Cindy Bass

Cindy Bass
Bass in 2016
Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 8th District
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2012
Preceded byDonna Reed Miller
Personal details
Born (1967-11-04) November 4, 1967 (age 58)
PartyDemocratic
SpouseDivorced
ChildrenOne
EducationTemple University
ProfessionPolitician, political assistant, community organizer

Cindy M. Bass (born November 4, 1967) is a Democratic politician and member of the City Council of Philadelphia.

Personal life

Bass grew up in North Philadelphia and graduated from Parkway-Northwest High School and Temple University. She served as chair of the Coalition of 100 Black Women, was involved with Mt. Airy USA and worked as a community loan officer. In 2005, she started the Northwest Fund, a non-profit that funds neighborhood groups.

Bass is divorced and lives with her daughter in Mount Airy.

Political career

Bass has worked as a senior policy advisor to former Congressman Chaka Fattah, and was a special assistant to Allyson Schwartz during her time in the State Senate. She has been involved in community organizing, helping marshal funds for local projects and efforts.

She has worked as a campaign manager for former Philadelphia City Council member Blondell Reynolds Brown. She also ran unsuccessfully for Pennsylvania State Senate.

She first ran for City Council's Eighth District in 2007 with the support of Chaka Fattah and the endorsement of the Philadelphia Daily News but lost to incumbent Democrat Donna Reed Miller. She placed second in a four way primary.

She ran for the Eighth District seat again in 2011 after Donna Reed Miller's retirement. In the primary she received endorsements from Michael Nutter, The Philadelphia Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, R. Seth Williams and others. She won the eight-way race with 39.4% of the vote. In 2018 she became the Democratic party leader for Philadelphia's 22nd ward.

When she ran for re-election in 2023, The Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed her challenger Seth Anderson-Oberman. While noting Bass' achievements including advocating for LGBT adoption rights and securing resources for underserved areas of her district, the editorial board wrote that her tenure was marred by several significant missteps including appointing a board member who was later convicted of embezzlement, selecting an unqualified developer to restore the Germantown YWCA, and proposing legislation to remove bulletproof glass that could have gotten someone killed. Bass won the primary by about 400 votes, and was elected to a fourth term in November 2023.

On June 8, 2026, as incumbent ward leader, Bass chaired a meeting of the 22nd Ward Democratic Committee for the election of ward leader in which she was standing for re-election. Bass faced a well-organized challenge from Octavius Price. Following a voice vote without a clear winner, despite calls for a roll call vote and the party's rules requiring roll call to be conducted when requested, Bass declared herself the winner and ended the meeting. The Democratic City Committee ordered the election to be run again. When it was, Bass and Price tied, and after a series of closed-door meetings, they came to an agreement where Bass would serve as ward leader and Price would serve as ward chair, the number two position.

Philadelphia City Council

Stop-and-go bill

In November 2017, Bass introduced a bill that would force establishments listed as restaurants, but do not have public bathrooms or seating for 30 people, to remove the bulletproof glass that protects employees from getting shot and stabbed by their customers [unbalanced opinion?]. This earned controversy from the store owners – most who are Korean Americans – who felt they were being "targeted". The bill was passed by City Council prompting heated exchanges between Asian Americans, who are the primary business owner of these stores, and African Americans, who experience litter and nuisance behavior from store patrons who purchase alcohol and consume it outside the store.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Cindy Bass, Eighth District". Philadelphia Elections Information. Committee of Seventy. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Joseph, Gar (August 1, 2003). "Some up-and-coming talent in local politics - Our Nominees For Next Power Generation". Philadelphia Daily News. ProQuest 1899094742.
  3. 1 2 "Inquirer Editorial: Bass best for Eighth". Philadelphia Inquirer. April 25, 2011. ProQuest 864048897. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  4. ↑ Edmonds, Arlene (July 27, 2011). "Northwest Fund helps make a difference". The Philadelphia Tribune.
  5. ↑ "About Cindy". Cindy Bass for City Council. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012.
  6. ↑ Bass, Cindy (April 18, 2007). "Chestnut Hill Hospital must rededicate its commitment to women's services". Mt. Airy Express (PA).
  7. ↑ Joseph, Gar (June 12, 2002). "Judge alters results in S. Philly ward election". Philadelphia Daily News. ProQuest 1892766836.
  8. ↑ McDonald, Mark (April 20, 2007). "Incumbents, as usual, have upper hand". Philadelphia Daily News. ProQuest 430401389.
  9. ↑ "Our Council Endorsements - Part 1: Who We're Supporting in the District Primary Races". Philadelphia Daily News. May 7, 2007. ProQuest 430405129.
  10. ↑ Bass, Cindy (June 6, 2007). "Bass thanks campaign supporters". Mt. Airy Express (PA).
  11. ↑ McDonald, Mark (May 16, 2007). "3 Council Incumbents Axed". Philadelphia Daily News. ProQuest 430406960.
  12. ↑ Shields, Jeff (January 15, 2011). "Donna Reed Miller will not seek 5th Philadelphia Council term". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B01.
  13. ↑ Otterbein, Holly (April 6, 2011). "Nutter to get behind Bass in 8th District Council race". Philadelphia City Paper.
  14. ↑ Rhodes, E Washington, ed. (May 10, 2011). "Tribune endorsements for May 17th primary". The Philadelphia Tribune. ProQuest 871801595.
  15. ↑ "Our Council endorsements: The 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th districts". Philadelphia Daily News. May 9, 2011. ProQuest 865387235.
  16. ↑ Otterbein, Holly (April 28, 2011). "Everything you need to know about last night's 8th Council District debate". Philadelphia City Paper.
  17. ↑ Thompson, Isaiah (May 18, 2011). "How did reality measure up to our unscientific online poll?". Philadelphia City Paper.
  18. 1 2 Walsh, Sean (June 9, 2026). "Councilmember Cindy Bass declared herself the winner of a Philly Democratic ward election — and may have violated party rules". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "In mostly noncompetitive City Council district races, we recommend Lozada, Anderson-Oberman, and Phillips | Endorsement". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 15, 2023. ProQuest 2801901836.
  20. ↑ Walsh, Sean Collins; Marin, Max (January 15, 2022). "Germantown landmark at center of clash | City Council". The Philadelphia Inquirer. ProQuest 2618817157.
  21. ↑ Marin, Max (May 22, 2023). "Bass wins primary by 400 votes: The Democratic Council member fended off a progressive challenger and is heading toward her fourth term". The Philadelphia Inquirer. ProQuest 2817300691.
  22. ↑ Platt, Julie (November 8, 2023). "Who Won in Philadelphia". thephiladelphiacitizen.org.
  23. ↑ Walsh, Sean (June 17, 2026). "Councilmember Cindy Bass will remain the Democratic ward leader in Mount Airy. But she agreed to share power with progressives". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
  24. ↑ Controversial bill would force business owners to take down bulletproof glass, Fox 29, November 27, 2017
  25. ↑ Blumgart, Jake (December 14, 2017). "'Stop-and-go' bill passes Council, but deeper tensions underlie debate". WHYY.
  26. ↑ Stop-and-Go Legislative Task Force: Report and Recommendations (PDF). www.lcb.pa.gov (Report). Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. October 2, 2024.