The fight to succeed Darrell Clarke as Philly City Council president has already started: ‘It’s pandemonium’

Philadelphia City Council President Darrell L. Clarke’s announcement Thursday that he will not seek reelection has kicked off a 10-month succession battle, with several veteran members saying that they are vying to lead the chamber.

The potential contenders include every Democrat in Council who has served more than one term: Majority Leader Curtis Jones Jr., Majority Whip Mark Squilla, Deputy Majority Whip Cindy Bass, and Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson. All said Thursday they are considering seeking the presidency, assuming they win reelection.

The next several months will be “pandemonium” as they all jockey for the role amid budget negotiations and a crowded mayoral race, Jones said.

The winner will have enormous sway over city policy, including taxes, housing, development, and how the city spends billions of dollars each year.

The member who garners a majority of votes in the 17-member chamber at the outset of the new term in January will become the top legislator in municipal government. But how the race will shake out is deeply uncertain and likely won’t clarify until after the May 16 primary election, when every Council seat is on the ballot. Clarke said Thursday that he will not intervene in the leadership battle.

Like Clarke, all four of the contenders are district Council members, meaning they represent one of the 10 geographic districts. Council also has seven at-large members, who are elected citywide.

Also like Clarke, those four lawmakers have been highly focused on neighborhood concerns on Council rather than ideological pursuits. They would likely continue Clarke’s practice of defaulting to the wishes of district Council members on local issues, a tradition known as councilmanic prerogative.

District Council members enjoy a less chaotic path to reelection and tend to stay in office longer. Consequently they have maintained a decades-long stranglehold on the Council presidency. Council has not had a president who was an at-large member since Paul D’Ortona in the 1970s.

» READ MORE: Darrell L. Clarke’s retirement ends four decades of City Council leadership. Here’s what happens next.

Council is also in the midst of a period of massive turnover after six members resigned to run for mayor, opening the possibility that a relative newcomer could shake the leadership race. At least 12 of the 17 members will have served for one term or less when Clarke leaves office in January.

Council’s more progressive wing, which included three members for most of the current term, could expand through this year’s elections. If they grow their ranks, progressives could play a role in the leadership fight either by promoting a candidate of their own or, more likely, making procedural demands in exchange for their support of the eventual winner.

Jones, who represents parts of West and Northwest Philadelphia, has made no secret of his intention to seek the presidency, saying last week amid speculation about Clarke’s future that “if he doesn’t [run], I’m stepping into the space.” He said Thursday that while some of his colleagues “have attributes that would make a great president,” he believes he has a path to win.

“I have the trust of my members that my style of leadership will be inclusive,” he said.

Johnson, a three-term Council member who represents South and Southwest Philadelphia, said Thursday before Clarke’s announcement that he would be “humbled” to be considered for Council president and was waiting to solicit support until Clarke made his decision official.

“I believe I have the relationships and, most importantly, the work ethic, the coalition building that it takes to get me to the finish line,” he said.

Johnson has said he’s the right leader for the moment as the city grapples with an ongoing gun-violence crisis. He leads Council’s Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention and was an anti-violence activist before he entered politics in 2009, when he was elected to the state House.

In November, Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, were acquitted of federal bribery charges, ending a nearly decade-long saga that included a lengthy investigation and two federal trials. Prosecutors alleged Johnson accepted $66,000 in bribes in exchange for helping a struggling nonprofit maintain real estate in his Council district.

Johnson and Chavous maintained their innocence through the prosecution, and he said Thursday that being just four months off the federal trial won’t be an issue as he seeks to lead Council.

Squilla, who represents a district that stretches from South Philadelphia to the river wards, is seen as a potential consensus candidate if a majority of the chamber can’t settle on another pick.

With the potential for a considerable amount of turnover, he said much is in flux.

“I think there’s interest from a lot of different folks,” he said, “and I think we’ll be able to get to a consensus over time.”

Bass, whose district covers parts of North and Northwest Philadelphia, said Thursday she is “considering” getting in the race, too, saying she would be the first Black woman to ever hold the job.

“It would be historic,” she said, “and I’m certainly going to look at it.”