West Philly voters will have a chance this week to meet some candidates for the City Council’s At-Large seats and mayor at two community forums. Both events will take place on Thursday, March 16. Here are some more details about each event.

• The Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.) is hosting a Mayor 100: Minority-Owned Business Policy Forum, where Democratic and Republican candidates for mayor will have an opportunity to listen to business owners’ concerns and offer their vision for strengthening related policies in the incoming administration. The event will be moderated by WHYY’s Cherri Gregg and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Layla Jones. Shirley Franklin, former Mayor of Atlanta, will deliver keynote remarks at the start of the event.

The forum is hosted in collaboration with Futurnet, the Urban League of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Equity Alliance, WHYY, and other organizations. Continue Reading

UPDATE (3/2/2023): If you missed this event, you can watch a recording here.

(2/28/2023): A mayoral forum sponsored by CeaseFirePA and WHYY News and dedicated to gun violence, policing and public safety, will take place Wednesday, March 1. The “100th Mayor: Restoring Safety Forum” will be held at WHYY, 150 N. 6th St. (invite-only tickets were available for in-person attendees) and will also be livestreamed via Facebook.

The mayoral candidates will be asked some tough questions on the city gun violence crisis by three moderators: gun violence prevention reporter Sam Searles, community leader Chantay Love, and trauma surgeon Elinore Kaufman.

The forum will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.. To receive the livestream link, sign up here.

The mayor’s race is heating up and candidates will be in West Philly next month for a forum at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Philadelphia Crosstown Coalition, a non-partisan non-profit corporation, is hosting a Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates Forum on March 28, 7-9 p.m., at Penn (Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St.). Voters can learn where the candidates stand on several issues and discuss how they plan to implement their vision for the city.

All candidates will be asked to respond to the same set of questions prepared beforehand.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. For more information and to reserve your spot, go here.

If you can’t make it to this event, the Crosstown Coalition will be hosting another mayoral forum on April 12 in Center City.

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City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier will open a district office in West Philly on 52nd Street this spring.

Residents can visit the district office to receive help from the Councilmember’s constituent services team on City-related matters. The plans also include using the office as a space for community events.

The Councilmember’s team will continue to host satellite office hours before and after the district office officially opens. there is a satellite office meeting coming up on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at The Eco Foundation (5411 Market St.). See the flyer for more details.

Jabari Jones/Facebook photo.

Jabari K. Jones, a community advocate and small-business advocate, announced his candidacy for the City Council’s 3rd District seat on Friday. He will run against incumbent Jamie Gauthier in the 2023 primary election. Gauthier kicked off her re-election campaign on January 21.

“I have been called to run for this seat by residents that want results over rhetoric and problem solving over photo ops,” Jones said in a statement prior to Friday’s event. “Our community deserves bold leadership that understands the effect of legislation and holds the government accountable to the people of the Third District.”

Jones has said that gun violence, housing, and developing economic opportunities for the community are the reasons he is running for City Council. As The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription-based service) noted last week, Jones would focus more on solving crime than unproven prevention strategies. Continue Reading

It’s General Election Eve and here are a few logistical things to keep in mind about the big day tomorrow.

Those who haven’t voted early, there are dozens of polling places around West Philadelphia; to find your polling place, go here. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. An ID is not required to vote unless you are voting for the first time or have recently moved. As long as you are in line by 8 p.m., you can vote.

Check your voter registration status here.

If you still plan to vote by mail, you can. Just drop off your ballot at one of the mail-in voting centers until 8 p.m. tomorrow. Here’s the info for that. Keep in mind that it’s too late to apply for a mail-in ballot and please note that polling places are not for dropping off your mail or absentee ballot. Continue Reading