Two more Philadelphia City Council members resign to run for mayor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The race for mayor of Philadelphia is getting more crowded, with two more city councilmembers -- Maria Quiñones Sánchez and Derek Green -- resigning from office Tuesday to run for the top job.
"It's now time to take a step to a bigger platform," Green said, "so we can do more things in our city."
"The next mayor needs to be someone who understands the challenges that people are experiencing in neighborhoods," Quiñones Sánchez said.
Important announcement: Today, I’m resigning from City Council to run for Mayor of Philadelphia. I am a child of Philadelphia public housing, a lifelong activist, and Philadelphia’s first Latina district Councilwoman. pic.twitter.com/kHe5SSsJsn
— Maria Quinones Sanchez (@MariaQSanchez) September 6, 2022
Three weeks ago, another city councilmember, Allan Domb, resigned from his seat. He's still considering whether to run to replace Mayor Jim Kenney, whose term expires in 2024.
Reducing the city's gun violence epidemic is a top priority for the candidates.
"The people shooting think it's hopeless, right? This is all they know," Quiñones Sánchez said. "To move them away from that, we'd have to make a commitment to help people restore and rebuild their lives."
Quiñones Sánchez wants to provide more job training for people released from prison, while Green wants to build better relationships with the community.
"When you have that type of public-private partnership," Green said, "you make it easier for a person to put down a gun and pick up a paycheck."
Al Schmidt, president of the Committee of Seventy, expects more resignations in the coming days.
Councilmembers Cherelle Parker, Helen Gym and David Oh, along with City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, are rumored to also be considering a run for mayor.
"We only have 17 members of city council," Schmidt said. "So if you end up with a lot of vacancies, and it's too late to fill those vacancies in November, you will have a lot less representation on city council."
The Philadelphia City Council president is considering whether to call a special election to fill the vacant city council seats, but time is running out. If the special election does not coincide with the midterm election, it could cost up to a million dollars for the city to hold it at another time.