlimited amounts of money and are usually backed by special interests. Real estate magnate Allan Domb, meanwhile, has poured at least $7 million of his own money into his campaign.

Green said he is still deciding what’s next for him and whether he will run for office again. He will continue his work as a lawyer at Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, and plans to have a role in Philadelphia’s public life at some point.

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John C. Hawkins, a City Hall lobbyist and friend of Green’s, said it’s rare to see “a candidate like Derek whose reputation is enhanced over the course of the election even as his message doesn’t resonate with the voters.”

“Derek’s future is wide open, and if he ever wants to run for something again, I could certainly see a path to Congress or district attorney or mayor in the future,” Hawkins said.

Green campaign media consultant Ken Snyder hinted that Green may run for office again one day.

“This is an unusually big and strong field, and [Green’s] base of support that made him a top citywide vote getter in the past was just too divided for him to succeed this year,” Snyder said. “But he has a great record and story to talk about in future races, which I hope he will.”

In the meantime, Green is writing a novel — a political thriller he has been working on for years — and hopes to make more progress on that now that his bid for mayor is over.

“I only read nonfiction, but the book will be fiction,” Green said.