Is 2025 the longest year that ever was? Or is that just what every year feels like when it’s almost behind us? Regardless, it was a dizzying 12 months that likely foreshadow the year to come.
Below, what Philadelphians cared about, according to some of the most read stories of The Citizen’s year, and what that means for 2026:
Jalen Hurts was MVP…
… of not just the Super Bowl, but also citizenship. The Birds’ QB1 has shown his love for Philly by supporting public school students (air conditioners, murals); mentorship; girls’ sports; and autism research. He supports women in the sports world by hiring — and proclaiming — an all female management team. And he shows by example and through words the power of going beyond the field for Philadelphia: “That’s what it’s all about: giving back, showing love, and helping others. That’s what it comes down to. That’s the rent we pay to live on this earth,” Hurts said. For this, The Citizen honored Hurts with our second annual Citizen of the Year Award last February.
In 2026: Hurts is still the same do-gooder as ever. The question now is: Can he bring home another Lombardi in February?
We voted.
This, we were told, was not an election anyone cared about. Not a presidential year, or a mayoral year, or the all-important midterms. And indeed, let’s not get all gushy about our turnout, which was just 16 percent in the primary. But: That turnout more than doubled to 37 percent in November’s General Election — the highest for an off-year race in more than a decade — when we re-elected District Attorney Larry Krasner, and when three Democratic state Supreme Court justices won retention, in the most expensive and politically-charged judicial race in our state’s history. (Still not getting gushy over 37 percent, BTW.)
In 2026: Midterms, baby, when our representatives to the U.S. Congress will be on the ballot, including for the highly-contested 3rd Congressional District, where Dwight Evans has announced his retirement. We will also have the opportunity to re-elect (or not) Governor Josh Shapiro in his race against Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity. As always, expect a lot of attention on PA, where the outcome of the gubernatorial race could foreshadow how well Shapiro will do in his (expected) campaign for president in 2028. Make sure you are registered here.
The Arena debate came to an ignominious close. But the work continues.
Remember 2024, when we spent all year debating, protesting and wrangling over the 76ers Arena proposed for Market East? Two weeks into the new year, that turned out to be all for naught when the Sixers and Comcast came to a backroom-deal for a new arena to be built in South Philly, and for their continued investment in the dead zone between City Hall and Independence Hall. Meanwhile, the Sixers announced plans to bring a WNBA team here by 2030, and the Philadelphia Sisters had their first big success when they announced they had convinced Unrivaled — a one-year-old three-on-three pro women’s basketball tournament — to make Philly its first stop outside its home of Miami.
In 2026: With Comcast and the 76ers pledging to invest in the neighborhood, Mayor Parker is hoping to shape what happens with her 60-person Market East Advisory Group, launched in November with Brandywine Realty Trust’s Jerry Sweeney as its chair. TBD if the group will have any power to affect what actually happens to the moribund strip of Center City. In the meantime, you can weigh in here.
We rooted for, mourned, celebrated and were left perplexed by SEPTA.
Remember when SEPTA’s doom cycle hit, just as school started back in the fall, and everyone thought they wouldn’t be able to get to work, school or football games in the city? That was a hard minute. Thanks to a lawsuit filed by lawyer George Bocchetto, service was restored; thanks to Governor Shapiro, the transit agency got a temporary reprieve from a funding freefall. But the saga revealed the precarity of our transportation lifeline (illustrated by spontaneously combusting train cars) — and the inadequacy of our state leaders who could not agree on a budget to fund not just SEPTA, but everything, until nearly the end of the year.
In 2026: Don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. SEPTA’s woes are not behind it, just put off for a while. We can’t wait until budget season to make the case for a fully-funded transportation system.
Now is the time to advocate for a better funding stream, more investment in public transit statewide and a more nuanced way to think about our city’s transportation system: It’s not just a Philly thing — functioning public transit helps to grow the region and the state.
We talked a lot about housing — for everyone.
Mayor Parker finally announced the details of her $2 billion H.O.M.E.S. plan to build or renovate 30,000 affordable homes, then spent the year trying to convince City Council to fund her priorities. Her success was mixed: In June, Council mostly approved her proposed FY26 budget, which included the outlines of Parker’s (shrinking) housing goals. But they defied Parker when they passed, in December, a plan to ensure the first $277 million in housing funds mainly go to helping the poorest Philadelphians. Meanwhile, The Citizen’s Courtney DuChene reported that Philly could be on track to become the first major city to effectively end homelessness (as we did with veteran homelessness) — if Parker and her administration were to make it a particular priority.
In 2026: Can we turn all that talk into actual housing? That’s the trick — one that Atlanta and other regions that have set affordable housing goals have shown us how to achieve. As Parker starts the second half of her first term, she will need to prove that her signature initiative will make a dent in the housing crisis — and all of us will need to hold her to account. Speaking of…
We witnessed political courage … while Mayor Parker ducked us.
In the run-up to the Mayoral election in 2023, we invited each candidate to participate in an Ultimate Job Interview, answering questions posed to them by a former mayor and a selection of hiring professionals. At the end, we elicited a promise from all — including Mayor Parker — that they would come back for a one year performance review. To prepare for Parker’s review, in early 2025, we asked our audience to give their takes on the Mayor’s first year; thousands of you responded. Then we spent the next several months inviting Parker to keep her promise — to no avail.
Meanwhile, renowned CHOP immunologist Paul Offit — fired from President Trump’s Vaccine Advisory Council — showed us what courage looks like with his very public critique of Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr., starting with his recounting a 20-year-old conversation with Kennedy and ending with his explanation of why he refused a $1 million offer to debate RFK Jr. anti-vax allies.
In 2026: There is no time to be quiet about what is happening in our city and our country. It is all of our responsibility to ensure the people we put in office are listening to their constituents, upholding the Constitution, keeping us safe and playing politics on the campaign trail — not with our lives. Call the Mayor or City Council when you have an opinion on what she is (or they are) doing. Demand our officials in Washington, D.C. hold back the tide of authoritarianism and ignorance.
We sought help — and gave help to others.
You know what this year proved as much as any other? That Philadelphians are helpers. Our Citizen audience looked for ways to help fight food insecurity, support public school students, house the homeless and take care of our own and others’ mental health.
In 2026: Keep it up, Philly. We’ll need to watch each others’ backs in 2026, and we will rise to the challenge.
MORE OF THE YEAR IN REVIEW
