Philadelphia’s 9th Ward Democratic Committee has a history of independence unique in a city political system that tends to favor establishment candidates. That progressive bent and ward-wide turnout that almost always beats the rest of the city was credited in part for delivering the Democratic Party’s nomination for District Attorney to civil rights and criminal defense attorney Larry Krasner.

In analytical pieces following last Tuesday’s primary that also saw a younger, progressive Controller candidate Rebecca Rhynhart unseat incumbent Alan Butkovitz, high turnout in Northwest Philadelphia wards and Center City were called the key to the upsets to party politics as usual.

Turnout in divisions in the 9th Ward, Mt Airy’s 22nd Ward and Roxborough’s 21st Ward topped 35 percent – some greater than 40 – in an election that struggled to touch the 17 percent turnout rate city-wide. Northwest Philadelphia and Center City turned out strong and delivered the crucial votes Krasner and Rhynhart needed to pull off their respective upsets.

There are any number of explanations for why this may be the case. Krasner certainly had money to spend on advertising given the late boost in funding he received from political action committees tied to billionaire George Soros. It’s also true that the City Committee didn’t really weigh in on the DA’s race with any sort of endorsement. Support for Butkovitz also was not terribly strong. But some credit should be given to the relatively open committee process in Northwest wards and the progressive politics of a majority of the people who live there.

And of all the wards in the Northwest, none is arguably as progressive as the 9th. Last year, the 9th Ward bucked party orthodoxy in supporting party outsider Chris Rabb in the Democratic primary for the 200th state legislature seat. Rabb defeated the party favorite nominee and just recently became the ward’s leader, promising to work further to reform the ward from within and to hopefully spread the ward’s democratic practices to the rest of the city’s wards.

This isn’t to say that Northwest ward politics are without their intrigue. Politics is still politics. But the 9th Ward has maintained a record for better representing its rank and file voters by using a system in which its 34 committee people representing 17 divisions vote on issues to guide the ward’s positions. The 9th Ward brings candidates to its meetings to interview them. It makes informed decisions after debate and committee votes. The ward leader acts as the committee’s representative rather than a political boss who brings the city committee’s business via marching orders on election day, which is the way it works elsewhere.

While it’s disheartening in some respect to consider the fact that high turnout locally was 40 percent in a race that has likely decided who will take two of the city’s most important offices, it’s worth having a little hope that a ward system that delivers more transparency and accountability might help restore some trust in the voting public and create a climate where higher voter turnout is the norm rather than an abnormality.

Pete Mazzaccaro