Brandon Neuman

Brandon Neuman is a lifelong Washington County resident (south of Pittsburgh) who has served as a judge for the Washington County Court of Common Pleas since 2018. In this role, he first presided over civil cases including divorce, custody, domestic relations and protection from abuse orders, then, from 2002 to 2024, criminal cases. He has now resumed his role as a Civil Judge and also presides over Veterans’ Specialty Court.

In August 2024, Neuman ruled that Washington County election officials had to give voters who made fatal errors filling out their mail-in ballot envelopes the opportunity to vote via provisional ballot.

From 2010 to 2018, Neuman represented District 48 in the PA House of Representatives, where he served on the House Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Consumer Affairs; Judiciary, Labor and Industry, and Rules committees and the Crime Delinquency and Sentencing commissions. He also chaired the Offense-Related Guidelines Review Subcommittee and Interstate Commission for Juveniles. In 2014, he authored legislation to overhaul the rape kit processing system, which was experiencing a serious backlog.

Neuman was a Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2014 elections. He came in fifth in the primary.

Prior to public service, Neuman was a civil litigation trial attorney who represented victims of nursing home abuse and neglect.

PA Bar Association: Highly recommended

PA Democratic Party: Endorsed

Brandon Neuman’s campaign website, Facebook.

Judge of the Superior Court – Republican nominees

Statewide (Vote for 1)

Ann Marie Wheatcraft

Ann Marie Wheatcraft has served as a Common Pleas Court Judge in Chester County since 2012. Wheatcraft has presided over Civil Court for two years, Family Court for eight, Dependency Court (diversionary and post-conviction) for eight, and Criminal and Treatment courts since 2014 and 2018, respectively. She has also worked in Mental Health and Veterans’ courts. In these roles, she has presided over criminal and civil cases, jury trials and bench trials. Her colleagues elected her President Judge in 2025.

Prior to taking the bench, Wheatcraft worked as a Chester County Assistant District Attorney (ADA) from 2001 to 2011. In her roles as judge and ADA, Wheatcraft has worked to develop, expand and refine Treatment courts — namely, to help nonviolent offenders receive medical care in order to avoid recidivism. 

Prior to working in the public realm, she was an attorney in private practice who specialized in estate planning. Prior to law school, she worked at a community mental health center and a psychiatric hospital. 

PA Bar Association: Highly recommended

PA Republican Party: Endorsed

Ann Marie Wheatcraft’s campaign website, Facebook.

Maria Battista

This is Maria Battista’s second run for judge of the PA Superior Court. She lost in the general election on November 7, 2023. Since then, she has led government services at The Judge Group, a Wayne, PA-based global technology consulting, managed services, learning and talent solutions firm.

Battista has served as an assistant district attorney for Venango County and legal counsel for the Department of State under Governor Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners. She has also worked for the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Department of the Navy, NAVSUP WSS.

Regarding her judicial philosophy, Battista has said that it is essential that judges do not bring politics into their decision-making and that the late Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia reflects her judicial philosophy.

PA Bar Association: Not Recommended (for failure to participate)

PA Republican Party: Not endorsed

Maria Battista’s campaign website, Facebook.

JUDGE OF THE COMMONWEALTH COURT

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court is the state’s second intermediate appellate court. Tasked with addressing matters concerning state and local governments and regulatory agencies, the court also functions as a trial court for lawsuits involving the Commonwealth. Comprising nine judges that serve ten-year terms, the current composition features three Democrats, five Republicans, and one vacant seat. Recent noteworthy cases handled by the Commonwealth Court include a ruling declaring Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional and upholding the legality of the state’s ban on Medicaid covering abortion expenses (Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services).

There is one open seat for judge of the Commonwealth Court.

Judge of the Commonwealth Court – Democratic nominee

Statewide (Vote for 1)

Stella Tsai

Stella Tsai accepted an appointment to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2016 and won the election to serve a 10-year term in 2017. From the bench in Orphans’ Court and the Civil Trial, Criminal Trial and Family Court divisions, she has presided over will contests, trust and estate disputes, custody matters and guardianships, contract disputes, medical malpractice and motor vehicle cases. She is also adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Prior to becoming a judge, she was a business litigation partner in the Philadelphia office of Archer & Greiner, PC concentrating in regulatory compliance, land use and ethics and chaired Administrative Law at the City of Philadelphia Law Department from 2000 to 2003, managing attorneys who represent child welfare and social service agencies. Her pro bono and volunteer work centered on voting, civil and immigrant rights.

