So yet again, we don’t really have a choice about who to vote for in the 5th district. Cool cool. Thanks for the parting gift, Darrell

Hey, at least he has a law degree. Maybe he won't propose stupid and blatantly illegal shit like Darrell "GED/Cherry Hill" Clark

Could have been much, much worse.

Corrupt to the end. He absolutely planned that shit.

Read the article — Clarke's preferred replacement wasn't the guy who made the ballot.

I've spoken and emailed Curtis Wilkerson. He's exactly what you'd expect from Clarke's office: completely useless.

Glad he's not on the ballot.

We don't have real elections in Philly. With all the races decided at the party nomination. And those nominations completely controlled by the DNC powerbrokers. We aren't a democratic locality. Just a Kleptocracy that never seems to find bottom.

Young also worked for Clarke at one point.

Clarke may have failed at shoehorning Wilkerson in but he was still clearly trying to push things in the direction he wanted. Even if it didn't completely succeed, it definitely fits under "corrupt to the end."

I don't care for this outcome. (Or that nobody's left to even perfunctorily challenge Kenyatta Johnson in my district.)

The whole process of gathering petitions and signature challenges seems perverse to me.

We should evade the whole nonsense by adopting a deposit system, at least as an alternative. Rather than harassing people for signatures, a place on the ballot would require depositing a sum of money, which would be returned to you after the election should you win a sufficient share of votes.

In the United Kingdom, the deposit is £500 (Approximately $ 615) and is returned to any candidate who wins at least 5 % of the vote. (Both the deposit and vote share required for it to be returned were higher in the past) I would suggest a higher fee and vote threshold, if only to aggressively filter some more of the crazies and delusional also-rans out. The deposit, at least, should also probably be higher for city-wide offices. Perhaps the deposit amount could also be adjusted for wealth and income, which might have an interesting side-effect if the deposit amounts were public.

This might seem peculiar or unfair, but its a common practice and given the cost and difficult of soliciting sufficient signatures, might be less burdensome and reduce the incidence of shameful absurdities such as this year's races for district seats on the City Council.

Ultimately, however, the situation is a consequence of a defective political system that problem requires deeper, almost traumatic reform.

Might be too cynical a way of looking at it — there's a sizable gulf between being a handpicked successor and being someone with practical experience working in a council office. And as far as I've seen, Clarke hasn't said word one about Young in this process — not in the Inky article, not on social, not anywhere.

> This might seem peculiar or unfair

Or, you know, completely unconstitutional.

I freely admit that after having to live in Clarke's district for the last 20 years, I am 100% cynical about everything he does.

I once interned or worked for a republican house representative. I did not share any of his views. It was a job for experience.

best part is a certain "faithful Laurentian" will soon be out a job.

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