philadelphia municipal election philadelphia municipal election november held city new charter approved voters previous april positions contested included mayor district attorney seventeen city council seats offices referendum consolidate city county governments democrats took votes breaking year republican hold city government main charter reform elected mayor district attorney respectively democrats took fourteen seventeen city council seats city county consolidation passed wide margin election marked beginning democratic dominance philadelphia city politics continues today mayor incumbent republican mayor run election leaving open seat contested republican nominee democrat clark lawyer united_states_army officer served world war raised republican family switched party affiliation democrats unsuccessful attempts public office philadelphia served deputy attorney general pennsylvania clark known reformer having elected city controller years earlier platform cleaning corruption city years clark theft samuel administration reported findings voters accused crimes convicted committed suicide clark continued push reform urging adoption new city charter approved referendum april campaigned mayor promise clean sweep city hall republican nominee baptist preacher leaders hoped help corruption charges leveled machine worked charitable organizations managed son lost aboard world war served pastor chapel erected memory election landslide clark won votes vote democrats gained nearly votes election defeated vote tally apparent told reporters great victory thinking people philadelphia ends long hard fight district attorney mayor race contest district attorney pitted democratic reformer representative republican machine like clark republican advocating reform years run mayor unsuccessfully clark campaign manager elected city treasurer democratic party leaders intended candidate mayor clark announced candidacy agreed run district attorney instead local attorney success democratic wave won large margin running mate taking shy vote told reporters victory effect bigger victory bigger responsibility city_council new charter elected seventeen member city council members representing districts city remaining seven elected large large seats political party nominate candidates voters vote result majority party seven seats leaving minority party democrats triumph continued city council races took districts seven large seats woman win election city_council elected close vote 8th district covering chestnut hill incumbent 1st district took attorney defeated 2nd republicans lone district victory came labor union official 3rd district southern half incumbent defeated incumbent old city council held office 4th covered northern half state representative defeated incumbent city 5th district incumbent defeated local attorney civil rights leader 6th district covering union official won 7th joseph defeated local string band leader insurance broker defeated incumbent 9th district covered logan northeast philadelphia 10th district incumbent held office went defeat real estate broker large races democrats elected including city party chairman registration commissioner secretary attorney future district attorney philadelphia magistrate paul republican slate ran votes democrats incumbent state senator narrowly assistant district attorney labor leader clergyman minority party slots council offices referendum aftermath democrats success continued ballot elected county sheriff clerk courts recorder deeds race county commissioners party candidates elected democrats republican spot county commission went democrats took fourteen district judge positions local court duties performed statewide referendum ballot day continued work begun new city charter asking voters consolidate city county governments philadelphia municipalities consolidated city county offices existed efforts city officials merging city county governments defeated referendum question overwhelmingly approved election final blow philadelphia dominant republican machine time democratic_party dominated city politics party mayor majority city council intervening years
Philadelphia municipal election, 1951