While I can see how removing the City of Philadelphia’s Resign To Run rule might encourage better candidates to step up and run for office, I can also see why folks might not be so willing to end it.
While the 2023 Mayoral Primary was notable for many reasons, the biggest of those reasons was that it changed the makeup of the Philadelphia City Council.
Six Councilmembers — Alan Domb, Derek Green, Helen Gym, Maria Quinones Sanchez, David Oh, and eventual winner, Cherelle Parker — resigned from City Council to throw their hats in the ring for Mayor. Add Controller Rebecca Rhynhart and you get a pretty sizable hole in City Government caused by one primary.
The reason for that hole is the city’s Resign to Run rule. Under this rule, if you’re already in a city office or otherwise employed by the city, you must step down before you can run for a political office. The rule has been a part of the city’s charter since 1951 and was put there because (a) it’s hard to do two jobs at once, (b) the possibility of undue influence to their subordinates.
However, City Councilman Isaiah Thomas is hoping to change that.
On Thursday, Thomas introduced a resolution for a charter change that, if voters decide to pass it, would eliminate the resign-to-run rule.
Now I get why this might be a good idea for the city. You have a lot of really great people here in Philadelphia who would make great elected officials.
Another thing that the 2023 Mayoral Primary should have shown us is how expensive it is to run for mayor or any elected office. About $22 million was spent on advertising alone in the Mayor’s race, although it didn’t reflect in the turnout.
(Here’s where I should bring up the fact that it might be time for Democratic City Committee chair Bob Brady in this regard, but I won’t. It’s implied.)
When you have to find money to feed your family and run a campaign, that’s a lot of searching. In fact, this search can lead to your doing some things that can get you into trouble. There are more than a few elected officials that I would tell you to ask about that, but they’re in jail and can’t have that conversation.
(The ones that are out of jail might tell you about it if you ask them nicely, but that’s a big if.)
But to me, the resign-to-run rule is more about how committed you are to not only the job you want but also the job you’re leaving. Every election cycle, because both the state and federal election laws allow it, you have at least one or two people who decide that not only are they going to run for reelection for the job they currently have, they’re going to run for something else.
To me, that shows a lack of commitment. You’re telling the people that you currently represent that you would rather be doing something else. This means that you’re not putting all of the effort you should be into your current job.
The people you represent deserve better than that.
And in a city where you have people who are already feeling kinda ignored by their elected officials, that’s not a good look.
So, while I get where Councilmember Thomas is coming from in terms of making it easier for those who want to perform a different form of community service to do so, serving two masters simultaneously is more than a little difficult.
And whether you win or lose, not everyone will be happy in the process.
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