Philadelphia City Council


















































Philadelphia City Council
Type
Type

Unicameral
Leadership
President

Darrell L. Clarke, Democratic
Since January 2, 2012
Majority Leader

Bobby Henon, Democratic
Since January 4, 2016
Minority Leader

Brian J. O'Neill, Republican
Structure
Seats 17
Philadelphia City Council makeup.svg
Political groups
Democratic (14)
Republican (3)
Elections
Last election
 November 3, 2015
Meeting place
Philadelphia-CityHall-2006.jpg
Philadelphia City Hall
Website
City Council Website



City Hall from postcard, c. 1900


The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each member's term is four years, and there are no limits on the number of terms a member may serve.




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Composition and term


  • 3 Legislative process


  • 4 Gerrymandering


  • 5 City council members


  • 6 Presidents of the City Council


  • 7 See also


  • 8 References


  • 9 Further reading


  • 10 External links





History


While William Penn's original 1691 charter for the city of Philadelphia included a "common council," no records exist of this body ever having been convened. Its successor, the Proprietor's Charter of 1701, constituted the city as a municipal corporation with a non-elected council made up of major city officials who selected their own successors. The colonial city government was abolished during the American Revolution and replaced in 1789 with an elected council including fifteen aldermen and thirty common councillors; these then elected a mayor and recorder who also were members of the council. In 1796, a bicameral city council was created including a 20-member Common Council and 12-member Select Council; the sizes of both bodies increased with the population of the city, peaking at 149 members of Common Council and 41 in Select Council, the largest municipal legislature in the US. It was replaced with a single 21-member chamber in 1919, which remained in effect until the adoption of a Home Rule charter in 1951.[1][2]



Composition and term


The 1951 Home Rule Charter established the council as the legislative arm of Philadelphia municipal government, consisting of seventeen members. Ten council members are elected by district and seven from the city at large. At-large council members are elected using limited voting with limited nomination, guaranteeing that two minority-party candidates are elected. Each is elected for a term of four years with no limit on the number of terms that may be served.[3]


The members of City Council elect from among themselves a president, who serves as the regular chairperson of council meetings. In consultation with the majority of council members, the President appoints members to the various standing committees of the council. The president is also responsible for selecting and overseeing most Council employees.[4]



Legislative process


Every proposed ordinance is in the form of a bill introduced by a Council member. Before a bill can be enacted, it must be referred by the president of the council to an appropriate standing committee, considered at a public hearing and public meeting, reported out by the committee, printed as reported by the committee, distributed to the members of the council, and made available to the public. Passage of a bill requires the favorable vote of a majority of all members. A bill becomes law upon the approval of the mayor. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the council may override the veto by a two-thirds vote.[3]


Under the rules of the council, regular public sessions are held weekly, usually on Thursday morning at 10:00am, in Room 400, City Hall. Council normally breaks for the summer months of July and August.



Gerrymandering


In a 2006 computer study of local and state legislative districts, two of the city's ten council districts, the 5th and the 7th, were found to be among the least compact districts in the nation, giving rise to suspicions of gerrymandering.[5]


The Committee of Seventy, a non-partisan watchdog group for local elections, asked candidates for council in 2007 to support a list of ethics statements, including a call for fair redistricting, which should take place after the 2010 United States Census.[6]


In 2011, the council approved a redistricting map with more compact boundaries, eliminating the "gerrymandered borders" of the 5th and 7th districts; it is to take effect in 2016, after the 2015 elections.[7]



City council members


The City Council as of January 4, 2016 is as follows:















































































































District
 Name
 Took Office
 Party
1 Mark Squilla 2012 Dem
2 Kenyatta Johnson 2012 Dem
3
Jannie Blackwell[8]
 1991 Dem
4 Curtis J. Jones, Jr., 2008 Dem
5
Darrell L. Clarke, Council President
 1999 Dem
6
Bobby Henon Majority Leader
 2012 Dem
7 Maria Quiñones-Sanchez 2008 Dem
8 Cindy Bass 2012 Dem
9 Cherelle Parker 2016 Dem
10
Brian J. O'Neill, Minority Leader
 1980 Rep
At-Large
Blondell Reynolds Brown, Majority Whip
 2000 Dem
At-Large
Bill Greenlee, Deputy Majority Whip
 2006 Dem
At-Large David Oh 2012 Rep
At-Large Allan Domb 2016 Dem
At-Large Derek S. Green 2016 Dem
At-Large Helen Gym 2016 Dem
At-Large Al Taubenberger 2016 Rep


  • List of members of Philadelphia City Council from 1920 to 1952

  • List of members of Philadelphia City Council since 1952

  • Political families of Philadelphia



Presidents of the City Council
















































President Term Political party
James A. Finnegan January 1, 1951 – January 14, 1955 Democratic
James Hugh Joseph Tate January 20, 1955 – January 6, 1964 Democratic
Paul D’Ortona January 6, 1964 – January 3, 1972 Democratic[9]
George X. Schwartz January 3, 1972 – May 29, 1980 Democratic
Joseph E. Coleman October 30, 1980 – January 6, 1992 Democratic
John F. Street January 6, 1992 – December 31, 1998 Democratic
Anna C. Verna January 14, 1999 – December 15, 2011 Democratic
Darrell L. Clarke January 2, 2012 – Present Democratic


See also



  • John Scott Medal


References





  1. ^ Fairley, John Archibald (1904). American Municipal Councils..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ "City Council". Philadelphia Department of Records.


  3. ^ ab "General Information". Philadelphia City Council. Retrieved September 29, 2009.


  4. ^ "Rules of the Council of the City of Philadelphia" (PDF). Philadelphia City Council. Retrieved September 29, 2009.


  5. ^ "The Gerrymandering Index: Using geospatial analysis to measure relative compactness of electoral districts" (PDF). Azavea. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2009.


  6. ^ "City Council Ethics Agenda". Committee of Seventy. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2009.


  7. ^ Graham, Troy (September 23, 2011). "Philadelphia Council approves redistricting map". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 20, 2015.


  8. ^ Widow of former Member of Congress Lucien E. Blackwell


  9. ^ "Paul D'Ortona, 88, Philadelphia Official". New York Times. October 20, 1992. Retrieved April 21, 2012.




Further reading


  • Ginsberg, Thomas; City Councils in Philadelphia and Other Major Cities: Who Holds Office, How Long They Serve, and How Much It All Costs; Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative (2011). (Overview)


External links


  • Philadelphia City Council website








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