Among the Penn Law graduate’s career honors: the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Sandra Day O’Connor Award, Penn’s Howard Lesnick Pro Bono Award, Asian Pacific American Bar Assocation’s Attorney of the Year, along with awards for civil rights advocacy and zoning code reform.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Highly recommended

PA Democratic Party: Endorsed

Stella Tsai’s campaign website, Facebook.

Judge of the Commonwealth Court – Republican nominees

Statewide (Vote for 1)

Matthew Wolford

Attorney Matthew Wolford founded his namesake law firm in 1999 in Erie, where he specializes in environmental law and represents oil and gas companies, trade associations, manufacturers, farmers and landowners. Prior to starting his private practice, Wolford prosecuted environmental crimes for the PA Office of Attorney General, served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of PA, was a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee for the Western District of PA, served as assistant counsel for the Department of Environmental Protection’s Northwest Regional Office and chaired the PA Bar Association’s Environmental and Energy Law Section. He’s also lectured as an adjunct professor at Gannon University, Allegheny College and Thiel College. 

Some of his more recent cases helped pave the way for the oil and gas industries to more freely drill and frack in PA, including in the Allegheny National Forest.

Wolford is a graduate of Temple Law.

PA Bar Association: Highly recommended

PA Republican Party: Endorsed

Matthew Wolford’s campaign website.

Josh Prince

Josh Prince of Berks County has practiced law since 2009, first working in a general law practice before forming his own firm. Prince’s practice has focused on civil rights litigation and administrative law. In his appearances before the bench in civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts, he has touted his championing of Second Amendment rights — winning cases to allow a registered gun owner to carry a weapon on school grounds and to ban signs prohibiting assault rifles and high capacity magazines in the city of Pittsburgh, for example. During Covid, he fought to get firearms dealers and law firms deemed “essential” in order to re-open.

Prince is or has been involved in the following organizations: Pottstown Police Athletic League, National Rifle Association; Firearm Owners Against Crime; Gun Owners of America; Second Amendment Foundation.

When the PA GOP endorsed Matthew Wolford instead of him, Prince followed through on his promise to leave the race, then reversed course, and decided to run. 

In 2023, the Pennsylvania Bar gave Prince a rating of “Not Recommended” out of concern that he lacks the necessary experience and preparation.

PA Bar Association: Not Recommended (for failure to participate)

PA Republican Party: Not endorsed

Josh Prince’s campaign website and Facebook.

JUDGE OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

Courts of Common Pleas are Pennsylvania trial courts, in 60 judicial districts in the state. These courts deal with significant civil and criminal cases, including those that directly impact citizens’ everyday lives in deciding child custody, family matters, juvenile justice cases, parole and diversionary programs.

Philadelphia voters will elect nine (9) municipal judicial candidates on November 4, 2025. 

There are nine open seats on the Court of Common Pleas.

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas – Democratic nominees

Citywide (Vote for not more than 9)

Will Braveman

Will Braveman, a one-time law clerk in the Court of Common Pleas, is now running for a seat there. The Temple Law grad worked as an attorney in the City’s Health and Human Services and Labor and Employment units for a combined 12 years, thenwas the employment law chair for Keller and Goggin, P.C. He founded his namesake firm, where he is designated counsel for large employee organizations, including Local 696 (library and Department of Revenue), the largest local of AFSCME District Council 33. He has also served as counsel to the firm of Robert Brand and Associates.

He’s been an attorney in Mental Health Court, founded a mock trial club, led neighborhood youth sports clubs, and lives near the S. 9th Street Market.

This is the second time Braveman is running for a seat on the Court of Common Pleas. 

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Will Braveman’s campaign website, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Leon A King II

Attorney Leon King was the first openly LGBTQ+ prisons commissioner in Philadelphia history, wears metal taps on his shoes (mostly for a practical reason) — and felt the impact of empathetic justice after getting caught for stealing a motorbike at age 19. He’s a former deputy solicitor for the City and now a practicing attorney — most of his work is in federal courts — and professor of criminal justice at Drexel University. He also served as Deputy Commission of the Baltimore City Jail System.

