Democrats sweep races for sheriff, city controller, and register of wills – NBC10 Philadelphia

Philadelphia electing it’s first female mayor in naming Democrat Cherelle Parker to replace Mayor Jim Kenney took most of the headlines on election night.

Hotly contested races for City Council also took some of the spotlight.

But, these weren’t the only races on the ballot.

Voters in Philadelphia were also asked participate in elections for sheriff, city controller, and the register of wills.

Philly residents were also tasked with determining if the city should modify the Home Rule Charter in order to permanently create an Office for People with Disabilities.

In the race for sheriff, Democrat and incumbent Rochelle Bilal bested Republican challenger Mark Lavelle.

Bilal, who has served in the office since 2020 — and who recently faced controversy after a number of firearms were found to be missing from her office — defeated Lavelle, a warehouse manager by a wide margin — more than 100,000 votes.

In the race for city controller, Democrat Christy Brady handedly defeated Republican Aaron Bashir. Brady received more than 200,000 votes, dwarfing the slightly more than 50,000 that her opponent secured.

Brady has worked in the office for nearly 30 years and previously served as acting controller when she replaced former Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. Rhynhart resigned to run for mayor but lost in the spring primary. Brady resigned from her acting seat in order to run in this election.

Bashir previously worked as a financial accountant for the City of Philadelphia and has been an adjunct mathematics professor at the Community College of Philadelphia. He is also working to obtain a Ph.D. at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, according to a campaign website that hasn’t been updated since a failed run for U.S. Congress in 2022.

In the race for register of wills, Democrat John Sabatina, a real estate lawyer, defeated Republican Linwood Holland.

Here, the democrat secured more than 200,000 votes while Holland’s was only able to garner less than 50,000.

Sabatina defeated incumbent Tracey Gordon in the primary after Gordon found herself mired in controversy after several former employees filed lawsuits against her.

The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that these lawsuits allege improper behavior — like “badgering” employees for campaign donations or forcing them to lie to members of the press.

Finally, voters overwhelmingly decided to make the city’s Office for People with Disabilities a permanent fixture in City Hall. The office is intended to coordinate Philadelphia’s compliance with requirements to provide access for people with disabilities to City services and programs.