Ballot Question 1 would change how Philadelphia awards contracts. Here's what it does
The charter change would let the city favor small and local businesses on contracts worth $75,000 to $500,000. Council sent it to voters in June. Mail ballot applications close Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Philadelphia voters will see two Home Rule Charter questions on the Nov. 3 ballot. We explained the second one, about the city's arts office, on Saturday (our explainer). The first one would change how the city spends more than $1 billion a year on goods, services and construction, PhillyVoice reported Monday.
If you vote by mail, there's a deadline coming. Applications for a mail ballot must reach the county by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, and completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, according to Billy Penn's voter guide.
The question you'll see
The Committee of Seventy's ballot guide and PhillyVoice publish the wording in four parts:
Should the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to revise the City's contracting procedures to allow for bid preferences and set-asides for small businesses; modify the threshold and standards for contracts that can be set aside for small and local businesses; and grant the Procurement Department and the City Solicitor discretion on bond requirements for certain construction projects?
The official text and the plain-English statement are in the city commissioners' ballot questions PDF.
What would change
- Set-asides. Contracts worth $75,000 to $500,000 could go to small, local businesses even when their bid is not the lowest, PhillyVoice and Seventy report.
- Bid preferences. The charter would allow preferences for small businesses on city work.
- Bonds. The Procurement Department and the City Solicitor would get discretion over bond requirements on some construction projects. Seventy's guide says it does not specify which projects.
A "yes" vote amends the charter. A "no" vote keeps the current language, Billy Penn notes.
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Why it's on the ballot
The city's earlier contracting rules set a goal of awarding 35% of contracts to businesses owned by people of color, women or people with disabilities, PhillyVoice reported. In October 2025, the legal group America First Legal sued the city over those preferences, and the city agreed to change the rules. Seventy's guide says the city settled the case and that the new approach would look at a company's size and location instead of race or gender.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker responded with an executive order that prioritizes small or local businesses, PhillyVoice reported. Parker has said only about 20% of contracts were already going to businesses registered as minority- or women-owned, according to the same report. The ballot question would put the small- and local-business approach into the charter. PhillyVoice's report did not name any organized opposition.
What our records add
The question rests on two pieces of legislation, both introduced May 7 by Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson. They are the only two sponsors listed.
- Resolution 260467 holds the amendment's text. It was referred to the Committee on Law and Government, placed on the final passage calendar May 28, and adopted June 4.
- Bill 260457 puts the question on the ballot. On May 28 Council suspended its rules to give it a first reading the same day. It passed June 4, and Parker signed it June 23.
That is 47 days from introduction to the mayor's signature. Our record of the June 4 session does not include a roll-call tally for either item. For comparison, the Creative Philadelphia question took about 11 weeks to reach final passage and passed 17-0.
What's next
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Sample ballots, drop box locations and polling places are on the city's election site, vote.phila.gov. The two questions are decided separately, so a voter can vote yes on one and no on the other.