Race to City Hall

Green, who was an at-large Council member before he resigned to run for mayor, developed a reputation as a policy wonk who rarely sought the spotlight in his two terms on Council. He championed efforts to lower business taxes, reform the city's ethics laws, and create a public bank that could aid Black- and brown-owned businesses.

Born in Puerto Rico, Maria Quiñones Sánchez moved with her family to Philadelphia when she was 6 months old. Elected in 2007 as the first Latina member of Council, Quiñones Sánchez served four terms before resigning to run for mayor. She won all of her elections without the backing of the Democratic establishment.

Former Council Majority Leader Cherelle Parker is a former state representative and the protege of legendary former Councilmember Marian Tasco, a leading member of the fabled Northwest Coalition political family. A ward leader with powerful allies in organized labor and politicians like Gov. Tom Wolf, Parker is seen as an early frontrunner in the mayoral race. She has vowed to prioritize public safety with a "community policing" plan centered on hiring more police officers to walk neighborhoods and build trust in disadvantaged communities.

Rebecca Rhynhart left a career on Wall Street to join city government, serving as budget director under former Mayor Michael Nutter's administration. She also served in the early days of Kenney's administration before running for city controller, scoring an upset win over incumbent Alan Butkovitz, and becoming a high-profile antagonist of Kenney. Rhynhart has pushed the city to modernize services and spend money more efficiently. While coasting to reelection in 2021, she raised hundreds of thousands, a significant campaign war chest for her anticipated mayoral bid.

Jeff Brown, who owns a chain of grocery stores, is the only likely mayoral candidate who has never been an elected official. He made headlines as a leading critic of Mayor Jim Kenney's "soda tax," which Brown says has driven jobs out of the city. Brown, who is white, has opened grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods known as "food deserts," and he has hired formerly incarcerated people, a record that his supporters say could help him win support in Black neighborhoods.

Allan Domb, who entered Council in 2016 after making millions as a condominium broker and landlord, is the wealthiest person in the field of potential candidates, and he has spent thousands on his campaigns in the past. On Council, he has pushed to make the city more friendly to business, to reduce waste by cutting unnecessary spending, and to reduce the burden of the city wage tax.

A West Philadelphia native, DeLeon was a Municipal Court judge for more than three decades. DeLeon says his experience on the bench makes him qualified to run the city amid a historic wave of shootings and homicides. The Court of Judicial Discipline in 2009 temporarily suspended DeLeon for issuing a bogus "stay-away" order on behalf of a social acquaintance, a rare rebuke for a sitting judge. He previously ran unsuccessfully for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Helen Gym is a progressive Council member who is likely to win the support of left-wing groups that have in recent years backed officials like District Attorney Larry Krasner and Councilmember Kendra Brooks who have challenged the more centrist Democratic establishment. She has been a staunch public schools advocate and champion of workers' rights on Council, and is one of the only elected officials who voiced skepticism over the 76ers' plan to build a stadium in Center City.

Amen Brown is a centrist Democrat who supports tough-on-crime policies and sat on the legislative committee formed to investigate District Attorney Larry Krasner for impeachment. He has rankled members of his own party by proposing a mandatory-minimum sentencing bill, and by having a face-to-face meeting with GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mehmet Oz during the 2022 midterms. Brown has also been implicated in a deed fraud scheme, although he denies any wrongdoing. He has been supported by conservative billionaire and "school choice" advocate Jeff Yass.