The 12th (left) and 59th (right) Ward maps. (Pulled from City Commissioners website)
Getting the word out about new candidates is crucial to voter engagement and education. To ensure that non-incumbent candidates gain visibility among the public, a unified city effort is needed to promote campaigns equally. This is where Philadelphia’s ward system comes in.
But what is the Philadelphia ward system, and why do communities not have clear information on what it does for our city?
Philadelphia is one of the remaining big cities with a political superstructure that starts at its smallest unit: wards, which are voting districts.
There are 66 wards in Philadelphia, and each ward is broken down into somewhere between 11 and 51 divisions, commonly referred to as precincts.
These boundaries could seem small to some, but they have more considerable implications for neighborhood relations. It’s why you can live in the same neighborhood as someone but have a difference in electoral representation, polling place, trash pickup day, or even school assignments.
Unlike neighborhoods, wards don’t have street signs and don’t always show the material impacts in everyday life, so these boundaries and the people who represent them can sometimes be invisible to neighbors.
Germantown is made up of the 12th and 59th wards, each with around 25 divisions.
A ward is divided into two parties — Democratic and Republican — each represented within the Philadelphia City Committee. Each division/precinct has between 500 and 1,200 registered voters.
Committee members are elected within their division every four years. They are pretty much your hyperlocal political spokesperson/representative, serving as a bridge between the community and city politics.
They are like block captains. They are the ears-to-the-ground folks who communicate the public’s needs to the city council, offer comments on policies that will impact the neighborhood, or work on projects like zoning.
Ward leaders, however, aren’t directly elected by voters. Instead, they are chosen by a vote among committee members within the ward. These folks primarily recruit committee members, raise campaign and operational funds called “street money,” and engage voters.
More importantly, they endorse candidates, which is a key power distinction between ward leaders and committee members.
Douglas Rucker, a committee member of the 12th Ward, 4th Division, says, “Ward leaders want to ensure people vote and are educated on how to vote.”
Rucker says the ward leader and committee people work in partnership to protect polling regulations, hire poll workers, collect signatures for candidates, and get people to the polls, amongst other responsibilities.
You may see the impact of their efforts on election day when those folks outside the polls hand out guides on who to vote for, also known as sample ballots.
In a 2022 article by the Philadelphia Citizen, editor J.P. Romney breaks down how to run for committee person.
You would need to get on the ballot of your district’s race for committeeperson. Then you’d distinguish yourself enough to get elected by voters who usually don’t know what a committeeperson is. And finally, you’d get your committee to vote for you as ward leader.
Interestingly enough, you only need 10 signatures to get on the ballot.
Theodore ‘Ted’ Stone is the ward leader of the 12th ward, covering lower Germantown from Wissahickon to Wister and Chelten to Wayne Junction. He says he asked to be a ward leader.
“I moved to Germantown in ‘86 and always enjoyed being involved in the neighborhood,” he explained. “I always wanted people to be conscious of government and who they are, as a person and community member.”
During the last midterm elections, the 12th ward saw a 61% turnout of 9,850 registered voters. This is compared to the 2022 Primaries, where the 12th and 59th wards saw a turnout of 22.13% and 25.98%, respectively.
According to Stone, this was the ward’s highest turnout in 50 years. He credits this to leaders and committee members communicating more with the community at public meetings.
Stone and Rucker want to see significant shifts in political engagement by the public and city officials during elections. Rucker looks forward to engaging more young Black voters in getting to the polls, while Stone seeks to advocate for less division within the Philadelphia Democratic Party.
“These [sub] parties weaken the [larger] party,” Stone says, referring to Progressive, Working Families and Established Parties. “But we need to come on the same page. It’s not about being a Ward Leader; it’s about the community.”
A pro of these political units is that they allow even the smallest neighborhoods to understand civic engagement in their district and for voters to establish a deep connection with ward leaders and the community.
The con? There’s no guarantee that committee people or ward leaders will carry out their duties.
Regardless, wards are an essential part of the political unit system, and more importantly, they’re a hyperlocal gateway to civic engagement. And there are ways to start building our knowledge, like mapping systems generated by the city. This tool breaks down wards, divisions, and other city-related boundaries.
For neighbors interested in connecting with their ward leader, the Committee of Seventy has a contact list of them listed on their site. You can also find your ward leader information, including contact information, and even a guide on how to run for committee person.
This is part one of the Civically Philly series, in which Germantown neighbor Shanayah Wyche covers the civics and politics affecting the neighborhood and beyond.