The Philadelphia Inquirer · October 30, 2026 · By Anna Orso
For more than a decade, members of Philadelphia’s progressive left have slowly grown their influence in City Hall by individually picking off establishment-aligned Democrats.
But months ahead of the May municipal primary election — when ballots will list every Council seat, the city row offices, and the mayor — Philadelphia’s left-leaning organizations are no longer going after a seat here or there. This time, they are going all-out in an attempt to win a progressive majority on City Council and fundamentally change who holds the power in local government.
“We are ready to win governing power in 2027,” said Anderson-Oberman, the former executive director of the progressive group Reclaim Philadelphia. “We’re in a better position to do this than we’ve ever been, and I think the mood of the electorate is ready for change.”