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Inquirer Editorial: District choices for Council

The contest for a City Council seat in Northeast Philadelphia is the only one of 10 district races in which voters still have work to do. The May primary decided others, or left heavily favored Democratic nominees with only token opposition.

Democratic candidate for Philadelphia City Council's 10th district Bill Rubin at the Baldi Middle School playground, which he says is emblematic of one area where he would focus his efforts - to get playgrounds cleaned up and outfitted so the city's kids have a safe place to play. (Clem Murray / Staff Photographer)
Democratic candidate for Philadelphia City Council's 10th district Bill Rubin at the Baldi Middle School playground, which he says is emblematic of one area where he would focus his efforts - to get playgrounds cleaned up and outfitted so the city's kids have a safe place to play. (Clem Murray / Staff Photographer)Read more
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The contest for a City Council seat in Northeast Philadelphia is the only one of 10 district races in which voters still have work to do. The May primary decided others, or left heavily favored Democratic nominees with only token opposition.

The 10th District matchup pits a 31-year Council veteran, Republican Brian O'Neill, against Democratic upstart Bill Rubin, who worked as an elections aide and sat on the city pension board as the delegate for the municipal blue-collar workers' union.

Rubin, 44, has mounted a spirited campaign, and hopes to capitalize on the Democratic voter-registration advantage, as well as Election Day help from the electrical workers' union, the city's most politically active.

Rising from clerk to supervisor in the City Commissioners' office, Rubin has gone door-to-door during the campaign, and makes a convincing case that he would be responsive to constituents. He vows to be a full-time councilman - an intended dig against O'Neill, who makes no apologies for also maintaining a law practice.

Other than his eagerness to be a councilman, though, Rubin hasn't made the case that O'Neill should be replaced. Indeed, The Inquirer recommends that district voters elect BRIAN O'NEILL to another four-year term.

O'Neill, 61, offers several decades of experience and brings his own intense focus to issues important to constituents, particularly zoning matters, which fire so much debate in the Northeast.

With a sharp mind and years of legal experience, O'Neill is a valuable presence on Council who professes, apart from Republican or Democratic concerns, a desire to "deliver for my constituents." That doesn't always mean giving district residents what they want, either, as O'Neill showed recently in objecting to a proposed retail-commerical business on an industrially zoned site where O'Neill hoped to see better-paying jobs established.

If reelected, O'Neill will continue to be a deliberative councilman who - while sometimes marching to his own drummer - is a thoughtful and conscientious presence on Council.

In the South Philadelphia Second District, KENYATTA JOHNSON, a state representative, will be a good addition to Council, as will veteran congressional aide CINDY BASS in the Germantown-Chestnut Hill Eighth District. They face token opposition, as do union aide BOBBY HENON in the Lower Northeast Sixth District, and incumbent JANNIE BLACKWELL in West Philly's Third District. In the five other districts, the Democratic nominees are unopposed.