PHILADELPHIA — Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District), fulfilling his duties under Philadelphia law, today issued a Writ for a Special Election to be held to fill the vacant Sixth District seat in City Council. The special election will be held on the date of the Primary election on Tuesday, May 17th.
The vacancy in the Sixth Council District, which covers much of Lower and Middle Northeast Philadelphia and the Delaware River wards, was created following former Councilmember Bobby Henon’s resignation in January.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter, when a vacancy occurs in the office of a Councilmember, it falls upon the City Council President to issue a writ to the local board of elections to hold a special election to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired term – in this case, through December, 2023.
Council President Clarke signed and issued the writ for the special election, which was transmitted today to the Office of the City Commissioners, who supervise all elections in Philadelphia.
“As I said in January, I know my responsibilities under the Home Rule Charter, and today we are taking the appropriate steps under the law to issue a writ for a special election to fill this seat in City Council in the May Primary,”
Council President Clarke said. “It is vitally important that the people of the Sixth District have full representation in City Council.”
The political parties in Philadelphia will nominate their candidates to run in the special election, and those nominees will appear on the ballot in May. The winner will serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
Clarke said that City Council will welcome whomever the voters in the Sixth District choose in May as their Councilmember. “City Council remains focused on the urgent issues confronting our city – public safety and gun violence, recovering from COVID-19 and restarting our economy, and creating more jobs, affordable housing and hope for every Philadelphian. We’ll keep doing our jobs for the people of Philadelphia.”
