Ever wished you could change the U.S. Constitution? In Philadelphia, you can do just that — at least, for our local constitution, the Home Rule Charter, which is basically a user’s manual for our city government. How you can do this: Voting on ballot measures, aka ballot questions.
Ballot measures can expand, contract or shift how things work in City Hall. Past ballot questions have run the gamut, from preventing municipal employees from working on political campaigns to outlawing acts that are already unconstitutional (like illegal stop-and-frisk encounters). The thing about ballot measures: They almost always pass, resulting in dozens of amendments to our Home Rule Charter.
In the upcoming general election on November 3, 2026, Philadelphia voters choose candidates in their party and get to decide — via two ballot measures — whether the City give hiring preference to small and local businesses for City contracts, and whether to make the department of arts and culture permanent.
Proposed Charter Change #1
(emphasis below ours)
Should the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to revise the City’s contracting procedures to allow for bid preferences and set-asides for small businesses; modify the threshold and standards for contracts that can be set aside for small and local businesses; and grant the Procurement Department and the City Solicitor discretion on bond requirements for certain construction projects?
Statement: A “yes” vote means the Charter would be amended so the City can give contracting preferences to small businesses and expand them for local businesses for City-funded projects.
A little deeper: Last October, the Trump-aligned, Stephen Miller-founded nonprofit America First Legal won a settlement from the City of Philadelphia over municipal contracting practices. For four decades, the City had set a goal of awarding between, first, 25 percent, then, as of 2016, 35 percent of all contracts to “minority, women, or disabled-owned enterprises.” Part of the 2025 settlement — presided over by the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit — required that policy to end.
Last November, Mayor Cherelle Parker responded by signing a somewhat openly worded executive order replacing the former quotas with a policy that favored local and / or small businesses. Her administration pointed out that previously only 20 percent of businesses registered as minority- and women-owned were winning those contracts anyway.
This ballot measure — somewhat strangely worded — introduced and sponsored by Councilmember at Large Katherine Gilmore Richardson for Council President Kenyatta Johnson, would codify Parker’s executive order.
Resolution No. 260457 explains:
The City of Philadelphia, with its quasi-public partners, spends over $1 billion annually on goods, services, and construction. Ensuring small businesses and enterprises located or doing business in Philadelphia have access and opportunity to compete for City contracts contributes to local job creation, lifting residents from poverty and providing access to family-sustaining incomes.
The ballot measure’s language reaffirms the City’s current procurement parameters, where contracts for “construction, alterations, repairs or maintenance or for … any services … other than professional services” generally go to the lowest reputable bidders.
The new part: City Council can pass ordinances to give contracts between $75,000 and $500,000 to responsible small and / or Philadelphia businesses, even if they’re not the lowest bidder. Also, the range of these contracts will increase by $1,000 annually.
Proposed Charter Change #2
(emphasis below, ours)
Shall the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to establish and define the functions of Creative Philadelphia, an office headed by the Chief Cultural Officer to promote the City’s arts, culture, and creative economy sector?
Statement: The City operates an office focused on arts and culture in Philadelphia called Creative Philadelphia. The office works to increase public access to arts and culture, support creative communities, and celebrate Philadelphia’s cultural resources. If you vote “yes” on this ballot question, that means you approve of making Creative Philadelphia a formal part of the government under the City’s Charter.
A little deeper: The bill, introduced by Councilmember At-Large Isaiah Thomas, makes Creative Philadelphia, previously known as the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, a permanent city department. Currently, the department operates under an executive order, essentially at the will of the sitting mayor. Says a representative for Thomas, “We want to codify Philadelphia’s commitment to the arts.”
The legislation also makes the head of that department — the City’s chief cultural officer, who is currently Valerie Gay — a member of the mayor’s cabinet, establishes the position’s salary at $205,000 (no change from before), and allows for a staff of 15 or fewer. Currently, about 10 people work for the department. The bill also puts the City’s Public Art and Mural Arts programs, along with “other municipal arts programs and initiatives” under the department’s purview.
The timing is interesting. This July, SMU DataArts called out Philadelphia for its last-in-the-nation public funding for arts and culture, a sector that, according to the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, generates $3 billion in regional economic activity and supports 132,000 jobs. The Cultural Alliance noted, “Philadelphia’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget reduced City support for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund from $5 million to $3.5 million.” Thomas’s office has stated they would like this funding increased.
Every Voice, Every Vote funds Philadelphia media and community organizations to expand access to civic news and information. The coalition is led by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support for Every Voice, Every Vote in 2024 and 2025 is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Comcast NBC Universal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.
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