King’s work within the criminal justice system has given him empathy for incarcerated individuals — especially those working to recover from addiction, dealing with mental health issues, and juveniles — and given him respect for the outsized role the judicial system plays in individual lives. This is King’s fifth time running for a seat on the Court of Common Pleas. This time, he has the endorsement of the Democratic City Committee.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Leon A. King II’s campaign website, Facebook.

Larry Farnese

Former three-term PA Senator representing the 1st Senatorial District, Larry Farnese came to the fore in 2008 when he won election for state Sen. Vince Fumo’s seat — who went to federal prison for fraud. Farnese again made headlines in 2017 when he was indicted on, and subsequently acquitted of, 13 bribery charges. In 2020, he lost his Senate seat to Democratic Socialist Nikil Saval, who, as a PA senator, is endorsing him for judge.

In the PA Senate, Farnese was minority chair of the Judiciary Committee and co-founder of the PA LGBTQ Equality Caucus. He excelled at securing grants for commercial development and community and cultural organizations — $1 billion over 11 years. He defeated the NRA as a plaintiff in a right-to-sue lawsuit, worked to improve oversight of nuisance bars, introduced anti-SLAPP legislation to protect First Amendment rights, and championed bike lanes.

Farnese has taught at Villanova and Temple law schools, serves on the board of affordable senior housing complex Casa Farnese, and has volunteered with Big Brother Big Sisters and Planned Parenthood. 

In 2023, he briefly ran for a seat on the Court of Common Pleas before withdrawing. 

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Larry Farnese’s campaign website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X.

Brian Kisielewski

Attorney Brian Kisielewski develops and manages pro bono initiatives for Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, which is based in PA, Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut. Prior to Faegre Drinker, he managed professional development and pro bono programs at Stradley Ronon, was legal director of the City’s then-new Elder Justice & Civil Resource Center, managed the City’s Civil Filing Center, and served as a staff attorney in the PCRA & Habeas Corpus Appeals Unit, where he reviewed post-conviction petitions. He began his legal career as a clerk for the Court of Common Pleas. 

This would be his first time holding public office.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Brian Kisielewski’s campaign website, LinkedIn.

Irina Ehrlich

Since 2013, Irina Ehrlich has been an attorney in private practice who specializes in criminal defense, immigration and guardianship proceedings (often as appointed in the Philadelphia Orphans’ Court). She has taken more than 50 jury trials to verdict. Prior to founding her own firm, Ehrlich was an Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted cases that included attempted murder, drug trafficking and illegal gun possession. During her time in the DA’s office, she was promoted to the Investigation Division and designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. 

Ehrlich came to the U.S. from the Soviet Union at age 21 as a political refugee and is trilingual in English, Russian and Ukrainian.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Irina Ehrlich’s campaign website, Facebook, Instagram.

Sherrie Cohen

Sherrie Cohen is a progressive activist and tenant rights attorney who has sued to protect Philadelphia public libraries from closure and sued big tobacco in a landmark class-action case. She is the daughter of late Philadelphia City Councilmember At-Large David Cohen and had designs on becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Philadelphia City Council — but three times fell short of making it onto the general election ballot, most recently in 2023. This is her first time running for a judge seat.

Cohen has chaired the Coalition for Essential Services, co-chaired the Civil Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, co-chaired the Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club and served as a Democratic Party committee person and block captain.

Sherrie Cohen is also running for Judge of the Municipal Court.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

The Philadelphia Democratic Party: Not endorsed

No campaign website.

Anthony Stefanski

Anthony Stefanski’s 37 years of experience as an attorney includes more than 200 jury trials and 5,000 bench trials. For the past three years, he has represented the Democratic City Committee under Bob Brady. He defended clients in high-profile cases while working for the Law Office of A. Charles Peruto, and prosecuted cases as an Assistant District Attorney, where he moved up to the Major Trials Unit. He began his career clerking in Civil Motions Court.

Hailing from Brigantine, NJ, the South Philadelphia resident is cousins with Cleveland Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski and former Sixers GM Eddie Stefanski.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

The Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Anthony Stefanski’s campaign website, Facebook.

Deborah Watson-Stokes

Deborah Watson-Stokes has spent more than 35 years at the District Attorney’s Office, where she worked in the Homicide Unit (where she secured more than 150 first-degree murder convictions over 17 years), served as assistant chief of the Southwest Division, chief of the Municipal Court Unit and, now, senior advisor on professional development. For 13 years, she was the only Black woman in the DA’s office; she now works to recruit Black attorneys to the office. 

