Mayor Parker convinced Stephanie Reid, the top election official, to stay

A top Philadelphia election official resigned last month to take a job in Montgomery County, but after Mayor Cherelle L. Parker intervened, she abruptly resigned just before the crucial November election, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Stephanie Reid, Philadelphia’s director of election administration, is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration the actions of the Philadelphia City Commission, a three-member board tasked with conducting elections in the state’s largest city to select the president.

Reid, who has been in the role since January, She accepted a novel job as Montgomery County’s deputy chief operating officer in July and was scheduled to start Aug. 12, according to a spokesman for the suburban county. Reid earns $150,000 a year in Philadelphia, according to city records. Her novel role in Montgomery County offered a salary range of $150,389 to $200,521, according to the job advertisement.

But days before Reid was due to start, Parker met with her at her home last weekend and convinced her to stay in Philadelphia, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. Reid then withdrew her acceptance of the Montgomery County job and decided to stay in Philadelphia.

Reid declined to comment, saying in a text message that she was not authorized to speak to the media. Joe Grace, a spokesman for Parker, said he would not confirm or deny any private meeting.

Parker’s involvement was an unusual move — city commissioners are independently elected and run their offices independently of the mayor’s administration. The episode and the mayor’s involvement showed the extraordinary lengths city officials are willing to go to ensure a sleek November.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia city commissioners have ousted their chairman as they prepare for the 2024 election.

In 2020, all eyes were on Philadelphia in the days after Election Day as workers counted mail-in ballots, and it was that batch of votes from the city that ultimately delivered Pennsylvania — and the election — to President Joe Biden. Election officials in the city faced a barrage of threats as former President Donald Trump and his allies spread false claims of voter fraud in the city.

The election is a key priority this fall for the Parker administration as the city anticipates it could once again find itself at the center of a media and political frenzy. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked in a tight race in a state where the city and its suburbs could tip the scales.

Deputy Mayor Sinceré Harris said the mayor’s office has always provided “various levels of support” to city commissioners, especially during years of intense elections.

“The Mayor’s Office is committed to ensuring that city council members have all the resources they need to fulfill their mission of conducting smooth elections this fall in a manner that is beyond reproach,” Harris said.

As Philadelphia prepares, Reid has a key role in the day-to-day operations of the elections office. Her resignation and subsequent U-turn follow an office reorganization that led to months of open tension among Philadelphia city commissioners. Democrat Omar Sabir, who chairs the board, and Republican Commissioner Seth Bluestein have repeatedly expressed confidence in the city’s ability to conduct the election.

In January, city commissioners hired Reid to oversee election administration. At the same time, Sabir, with Bluestein’s support, replaced former chairwoman Lisa Deeley.

Deeley’s office and Bluestein declined to comment on Parker’s efforts to keep Reid on the team. Deeley’s office referred questions to Sabir, whose office did not respond to a request for comment.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia City Commission Office to allocate $1.4 million to combat election disinformation

Sabir and Bluestein then voted to hire Reid and promoted another election employee to handle day-to-day election duties. Before the reorganization, commissioners and their deputies had filled that role. Reid had experience in election administration, having previously worked in the executive director’s office on projects including working with city commissioners to run satellite election offices where people could request and submit mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Deeley was ousted, tensions between commissioners were palpable during public meetings, VoteBeat reported earlier this year. Deeley called the reorganization a “power grab” by her fellow commissioners and said she worried that having an inexperienced chairman take over in an election year would negatively impact operations. Sabir and Bluestein argued that the change would strengthen the office.

Top officials in Parker’s office said they are acutely aware of the stakes in the city’s election administration this year.

Harris noted that the mayor’s office worked with the City Council this year to raise the city commissioners’ budget by $4.3 million — a 15% raise in funding — and bolster staffing. She said the administration will also work with city commissioners to ensure “overstaffing,” police presence and IT support are in place before November.

“In all of these ways, the Parker administration continues its tradition of supporting city commissioners,” Harris said, “especially in an election year like this.”