Democratic nominee Movita Johnson-Harrell easily won Tuesday’s special election for the 190th House District seat.

Johnson-Harrell, who was most recently the head of the victim service unit in the District Attorney’s Office, won with about two-thirds of votes cast. She replaces Vanessa Lowery Brown, who was forced to resign in December after being convicted of bribery charges.

Amen Brown, a Democrat who was running as an independent, finished second, according to reports. Pamela K. Williams, a pastor from West Philly running in the Working Families Party, finished third and Republican Michael Harvey finished fourth.  Continue Reading

The 190th House district.

A special election will be held tomorrow, March 12, to fill the state 190th House district seat left vacant after Vanessa Lowery Brown was forced to resign. This is the only race on the ballot.

The 190th district includes some neighborhoods around Malcolm X. Park and west of 52nd Street as well as Belmont, Carroll Park, Cathedral Park, Mill Creek, Haddington, East Parkside, West Powelton, Allegheny West and Lehigh West.

Go here to find your polling place and to figure out if you live in the 190th. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Continue Reading

             

Jamie Gauthier, a Garden Court resident and the former head of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, has announced that she will mount a primary campaign against Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, whose family has controlled the 3rd District seat since the 1970s.

Gauthier is a former president of the Garden Court Community Association, was born in the district and returned as an adult to get a master’s degree at Penn and raise her children here. She served as executive director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy from October 2017 until yesterday when she stepped down to announce her candidacy. She previously served as head of the Sustainable Business Network, a non-profit started in West Philly that helps small businesses balance profitability with social and environmental responsibility. Gauthier has a master’s degree in city planning from Penn.  Continue Reading

A few days after he was handpicked to run for the vacant 190th state District seat, West Philly native Darryl Thomas has withdrawn from the race following a Philadelphia Inquirer article questioning his place of residence and voting record.

Within 48 hours, Movita Johnson-Harrell, who runs the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Victims Services office, was unofficially named the new Democratic nominee for the special election on March 12. She announced the nomination on her social media late Sunday.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (Monday, Jan. 28, 2019): Darryl Thomas stepped down over the weekend. Democratic leaders appointed Movita Johnson-Harrell as the nominee for the March 12 special election.

Democratic ward leaders have selected Darryl Thomas, a Howard University graduate and the owner of Philly Cuts barbershop on Chestnut near 44th, to stand in a special election in March to fill the 190th state House District seat left vacant when former Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown resigned in December.

Thomas has long been vocal on community issues, including zoning, and ran in the Democratic primary for the seat in 2016, losing to Brown.

“I’m not a politician, even though I’m running for office. I’m a social activist,” Thomas, a West Philly native, told West Philly Local during the campaign. Continue Reading

Don’t forget to head to the polls this Tuesday, Nov. 6 to vote in the midterm elections. All registered voters in Pennsylvania can participate in the election and will be able to choose their candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate (even-numbered districts), and the State House of Representatives.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Click here to find your polling place.

Here are races of interest for West Philly residents:  Continue Reading