Watson-Stokes received the Barristers’ Association Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Woman of Distinction Award, Philadelphia Coalition for Victim Advocacy Award and a number of alumni awards. She serves on the Barristers’ Advisory Board.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Deborah Watson-Stokes’s campaign website, Instagram, LinkedIn, X.

Sarah Jones

Sarah Jones has 11 years of professional legal experience, starting as an intern, then associate, for the Law Office of Gregory J. Pagano. Jones’ primary areas of practice are family law — custody, child support, divorce, grandparents’ rights, dependency court, protection from abuse — and misdemeanor and felony criminal defense in the Court of Common Pleas and federal court. She works in PA and NJ.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

 Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Sarah Jones’s campaign website.

Kia Ghee

Attorney Kia Ghee has spent most of her career in public and community service. Before law school, she managed Head Start and similar programs, developed programs for the City’s Department of Public Health and worked in compliance and efficiency with local health systems. Ghee has a master’s degree in public health and law degree from Drexel University. She later became a legal research and policy fellow for City Council, judicial intern for the Eastern District of PA U.S. District Court, a legal intern and law clerk.

In 2014, she joined the City of Philadelphia as a labor and employment attorney, assistant and then deputy city solicitor. In 2021, then-Mayor Jim Kenney appointed Ghee as executive director of the Commission of Human Relations, where she centered civil rights programs, created the People United to Stop Hate symposium, established the City’s social justice awards and oversaw the Fair Housing Commission. She left that post in January of 2025.

Ghee has received the Barristers’ Association Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Woman of Distinction Award.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended 

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Kia Ghee’s campaign Website, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Qawi Abdul-Rahman

Qawi Abdul-Rahman is a criminal defense attorney in private practice who has handled more than 1,000 cases. His legal experience began in the Dade County Public Defenders’ Office in Miami, Florida, before he returned home to Philadelphia. In 2018, he received the 1st Judicial District Award for Pro Bono Service. Abdul-Rahman has expressed support for sentencing reform.

In 2023, the first year Abdul-Rahman ran for a seat on the Court of Common Pleas, the FBI raided Abdul-Rahman’s West Philadelphia home in order to arrest his 17-year-old son on suspicion of terroristic activity. DA Larry Krasner later charged the 17-year-old for multiple counts, including possession of weapons of mass destruction, criminal conspiracy and arson.

Qawi Abdul-Rahman is also running for Judge of the Municipal Court.

The Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Not endorsed

Qawi Abdul-Rahman’s campaign website.

Taniesha Henry

Taniesha Henry is an attorney with 10 years of experience specializing in family law and mediation. She currently represents ChildFirst Services, an organization that operates small, temporary group residences for children in the city’s foster system. Henry previously worked in the 1st Judicial District of PA as a domestic relations hearing officer, drafting and issuing court orders in custody and support cases. She served as a judicial law clerk in the same court, an arbitrator in the Court of Common Pleas, an assistant city solicitor and a pre-hearing conference facilitator in Family Courts, a judicial fellow in the Juanita Kidd Scott Center for Criminal Justice, and a mediation coordinator.

She has said she brings a level of personal understanding of situations that lead individuals and families to courtrooms. 

Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Not endorsed

Taniesha Henry’s campaign website, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas – Republican

• No Candidates filed for this office

JUDGE OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT

The Municipal Court is the lowest level of the judicial system, and it is where most individuals first encounter the court system. This court handles eviction proceedings, small claims, and debts up to $12,000. There are two open spots on Philadelphia’s Municipal Court.

There are three open seats for judges of the Municipal Court.

Judge of the Municipal Court – Democratic

Citywide (Vote for not more than 3)

Sherrie Cohen

Sherrie Cohen is also running for Judge of Common Pleas Court. (See above)

Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

The Philadelphia Democratic Party: Not endorsed

Amanda Davidson

Amanda Davidson is a senior trial attorney who practices in the area of personal injury at Fine, Staud and Levy. Davidson represents plaintiffs in cases of workplace injury, vehicular accident, slip-and-fall, medical malpractice and workers’ compensation. Her background also includes family law, business disputes and criminal matters. For 15 years, she owned and operated her own law firm in Bala Cynwyd. She is a Temple Law graduate and co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Initiative.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Amanda Davidson’s campaign website, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Cortez Patton

Cortez Patton has served as chief counsel to PA Senator Anthony H. Williams for a decade. In this role, Patton has worked to advance legislation to: seal nonviolent criminal records, require review and termination of extended probation terms, and establish a PA commission to determine how government can promote two-parent involvement in families. Patton is a South Philadelphia native and Drexel Law graduate.

