City Council President Darrell Clarke To Retire, Adding To 2023 Election's Already-High Stakes

This year's elections in Philadelphia are shaping up to be one of the most dramatic regime changes in memory.

City Council President Darrell Clarke announced on Thursday that he will not seek re-election for his District 5 seat in November, departing office at the end of his term in January. He has held his seat since 1999 and the president's office since 2012. In the last few years, he has dramatically increased the power city council wields over development and land use in Philadelphia.

"Darrell Clarke was a true leader," developer and Building Industry Association of Philadelphia Vice President Mo Rushdy told Bisnow. "He's done great stuff such as the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative, which was really big for the city and it’s going to make big changes for years to come after he leaves.”

The $400M Neighborhood Preservation Initiative was a slate of legislation passed in 2020 to boost affordable housing production, reduce blight in disadvantaged neighborhoods and slow the effects of gentrification in transitional neighborhoods. In 2022, it began to take shape with an increased rate of vacant land disposition for affordable housing development.

Whoever replaces Clarke as council president will ascend to a position that controls what legislation gets introduced, with inexperienced new occupants all over council and in the mayor's office.

Taking into account all the members of council who have resigned to run for mayor, Councilmember-at-Large Sharon Vaughn also not running for re-election and former District 6 Councilmember Bobby Henon resigning last year after his conviction on bribery and corruption charges, only nine of the 17 council seats will have members seeking re-election.

With the seats of mayor and controller also open, Philly politics is set up for a near-total regime change. Given how heavily the city votes for Democrats, the May primary looms large — and not just because it is so close.

“The next 80 days are, in my opinion, the most important for Philly over the next eight years,” Rushdy said. "It’s a complete changeover of government, and the outcome will determine whether the city will move forward or regress."

Not all of Clarke's policies have been in service of housing production. His 2021 bill downzoning a stretch of Girard Avenue in his district prompted incredulity from developers and neighborhood associations alike. His leadership style also increased the reach and impact of councilmanic prerogative, giving more power over land and development to each individual district council member, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

For urbanists and housing advocates, a prime driver of regressive policy is the preservation of parking, which drives up the cost of development and is a concern often raised by NIMBY neighbors all over Philadelphia. Clarke was oft-criticized for prioritizing parking in development decisions. 

“The next council president must have the courage to be a leader and recognize what is good for the progress of the city and what is good for optics,” Rushdy said.