Tacony resident and former City Council candidate Sandy Stewart. NEast Philly file photo/Saleem Ahmed

Philadelphia City Council is considering keeping bars open one hour longer to help raise money for the struggling School District of Philadelphia.

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown has proposed letting bars stay open until 3 a.m. The ordinance would raise an estimated $5 million annually through the per-drink tax that’s allocated to the district.

But Tacony resident Sandy Stewart, who ran as a Republican in the 2011 6th District Council race, has asked that Council consider restricting the extra hours to entertainment districts. continue reading »

Photo by Flickr user kristib2pea

It’s election day in Philadelphia and polls are open until 8 tonight. You have until then to get to your voting place and elect the candidates of your choice.

In the Northeast, 7th District Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and 9th District Councilwoman Marian Tasco are the shoe-in candidates, having defeated their challengers in the primary.

In the 6th District, Democrat Bobby Henon and Republican Sandy Stewart will face off to replace Joan Krajewski, while incumbent Republican Brian O’Neill and Democrat Bill Rubin will go head-to-head in the 10th. continue reading »

The next upcoming City Council events for Northeast candidates are this week. The 6th District candidates will be available for conversation tonight, and will participate in a debate Thursday. continue reading »

Vacant houses like the one across the street from 6th District Council candidate Sandy Stewart in Tacony prompt concerns about absentee landlords.

This is the third in a three-part series covering the 6th District Council race. You can read part 2 here. You can read Part 1 here.

As Philadelphia’s City Council braces for the biggest turnover in 20 years, residents of the 6th District will not have to worry about an unknown face elected into office.

The three candidates running for the seat in City Council all have strong connections with their communities and the district as a whole. continue reading »

This is the second in a three-part series covering the 6th District Council race. You can read Part 1 here.

UPDATE: On April 18, Mayor Michael Nutter and outgoing 6th District Councilwoman Joan Krajewski endorsed Bednarek.

As the City Council primary elections creep closer and closer, candidates for the Northeast’s 6th District are in full campaign mode.

For the first time in more than 30 years, Joan Krajewski will not be continuing her reign as the voice of the 6th District of Philadelphia, leaving her seat open to a new leader of the district.

Krajewski, who is known as the “Queen of Constituent Service,” flirted with retirement a few years ago. In 2007, she retired for 24 hours after she was re-elected, in order to collect her $297,466 DROP retirement payment. She returned the next day to begin her eighth term.

This time; however, she is serious about retiring.

As Krajewski finishes up her final months in office, three new candidates have been busy walking through neighborhoods, speaking to residents and expressing their ideas of change for the community. The three candidates for the 6th District position are Bobby Henon, Sandy Stewart and Marty Bednarek continue reading »

Ian Litwin of the City Planning Commission (far right) addresses the Holmesburg Civic Association at the April 2011 meeting.

Two of the three candidates for the 6th District City Council seat went to last night’s Holmesburg Civic Association meeting to address neighborhood and district-wide concerns and answer questions from residents.

Republican candidate Sandy Stewart and Democratic candidate Marty Bednarek each addressed the members before taking turns answering questions. Democratic candidate Bobby Henon was not in attendance.

DROP was a hot topic, but a question about term limits drew the most discussion from the roughly 20 people at the meeting. continue reading »

Turnout was high for the Mayfair Civic Association's "meet the candidates" night for the 6th Council District.

This piece is the first of three covering the 6th District Council race.

With the City Council primary elections right around the corner, candidates for Philadelphia’s 6th District seat waited their turn to speak to residents of Mayfair at Tuesday night’s civic association meeting in the John Perzel Community Center.

“What a fun experience for me! Finally got to put some faces with the names of people who are following me on Facebook,” said Sandy Stewart, the Republican candidate for the 6th District seat in City Council.

Philadelphia’s 6th District seat is up for grabs, as long-time Democratic Councilwoman Joan Krajewski decided to retire after this term. Krajewski has held her position since 1979 and the race to succeed her is heating up, as the primary elections will be held Tuesday, May 17. continue reading »

Here’s a summary of the week’s Northeast news we didn’t cover. See others here.

Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility tested its siren yesterday. The three-second test was done for a maintenance crew to determine if work needs to be done. The siren will be used in the future to alert neighbors of emergencies. continue reading »

The Holmesburg Civic Association Board hosts the October meeting.

The winter months are coming, and with it will come rate increases from PECO.

As an answer to the increase, PECO is promoting its energy saving tips and assistance programs to help keep costs low. Jen Tepel of PECO’s Energy Education Team was at last night’s Holmesburg Civic Association meeting to discuss the increase and ways to combat high energy bills.

continue reading »