Patton ran for Municipal Court in 2023 before withdrawing his candidacy, and ran unsuccessfully for the Court of Common Pleas in 2021.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

The Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Cortez Patton’s campaign website, Facebook, Instagram.

Qawi Abdul-Rahman

Qawi Abdul-Rahman is also running for Judge of Common Pleas Court. (See above)

Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

The Philadelphia Democratic Party: Not endorsed

Shawn Page

Attorney Shawn Page is a partner and senior trial attorney at Mincey Fitzpatrick and Ross, and a criminal defense attorney with a multi-jurisdictional practice in Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks counties. Page earned his law degree from Widener University at age 35 and began his career in law by clerking for criminal defense attorney Nino V. Tinari.

Page’s platform includes reducing gun violence, considering childhood trauma in treatment and rulings, and increasing access to rehabilitation for people in the system. Page has participated in expungement clinics and represented individuals who were unable to afford his services.

Philadelphia Bar Association: Not Recommended

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Not endorsed

Shawn Page’s campaign website, Instagram.

Judge of the Municipal Court – Republican

Citywide (Vote for not more than 3)

• No Candidates filed for this office

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Philadelphia’s District Attorney runs the office responsible for prosecuting alleged crimes committed within Philadelphia. According to the District Attorney website, the office (DAO) employs 600 people, including 300 assistant district attorneys, and prosecutes 40,000 criminal cases each year, from minor offenses to felonies. Symbolically, the DAO represents victims of crimes. In reality, the DAO works with law enforcement to build cases against defendants. 

The DAO can also choose to seek harsher or more lenient sentences, including the death penalty. This is one place where an individual DA’s own philosophy comes into play. Philadelphia elects its District Attorney every four years.

District Attorney – Democratic

Citywide (Vote for 1)

Pat Dugan

Pat Dugan is a former Municipal Court judge appointed to the bench by Governor Ed Rendell in 2007. Dugan founded Philadelphia Veterans Court, one of several Philly “problem-solving” courts and is known to support other problem-solving courts, including Drug and Alcohol court, Mental Health court and Project Dawn, which focuses on prostitution.

In 2019, Dugan’s peers elected him President Judge. During the pandemic, he authorized the Eviction Diversion Program, which helped more than 46,000 families remain in their homes. Dugan has said he wants to focus on diversion programs for low-level offenders and that under Krasner, the “DA’s office is an impediment to collaborative efforts like evidence-based GVI (Gun Violence Initiative) strategies.” He’s also critical of Krasner’s approach to petty crimes and the DA’s mistreatment of problem-solving courts.

Dugan is a veteran: He served in the Army from 1981 to 1989 and reenlisted at age 43, after 9/11. He holds a law degree from Rutgers-Camden. Critics have noted his lack of prosecutorial experience; champions say his experience comes from presiding over prosecution done both well and not well from the bench.

The Philadelphia Building Trades and several other local labor organizations endorse Dugan.

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed neither candidate

Pat Dugan’s campaign website, Facebook, Instagram.

Larry Krasner

Larry Krasner has been Philadelphia District Attorney since 2018, having been elected in 2017 and reelected in 2021. In 2017, Krasner was part of a headline-grabbing wave of large-city progressive / reformist district attorneys, championing more justice for and less policing of Black and Brown bodies. He is one of few of these DAs still in office.

Eight years on, Krasner’s results have been mixed: Fewer arrests for possession of marijuana, but also a big uptick in retail theft. No more cash bail for nonviolent offenders, but still overflowing jails. Also, under his leadership, programs such as gun violence intervention and youth diversion programs have languished.

And yet: As in other cities nationally, homicides in Philadelphia have gone down dramatically in 2023 and again in 2024.

