The Surprising Results of Philadelphia’s Write-In Election for Mayor

Cherelle Parker will be the next mayor of Philadelphia, but these were among the people who received write-in votes. Clockwise from top left: Helen Gym, Frank Rizzo, Ming Leone, Quinta Brunson, Jason Kelce, and Taylor Swift (all photos except Ming Leone via Getty; Ming Leone photo courtesy Ming Leone)

Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!

The Surprising Results of Philadelphia’s Write-In Election for Mayor

Yes, yes. I know that the Philadelphia mayoral election is over. And I know that Cherelle Parker will be our new mayor. But I always find it fun and interesting to look at the write-in results, which we don’t get access to until about a month after the election. So, now. Yes, it’s a little silly, but not completely. A voter had to consciously give up their vote for an actual candidate.

Helen Gym, who lost to Parker in the primary and, therefore, wasn’t an option on Election Day, came away with 943 write-in votes. That’s nearly triple the number of write-in votes for Rebecca Rhynhart, who also ran in the primary.

Then came Meag Jae Kaman. No idea who that is? Co-chair of the Local Political Committee of the Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America. 150 people wrote in Kaman’s name.

Allan Domb scored 24 write-in votes, followed by Kendra Brooks (who was running for City Council, a seat she won) with 21. Jeff Brown? 15.

And what’s a Philly election without write-in votes for Philadelphia sports stars? Jason Kelce, who won 19 write-in votes, bested Jalen Hurts by two. Bryce Harper came in at 11. And Joel Embiid took home five write-in votes.

One name in the top ten write-in vote winners popped out: Ming Leone. “Who is Ming Leone?” you may be asking yourself. She’s the self-described “female activist and entrepreneur turned music mogul.” You can see the video for her song “Ming for President” here, should you choose to do so. Then there’s also the video of her strutting around the streets in a bodysuit that makes her look completely nude. Ming tallied 14 write-in votes, more than quadruple the votes that Quinta Brunson received. Somehow, Taylor Swift only got two.

Tommy Conwell Wants to Play Your Christmas Party

If you were a fan of the ’80s rock scene in Philly, you’re no doubt aware of Tommy Conwell, he of Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers fame. And if that’s the case, and if you’re looking for some live music for your Christmas party, Tommy will come play all his hits as well as Christmas tunes for an hour, all for the low, low price of $499.

Tommy Conwell, who wants to play your Christmas party, in his 80s heyday (photo via Wikimedia Commons)

I feel like it’d be worth it just to make him learn “Dominick the Donkey.”

Local Talent

Not only is Jenkintown’s Bradley Cooper hot. Not only is Bradley Cooper probably going to win an Oscar for Maestro. And oh yeah, then there’s this whole Bradley Cooper cheesesteak thing you read about here first. But Bradley Cooper also has some majorly good cell phone behavior, explaining in a recent interview that he avoids being on his phone while around his daughter. Based on what I observe of parents these days, more of you should be like Bradley Cooper.

Danya Henninger of Technical.ly (photo courtesy Technical.ly)

In local media news, Danya Henninger, who left Billy Penn after turning it into something actually useful, just landed at Technical.ly. We look forward to seeing what she has in store for us there.

And congrats to Quinta Brunson, who just received a Golden Globe nomination. Yes, the Golden Globes apparently still exist.

By the Numbers

526: Days University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill held that title before resigning on Friday amid the backlash over her impossibly horrible Congressional testimony. Somewhere, Amy Gutmann is saying to herself, Man, I’m really glad I left when I did.

3: Decommissioned Philadelphia fire companies expected to reopen thanks to federal funding. President Joe Biden’s schedule had him meeting with Philadelphia firefighters on Monday to announce the plan. He’ll also be hanging out with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and former mayor and governor Ed Rendell at a fund-raiser. The whole time, Ed will be secretly thinking, Man, we should really get this Josh guy to run for president.

0: Days with precipitation or extreme weather in the Philadelphia forecast this week. Cecily Tynan to herself right now: Man, I guess I have to go back to the zoo and feed the hippos some watermelons again. That’s what she seems to do whenever there’s not a polar vortex to talk about.

