Helen Gym makes her return to Philly’s political scene

The Democrats who ran for Philly mayor last year and lost to Cherelle L. Parker have dealt with defeat in different ways.

Jeff Brown sued the Board of Ethics. Allan Domb is working on tax reform. Rebecca Rhynhart landed a gig at Drexel University.

But former City Councilmember Helen Gym, a longtime leader of the city’s progressive movement who came in third, has been elusive. And it’s not just that she’s stepped out of the limelight. She’s hardly been seen by anyone in Philly’s political scene for the better part of a year.

That changed last week.

Gym on Friday night attended a fundraiser for Cass Green, a progressive running for a state House seat in West Philly, and there are photos and video from the event to prove it. Gym posed for pictures with Green and Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, another West Philly progressive.

Gym didn’t return Clout’s calls. But one operative who was there said she came to the fundraiser at the Painted Bride for about an hour and worked the room — and that many in attendance thought it was a big deal she showed.

“It does take some amount of bravery to be like, ‘I disappeared for a long time and now I’m just going to show up at this event,’” the tipster said.

Green is the only major progressive challenger running in a city race this spring, and she’s amassed endorsements from a bunch of elected officials, left-leaning unions, and progressive organizations. Her politics align closely with Gym’s.

» READ MORE: A rematch is brewing in Rep. Amen Brown’s West Philly district

But there may be a cherry on top for Gym. Green is challenging State Rep. Amen Brown, a Democrat who also ran for mayor last year and whose politics — pro-developer, pro-charter school expansion, etc. — very much do not align with Gym’s.

The two have a history. Last year, Brown surreptitiously snapped a pic of Gym leaving a meeting with David Adelman (the 76ers co-owner leading the development team for the Center City arena proposal), then confronted her about it during a televised debate.

Brown said it was just a little political payback. Gym had taken a photo of Brown a year prior showing him meeting with Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor turned Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

All that’s to say: Gym emerging for the first time and being in a photo with the person challenging Brown? Just poetic.

During mayoral transitions, lots of top officials leave city government — either because they’re not down with the new regime or because the new regime isn’t down with them. But the departures of two longtime city planning bureaucrats have raised eyebrows.

Eleanor Sharpe had been serving as the interim director of planning and development since the 2023 resignation of Anne Fadullon, who held the role for most of former Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration. And Melissa Long, a deputy director for housing and community development, was seen as an expert on ensuring the city complies with Byzantine federal housing regulations.

Both were seen as apolitical, and had served under multiple mayors. But in mid-January, Aren Platt, one of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s top aides, informed them they were being let go.

“Moving forward, we are going to be looking at ways for the office of Planning and Development to mirror the Mayor’s goals while continuing the excellent work that is being done,” Platt wrote in an email to the department acquired by Clout.

The decision was perplexing for two reasons. First, we’re told that Sharpe was cool with returning to her previous role as a deputy if Parker wanted someone else to lead the agency. Second, both were replaced by interim leaders — and two months later, the administration still has not named permanent appointees.

And there are complex issues on the department’s plate these days that could use some clear leadership, from the 76ers’ controversial proposal to build a Center City arena to Comcast Spectacor’s definitely-not-competing vision for a revamped South Philly stadium complex.

Clout hears department staffers were saddened and confused by the sudden ousters, and the administration’s explanation — that Parker wanted to go in a different direction — didn’t seem to add up, given Sharpe’s and Long’s reputations as functionaries.

In an interview, Platt declined to elaborate, saying he couldn’t discuss personnel decisions.

But he voiced full support for the new interim director, John Mondlak. A 24-year City Hall veteran, Mondlak most recently oversaw the developer services division, and worked previously at the commerce and law departments.

“He brings a wealth of experience,” Platt said. “He’s actually the person we needed.”

Platt isn’t worried about the department’s ability to get things done: “I don’t think anybody has or ever will accuse this administration of being indecisive or rudderless.”

Clout learns there’s been some serious turnover in Sen. John Fetterman’s office. In the last month, all three of Fetterman’s top communications staffers have left Capitol Hill.

Nick Gavio, who was deputy communications director, will leave the office at the end of March to take a new role with the Working Families Party. Fetterman’s former communications director, Joe Calvello, left earlier this month to work for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

And Emma Mustion, a press and digital aide also left Fetterman’s office to work on the reelection of the more moderate Sen. Bob Casey.

Gavio and Calvello, two veterans of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign, offered nothing but nice comments about their new jobs. But Clout doesn’t believe in coincidences, and it seems relevant that both are going to more progressive spaces, given that Fetterman has recently made a big deal of denouncing that ever-nebulous political label.

Fetterman has alienated some of his supporters on the left with his defense of Israel’s war against Hamas and his criticism of cease-fire activists. His office did not return a request for comment.

Gavio said he is grateful for his time with Fetterman and is “extremely proud and excited” to become Mid-Atlantic communications director for the Working Families Party, overseeing the party’s expansion into statewide and regional contests.

Calvello, earlier in the month, said in a statement that he was “deeply honored” to work for Johnson, whom he described as “a true progressive.”

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