City Councilmember Cindy Bass wins primary by about 400 votes in heated Northwest Philly race

Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass — a three-term Democrat who faced one of the most competitive reelection campaigns in the city — has won her primary race by a slim margin.

With about 95% of the vote tallied, Bass held about a 400-vote lead Monday morning over progressive challenger Seth Anderson-Oberman, according to unofficial election returns. She declared victory in the race Wednesday while ahead by a similar margin, but the Associated Press did not call the race until Monday morning, nearly a week after the May 16 primary.

“This was a hard-fought race, but I am pleased to have won the Democratic primary for City Council in the 8th District,” Bass said when she declared victory last week. “We need to be diligent about ensuring that every last vote is counted, but based on our analysis of the divisions remaining, we are confident in the outcome.”

Bass represents the 8th Council District, which spans an economically and racially diverse swath of North and Northwest Philadelphia — from the wealthy and largely white Chestnut Hill, to the more mixed-race and progressive Mount Airy, to the working-class, majority Black enclave of Germantown.

Anderson-Oberman conceded Monday shortly after the race was called, thanking his supporters in a race that turned out to be “the closest in the city.”

“There are many challenges facing our district and the city, and we must pull together to solve them,” he said. “Although we came up just short, the issues raised by our campaign and supporters remain of urgent importance and require immediate action.”

Given the closeness of the race, the campaign had been waiting for election officials to tally provisional ballots — paper ballots that are used when voter eligibility issues arise, like when a person’s name is not found in the poll books, or they lack proper identification when voting for the first time.

The City Commissioners could not confirm the number of provisional ballots in the 8th District, but a spokesperson said the final tally would be posted online by Monday evening.

The race, for many voters, was seen as a referendum on gentrification and development, as well as Bass’ leadership style.

» READ MORE: Councilmember Cindy Bass is facing a serious progressive challenger. Will voters choose her experience — or change?

Bass, 55, has long had political enemies in her district but had never faced a serious challenger before this year. She emphasized her experience over Anderson-Oberman, 52, a union organizer who ran a progressive campaign focused on increasing affordable housing and ending the stalled redevelopment of district landmarks.

She argued that with a new mayor about to take office and high turnover on Council, now was not the time to gamble on a progressive who may not have the know-how to deliver on lofty policy ideas. Bass also had the backing of party leaders, Philly’s largest municipal union, and SEPTA’s largest labor union.

Anderson-Oberman also attacked Bass as an ineffective leader whose tenure had been marked by division and political cronyism. Bass cast Anderson-Oberman as an outsider who, despite growing up in the district, had not held a visible leadership role.

More than 26,000 ballots had been counted in the race as of Monday, and ultimately the race was decided by about a 1% margin. Bass ran strong in the Germantown and North Philadelphia sections of the district, while Anderson-Oberman outperformed her in Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy.

Barring a third-party challenger, Bass will run unopposed in the November election and is on track to begin her fourth term in Council next year.