And from the F-It-All Sports Desk …

The Eagles and the Cowboys had a showdown in Dallas last night. The Birds hadn’t won at AT&T Stadium since 2017, and fans still dismayed by the team’s dismal showing last Sunday vs. the 49ers were holding their breath, especially since a win would cement us atop the NFL East. It kicked off with an epic Bryce Harper lead-in:

When the Cowboys and Eagles play…it just means more. @bryceharper3 https://t.co/vhOPWMcr8s

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 11, 2023

Dallas went first and drove right down the field for a touchdown by CeeDee Lamb. A flag on the play was withdrawn, and the score stood. Good news: Dallas Goedert was back. Bad news: plenty of penalties on us, as the O-line was jumpy. And a Hurts fumble turned the ball over in their territory on our drive; they got a field goal out of that. We matched that, at least, thanks to a trick play by punter Braden Mann:

Eagles fake punt leads to FG pic.twitter.com/OR8ytYVsjW

— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) December 11, 2023

But can you say “porous D”? It didn’t help that Reed Blankenship got hurt. And what initially looked like a Birds goal-line stop was ruled a second Dallas TD after review. And us? We got a second field goal, to make it 17-6. Two concomitant fouls on cornerback Kelee Ringo gave up 25 yards within the final minute at the half and led to yet one more TD. And then a miracle occurred early in the third:

THE BEST JALEN ON THE TEAM!!
NOW DO IT AGAIN #FlyEaglesFly
pic.twitter.com/oUK5o88vN9

— wawdphilliespod (@wawdphilliespod) December 11, 2023

Woo-hoo, 24-13! And a Dallas field goal. And another Dallas field goal. Then this.

https://twitter.com/thesidelineguru/status/1734064032695431176

Eh. Pfft. The hell with it all. You want the final score? Here’s your final score: 33-13. What has happened to this team?

How’d the Sixers Do?

They played the Hawks in our house on Friday night. We were in full force, and they were missing all-star Trae Young, which may have been why we were up 35-23 at the end of the first. It was Kelly Oubre Jr.’s first home game since his return, and the fans gave him big love. The Hawks pulled their act together in the second, taking their first lead with a minute left as the Sixers went cold; at the half, they led 68-62. Joel Embiid and Bogdan Bogdanovic were the respective leaders, with 17 points each.

In the third, it was the Hawks’ turn to stretch out the lead before the Sixers seized it back, and we were on the seesaw all through the quarter, which closed with the Sixers barely ahead, 93-92. And the fourth? More of the same, too close for comfort. Embiid went down, heartstoppingly as always, with a buckled knee but stayed in and nailed a fadeaway. With just minutes to go, the Sixers came alive:

TYRESE MAXEY SIXERS DAGGERpic.twitter.com/aQvkNt5AST

— The Hesi (@LiveNBAStats) December 9, 2023

Okay, now it was fun, as we ripped off a 19-5 run. Final: 125-114. Tyrese had 28; Joel wound up with 38. Cue the song! They play the Wizards, again in our house, tonight at 7. And while we’re on the subject, The Athletic looked at why the Embiid/Maxey partnership is the one Joel has been waiting for.

Is College Football Really Over?

It is for Villanova, who put up a good fight in their away matchup with undefeated South Dakota State on Saturday before losing, 23-12. So it’s the top-ranked and 2022 champion Jackrabbits who’ll move on to the FCS playoffs semifinal round.

Any College Hoops News?

On Saturday, Penn fell to the 16th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, 81-66; La Salle leveled Lafayette in an away game, 67-51; and Drexel’s Dragons dropped an away match to West Virginia, 66-60. UCLA had an evening tip-off Saturday at Villanova, which was still missing star guard Justin Moore. The two teams started even, but the Bruins went cold in the mid-first; lucky for them, ’Nova was chilly, too. That meant an embarrassingly low-scoring game that was just 29-25 Bruins at the half. The second half was equally frigid; nobody could buy a basket until the Wildcats finally heated up with five minutes left and briefly ran up a nine-point lead, then held on for a 66-56 win to end their three-game slide.

On Sunday, the St. Joe’s Hawks pushed past previously undefeated Princeton for the 74-70 win. And Temple led the Albany Great Danes early on and were up 37-29 at the half, but those dogs crept back into it in the second. The Owls rallied, though, to triumph 78-73. Hysier Miller led all comers with 28 points.

The Flyers also played.