The 2023 Philly mayor’s race hasn’t begun, but potential candidates are already assembling their teams

Officially, there are no announced candidates for next year’s Philadelphia mayor’s race.

But the politicians who are considering running in the May 2023 Democratic primary are already lining up teams of campaign managers and political consultants to hire if they join the race to replace term-limited Mayor Jim Kenney.

The race is attracting high-profile operatives, including veterans of presidential campaigns and mayor’s races in Philly and New York City, making next year’s election a showdown of political strategists as well as a competition among candidates.

Hiring top-level campaign strategists is a key decision that can make or break a campaign. Because the mayoral election will be in an odd-number year — meaning it won’t conflict with presidential or congressional election cycles — many big-name operatives are available for the race.

» READ MORE: The 2023 race for Philly mayor is starting soon. Meet the candidates who might run.

In the past, one of the most sought-after political consultants was Neil Oxman, who has been involved in 10 Philly mayor’s races, including eight in which his candidate won.

Oxman, who is retired now, said the candidates should be looking to assemble teams of consultants in which the pollsters work hand in hand with ad makers and others crafting the campaign’s message. The key, he said, is the ”ability to figure out what a campaign is about” — something that might not be immediately obvious.

Here are some of the political operatives the potential candidates will hire if they run, according to people familiar with the potential candidates’ thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the campaigns have not begun:

If she runs, City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart is likely to hire firms that worked on New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 victory: Red Horse Strategies, which has also done work for Philadelphia City Councilmember Kendra Brooks and State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia), as well as the media consulting firm Ralston Lapp Guinn, which produces political advertisements.

First Deputy City Controller Kellan White would be a top official on her campaign.

One of the biggest behind-the-scenes names in recent Philly elections is Brandon Evans, who managed District Attorney Larry Krasner’s 2017 and 2021 victories, as well as Kenney’s 2019 reelection.

City Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez has lined up Evans to lead her campaign if she runs. She also plans to hire the media consulting firm 76Words — its philosophy is that no ad should be longer than 76 words — as well as fund-raiser Maura Munley, who has worked for Kenney, as finance director.

Scott Freda, who raised money for Hillary Clinton and former Mayor Michael A. Nutter, would be her finance chair.

If Councilmember Cherelle Parker gets in the field, her team would include Aren Platt, a political consultant and former executive at the coffeemaker La Colombe, in an advisory role.

She has also lined up 4C Partners, which worked on President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, to make ads, and Cornell Belcher, who was hired by former President Barack Obama’s campaigns and is one of the most prominent Black pollsters in the country.

If he runs, Councilmember Derek Green will turn to Ken Snyder, a Philly mayoral race veteran who was key to Kenney’s and former Mayor John F. Street’s victories. Green is also likely to tap local powerhouse fund-raiser Aubrey Montgomery’s firm, Rittenhouse Political Partners.

He has also tapped John Anzalone of Impact Research, a prominent national Democratic pollster who was part of Biden’s 2020 team.

It’s so far unclear who would lead Councilmember Allan Domb’s campaign if he runs, but he has previously worked with Philly communications consultant Dan Fee, an ex-spokesperson for former Mayor and Gov. Ed Rendell whose firm is called the Echo Group.

“Allan Domb knows the city is in crisis and if he decides to run, he will provide the much-needed, sensible leadership the city so desperately needs right now,” Domb spokesperson Christina Freundlich said. “Until then, there’s no point in participating in parlor games.”

Likewise, it’s not yet known who would be on Councilmember Helen Gym’s team, but her Council campaign manager is Brendan McPhillips. McPhillips, the husband of former Kenney chief of staff Jane Slusser, is working on Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s run for the U.S. Senate this year and previously led Biden’s presidential campaign in Pennsylvania.

» READ MORE: Big fund-raising by a group tied to Philly ShopRite owner Jeff Brown has jolted the race for mayor

Jeff Brown, who owns a chain of grocery stores and made headlines when he opposed Kenney’s tax on sugary beverages, has also signaled that he is eyeing a run for mayor. Doc Sweitzer, a semiretired political consultant who worked with Oxman at their firm, the Campaign Group, has said he would help Brown’s campaign if he ran.

“Down the line, if I ran for office, I’d have to have a team, and Doc would be on the very top of my list,” Brown previously told The Inquirer.

Additionally, a political action committee associated with Brown last year paid more than $200,000 to Kentucky-based political operative Jimmy Cauley, who managed Obama’s 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Oxman said that although polls will indicate the top issues that Philly voters are concerned about, the successful campaigns will find a unique message that goes deeper.

He pointed to Nutter’s 2007 victory. Oxman said he advised Nutter to “run against” the outgoing mayor, Street, even though he wasn’t on the ballot, by focusing on how his administration would be different than the unpopular lame duck instead of only discussing crime, education, or jobs.

“Those are always the three big issues in Philadelphia, and they alternately go up ... depending on the unemployment rate and what’s going on with crime,” he said. “But [the race] might be about something else. It might be about something that’s hidden.”

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.