Proposed Charter Change Question #1 - Philadelphia - Gender Position Titles Referendum

Summary

**From the Commissioners:** The City’s Home Rule Charter is like the City’s constitution; it sets up the rules for City government. It was originally written in 1951. If you vote “Yes” on this ballot question, it means you want to change the Charter so that the people who serve on City Council will be identified in gender neutral terms. As a practical matter, this means the Charter will call them “Councilmembers” instead of “Councilmen.” Also, whenever the Charter says “Councilmanic,” it would be changed to “Council.” **Seventy’s Take:** Passage of this Ballot Question would scrub male and female references to City Council members from the City Charter in February. It was introduced by Council member Derek Green, and Council passed it unanimously. But approval wouldn’t remove all gender references from the Charter. Currently, the chairs of various boards and commissions are referred to as “chairmen,” and changing that would require another ballot question. Council member Green told [Philly.com](https://www.philly.com/news/philadelphia-city-council-gender-neutral-titles-transgender-non-binary-derek-green-20190214.html) in February that he plans to pursue following the vote on this question. Philadelphia is late in the game regarding gender-neutral language. [New York voters](https://ballotpedia.org/New_York_Gender-Neutral_Language_Amendment,_Proposal_1_(2001)), for instance, removed gender-specific language from their state constitution in 2001. And similar measures were approved last year in Nashville and Baltimore County, MD.

Measure Details