All politics is local. We all know that, but nowhere does that statement ring more true than right here in Philadelphia. You probably know about the different council districts in the city, but that’s far from the smallest political unit. Each district is broken up into several wards, which in turn are broken down into dozens of divisions, which are often as small as a few city blocks. There are also several committee-persons in each ward. Is your head spinning yet?
The key takeaway is this: ward leaders are extremely powerful. Elections, city services, and patronage all flow through them. Wards are basically ground-zero for Philly politics.
The Philly Ward System 101 event will feature speakers who are experts on the ward system. They’ll explain the whole thing in detail — where it came from, how it works, and how to navigate it — and remove that cloud of mystery from Philadelphia politics. Well, at least one of the clouds of mystery; there’s only so much we can do in two hours. They’ll also explain how you (yes, you!) can actually become a committee-person or even a ward leader.
Listen, if you’re involved in YIP, you want to get things done in Philadelphia. If you want to get things done in Philadelphia, you have to know how the system works (especially if you want to change the system itself). If you want to know how the system works, you have to understand wards. If you want to understand wards, you have to come to this event.
Speakers will include:
- Dave Davies – Dave has covered local politics and government in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. He is currently senior reporter for WHYY, and a contributor and fill-in host for Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He was reporter and columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News for 19 years, and before that was city hall bureau chief for KYW News Radio and city hall correspondent for WHYY.
- Terry Gillen – Terry is the recently-departed Director of the City’s Office of Federal Affairs. She’s also a former ward leader, spent two years running the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, and has been instrumental in the revitalization of the Navy Yard.
- Stephanie Singer – Stephanie has been a City Commissioner since 2012. Prior to that, she was a professor at Haverford College, and served as the 8th Ward Leader for the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee.
- Patrick Christmas – Patrick is a former Philadelphia public school teacher and is currently a Senior Policy Analyst at Committee of Seventy.