Longtime City Councilmember Mark Squilla is on the short list to become the new leader of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Bob Brady, chair of the Democratic City Committee said Monday.
The potential of Squilla, 64, taking the job would shake up the race for Council’s 1st District, which Squilla has represented for 14 years. It could also give progressives targeting the popular lawmaker’s seat an easier path to grow their ranks on Council.
Will Gross, 44, a democratic socialist, South Philadelphia ward leader, and the owner of OX Coffee in Queen Village, has already launched a campaign to run in the 1st District Democratic primary next May.
» READ MORE: Progressive ward leader eyes Philly City Council run — and a potential showdown with Mark Squilla
Gross declined to comment on the possibility of Squilla joining the PPA.
Squilla declined to discuss the possibility of him joining the PPA, but did not rule it out.
“I would consider any offer if I had an offer,” Squilla said. “You’d be foolish to say I would never consider any offer.”
But he noted that rumors about the possibility of him not running for reelection have been wrong in the past, including last cycle in 2023.
“I’m running,” Squilla said. “At this point, I’m still having fundraisers, so the goal is to stay in it and see what happens.”
The 1st District includes many of the most progressive neighborhoods in the city, including East Passyunk, Queen Village, Fishtown, and Northern Liberties. And it could see one of the most competitive races in next year’s city elections, when Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and all 17 Council seats are on the ballot.
Squilla has championed some liberal policies, especially on environmental issues, but is generally seen as a centrist Democrat, with close ties to the building trades unions and party leaders.
Brady said he is confident the incumbent would prevail, should he seek a fifth four-year term.
“If Squilla runs, I think he’ll win,” Brady said. ”He’s been a great Council person. If he doesn’t run, it’s his choice.”
In addition to Squilla, the PPA board is also said to be considering Keola Harrington, the authority’s current chief financial officer.
Harrington did not respond to a request for comment.
“The process is ongoing,” PPA spokesperson Martin O’Rourke said in a statement.
The state-appointed parking authority board is bipartisan and includes six members, leading to the potential for stalemates.
Rich Lazer, who had been a top aide to former Mayor Jim Kenney, led the PPA for three years before stepping down at the end of May to become the executive director and CEO of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, or Philaport.
Lazer’s PPA tenure was widely applauded. He cracked down on sidewalk parking and aggressively towed abandoned cars while working closely with other government agencies.
PPA Deputy Director Gabe Roberts has served as interim executive director since June.
Progressives in power
First elected in 2011, Squilla is well-liked and widely viewed by constituents and colleagues as a responsive Council member. But he became a target of progressive activists during the 2024 debate over the 76ers’ proposal to build an arena adjacent to Chinatown at 10th and Market Streets, which is in the 1st District.
Squilla has strong ties to the building trades unions, which championed the project, and he sponsored legislation to authorize the arena that was approved at the end of a tense Council session in late 2024. Weeks after his colleagues approved the package, the 76ers announced they were abandoning the proposal and instead plan to build a new arena in South Philadelphia with Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers.
All four members of Council with strong progressive ties voted against the unpopular project. And although it never came to fruition, the Center City arena plan could still be a potent line of attack in next year’s elections against Squilla and other centrist Council members who backed it.
» READ MORE: How Philly City Council members voted on the Sixers arena
In addition to Gross, another potential candidate for the seat is Councilmember Rue Landau, who currently holds an at-large seat, meaning she was elected citywide. (Landau, who lives in the 1st District, voted against the arena.)
Multiple stakeholders in the city’s Democratic Party have asked Landau, a first-term lawmaker who in 2024 became Council’s first openly LGBTQ member, to consider running for Squilla’s seat if he does not seek reelection, according to a person with knowledge of the conversations who requested anonymity to speak freely about the political dynamic.
More than perhaps any other Council member, Landau has maintained strong relationships in both progressive circles and the party establishment. Party leaders may prefer her to Gross, who is more closely associated with the activist community.
A spokesperson for Landau declined to comment on her plans.
There are several reasons at-large members may want to seek district seats. District members are generally seen as less vulnerable to reelection challenges, and they enjoy substantial powers over land use decisions in their districts thanks the practice known as councilmanic prerogative.
A new reality in ward politics
Next year’s race for the 1st District seat could mark a notable moment in the ongoing power struggle between left-leaning insurgents and the city’s more moderate Democratic establishment: For the first time in a major city election, it appears likely that the official party endorsement will be determined by ward leaders aligned with the progressive movement.
The Democratic City Committee makes endorsements based on a vote of the ward leaders in a given district. Ward leaders are elected by Democratic committeepeople, who are in turn elected by neighbors in their voting precincts every four years.
In this past summer’s ward elections, progressive activists recruited scores of committeepeople and rallied around a roster of candidates challenging establishment-backed incumbents or targeting open seats. They fell well short of winning a majority of the 69’s ward leader positions, allowing Brady to win a 11th four-year term as party chair.
But in the heavily gentrified 1st District, six of the seven wards are now led by people with ties to the left. If they unite around a candidate, progressives could have a unique opportunity to use the party machinery, so often wielded against them, for their own designs.
Progressives began their foray into ward politics in 2018, when activists with Reclaim Philadelphia successfully elected the leaders of South Philly’s 1st and 2nd Wards.
Gross is now the Democratic leader of the 2nd Ward in Queen Village. Ward leaders are not required to resign to run for another office, but progressives and reformers often pledge to do so to avoid a conflict of interest when they are on the ballot.
Gross said Monday that he has informed committeepeople that he is stepping down from the party post to run for Council, and that a transition process is underway.
“Will Gross would be a formidable candidate,” Brady said. “He’s a worker. He’s a friend. He’s been great to the party. We’ve been OK.”