One thing’s for sure, Krasner has made his fair share of critics — of both his actions and his attitude, which some ungenerously compare to Donald Trump. These critics include leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police, who, in 2021, sued him over a “do not call” list his office created of officers with a history of dishonesty, use of excessive force or civil rights abuses. They also include Republican members of the PA House of Representatives, who tried to begin impeachment proceedings against him until the PA Supreme Court intervened. Republican legislators succeeded, however, in limiting Krasner’s power to prosecute cases in and around SEPTA stations.

Before becoming DA, Krasner was a defense attorney — he referred to himself as a “career civil rights lawyer” — who worked for the Federal Public Defender’s Office before opening his own practice and where made his reputation with cases involving police brutality, suing the Philadelphia Police Department 75 times.

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, along with state Senators Sharif Street and Anthony Hardy Williams, U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans all back him.

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed neither candidate

Larry Krasner’s campaign website, Facebook, X.

No Republican candidate is running for District Attorney of Philadelphia.

CITY CONTROLLER

Philadelphia’s City Controller is our municipal auditor, the elected official in charge of making sure the City of Philadelphia is spending taxpayer (and other) dollars wisely. Most city governments call this post the “comptroller.” Philadelphia is different. Philly’s controller cosigns on all municipal invoices and makes sure all municipal departments are fiscally responsible, keeping tabs on expenditures but also investigating efficiency and corruption within all manner of city dealings. 

Past controllers investigated and reported on how the Department of Sanitation mismanaged collection of residential trash, the City’s botched rollout of the Covid vaccine, the Police Department’s and mayoral administrations’ wild spending habits, and what was up with $33 million missing from City coffers in 2018. The catch: The controller has the power to research and report on problems, but not legislate, implement or enact solutions.

Philadelphia elects a City Controller every four years.

City Controller – Democratic

Citywide (Vote for 1)

Christy Brady

Christy Brady was elected City Controller in 2023, after the departure of Rebecca Rhynhart, who resigned from the post to run for mayor. A lifelong Philadelphian, Brady is a CPA who has spent her entire 30-plus year career in the office. As a candidate, she listed her top four priorities as: 

1. 1. Gun violence: Further examine the City’s distribution of funds in the Community Expansion Grant Program, wherein Philadelphia gave $13.5 million to 31 local projects working to combat gun violence.
      Her findings: The City circumvented standard operating procedures, “by excluding other possible providers from bidding on the contract for the oversight.”
   2. Opioid epidemic: Follow up on former Controller Rhynhart’s 2021 audit of the HeathChoices Fund administered by the City’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services.
      Her findings: Philadelphia is on track to spend its share of the Opioid Settlement Funds. 
   3. Financial literacy: Create a robust financial literacy curriculum in public schools. 
   4. Underground economy: Brady viewed “red flags” among the out-of-town developers, mostly LLCs, who come in, build big, and vanish without paying city fees or listing any employees.

In addition, she found Licenses & Inspections’ Contractual Services Unit is inadequately staffed, with just 15 inspectors to oversee the imminently dangerous properties along with the thousands of additional properties identified as unsafe. Another report urged the City to allow more outdoor dining to boost the economy, citing other cities with greater success in the area. Her office found $2.2 million in unauthorized municipal overtime costs. She’s reported that the 

City’s Homestead Exemption Program results in more than $11 million in “real estate tax fraud,” and the City’s Department of Aviation, Managing Director’s Office and Office of the Chief Administrative Officer spent $15,178,134 over fiscal years 2021 and 2024 on contracts without adhering to the city’s proper bidding process.

Philadelphia Democratic Party: Endorsed

Christy Brady’s campaign website, Facebook, Instagram, X.

City Controller – Republican

Ari Patrinos

Northwest Philadelphia native Ari Patrinos has an impressive resume: Harvard graduate with a master’s in political science from the University of Chicago, and Wall Street stockbroker. He says he’s running to help the City provide “basic services” like clean streets and quality public schools. Patrinos wants to help the City recruit more highly qualified workers and Philadelphia tax rates — not traditionally the purview of a comptroller, but, as recent Controllers have shown, the job can be a bit of what you make it.

This would be Patrinos’ first time in elected office.

Philadelphia Republican Party: Endorsed

Ari Patrinos’ campaign website.

Every Voice, Every Vote funds Philadelphia media and community organizations to expand access to civic news and information. The coalition is led by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support for Every Voice, Every Vote in 2024 and 2025 is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Comcast NBC Universal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.

MORE ON THE 2025 PRIMARY ELECTION