All 17 seats on the Philadelphia City Council are up for re-election this year and the race for the 2nd district is already quite contentious.
Kenyatta Johnson is fighting for a second term, trying to fend off a challenge from real estate developer Ori Feibush.
While Johnson officially kicked off his campaign on Saturday, the two have already been battling over development issues in the gentrifying areas of the district, which covers South and Southwest Philadelphia. Feibush filed suit against Johnson in federal court last year, alleging the councilman blocked him from buying a vacant property as political retribution.
But so far, Johnson is shrugging off his well-funded opponent and said he's running on his track record of helping residents in his district.
"We have enacted several different projects throughout the second councilmanic district focusing on allowing individuals to purchase an affordable or work-force home and also enabling some to be a first-time homebuyer," Johnson said. "We've also invested more than $3 million in our parks and recreational facilities."
However, to get the message out about his record, Johnson will have to raise a lot of money. Feibush is well-funded and earlier this month put $250,00 of his own cash into his campaign, triggering a city law that doubles the contribution limits for the match-up.
