Your Compete Guide to the Philadelphia Ballot

With only days until the 2016 General election you might be asking yourself, “How will I survive without all the political commercials?”. We kid, we kid. But seriously, voting is one of our inalienable rights as citizens of this country and it’s always an exciting time when you get to exercise those rights.

All that being said…

Voting can be tough. It takes a lot of time, that many of us don’t have, to do the research necessary to make an informed decision. So, we decided to put together a list of all of the candidates that will be running for office here in Philly PA and a link to where you can find information on them and their policies.

Ballot Question 1:

Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court,
judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years?

Plain English Statement of the Office of Attorney General:

The purpose of the ballot question is to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to require that
justices, judges and justices of the peace (known as magisterial district judges) be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years.
Presently, the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that justices, judges and justices of the peace
be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 70 years. Justices of the
peace are currently referred to as magisterial district judges.
If the ballot question were to be approved, justices, judges and magisterial district judges would
be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years rather than the
last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 70 years.
This amendment to the mandatory retirement age would be applicable to all judges and justices
in the Commonwealth, including the justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, judges of the
Commonwealth Court, Superior Court, county courts of common pleas, community courts, municipal
courts in the City of Philadelphia, and magisterial district judges.
The ballot question is limited in that it would not amend any other provisions of the
Pennsylvania Constitution related to the qualification, election, tenure, or compensation of the justices, judges or magisterial district judges.
The effect of the ballot question would be to allow all justices, judges, and magisterial district
judges to remain in office until the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years. This would permit all justices, judges, and magisterial district judges to serve an additional five years beyond the current required retirement age.

Ballot Question 2:

Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR MILLION THREE HUNDRED THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($184,303,000.00) to be spent for and
toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?

Statement:

This ballot question, if approved by the voters, would authorize the City to borrow $184,303,000 for capital purposes, thereby increasing the City’s indebtedness by $184,303,000. Capital purposes means, generally, to make expenditures that will result in something of value with a useful life to the City of more than five years, for example, acquisitions of real estate, or construction of or
improvements to buildings, property or streets.

The money to be borrowed would be used by the City for five identified purposes, namely, Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development, all in specific amounts identified in Bill No. 160767 (approved September 9, 2016). City Council would have authority, by ordinance, to change the intended allocation
of these proceeds.

President / Vice President Of The United States
[101] Clinton, Hillary / Kaine, Tim (Democratic)
[201] Trump, Donald J / Pence, Michael R (Republican)
[301] Castle, Darrell L / Bradley, Scott N (Constitutional)
[401] Stein, Jill / Baraka, Ajamu (Green)
[501] Johnson, Gary / Weld, William (Libertarian)
United States Senator
The United States Senate is a legislative chamber in the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the House of Representatives makes up the U.S. Congress.

[102] McGinty, Katie (Democratic)
[202] Toomey, Pat (Republican)
[502] Clifford III, Edward T (Libertarian)

Attorney General
As the chief legal officer of the states, commonwealths and territories of the United States, the attorneys general serve as counselors to their legislatures and state agencies and also as the “People’s Lawyer” for all citizens.

[103] Shapiro, Josh (Democratic)
[203] Rafferty, John (Republican)

Auditor General
The Pennsylvania Auditor General is the chief fiscal officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

[104] DePasquale, Eugene A (Democratic)
[204] Brown, John (Republican)
[404] Sweeney, John J (Green)
[504] Minet, Roy A (Libertarian)

State Treasurer
The state treasurer serves as the chief custodian of each state’s treasury and as the state’s head banker. Typically, he or she receives and deposits state monies, manages investments, and keeps track of budget surpluses and deficits.

[105] Torsella, Joe (Democratic)
[205] Voit, Otto (Republican)
[405] Combs, Kristin (Green)
[505] Babb, James (Libertarian)

Representative In Congress
Each U.S. state is represented in the House in proportion to its population as measured in the census, but every state is entitled to at least one representative.

[106] Brady, Robert A (Democratic) – 1st Congressional District
[206] Williams, Deborah (Republican) – 1st Congressional District
[106] Evans, Dwight (Democratic) – 2nd Congressional District
[206] Jones, James A (Republican) – 2nd Congressional District
[106] Boyle, Brendan F (Democratic) – 13th Congressional District

Senator In The General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg.

[107] Farnese Jr, Lawrence M (Democratic) – 1st Senatorial District
[107] Street, Sharif (Democratic) – 3rd Senatorial District
[107] Sabatina, John (Democratic) – 5th Senatorial District
[207] Feinberg, Ross (Republican) – 5th Senatorial District
[107] Hughes, Vincent (Democratic) – 7th Senatorial District

Representative In The General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg.