Today, a little background on getting on the ballot for a State Representative primary race, again from the Committe of Seventy.

From their recent publication, How to Run for Political Office (PDF file, 211 kb):

STATE REPRESENTATIVES
Members of the House each serve a local constituency of approximately 59,000 citizens. Members are
elected for two-year terms53 at every general election (2006, 2008, 2010, etc.).54
A representative must meet the following qualifications prior to election:
1. be at least twenty-one years old;
2. reside in Pennsylvania for at least four years; and
3. reside within the district for at least one year.55
While in office, Representatives must also maintain district residence and may not hold any other salaried
office in state or federal government.56
.
.
NOMINATION PETITIONS FOR PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOT POSITION
Candidates wishing to secure a position on the primary ballot must file a properly completed nomination
petition.118 As the name suggests, nomination petitions are documents signed by registered electors of a
certain party petitioning the local county board of elections to print a candidate's name on the official
primary ballot. For each office, the Election Code requires a specific number of voter signatures to obtain
a ballot position (Table 1).119 Only signatures of voters registered in the party and residing within the
district of the office will be counted toward the total number of signatures.120
The time deadlines for filing petitions are extremely important and are strictly enforced. The Election
Code provides only three weeks for candidates to complete and file nomination petitions. This period
begins on the thirteenth Tuesday before the primary.121 Candidates must file the petitions three weeks
later, on or before the tenth Tuesday prior to the election.122 This procedure is both onerous and
important and must be carefully monitored.

Table 1: Number of Signatures Needed for Nomination Petitions

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State Representative 300
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..And The Signature Period Begins

Running for Office? The Committee of Seventy has been working hard to inform citizens about all the seats available in 2006 and how it's easier than most people think to run for office. Specifically, Seventy has been encouraging people to run for City Ward Committeeperson, State Committeeperson, and State Representative as these offices are a great way to initially get involved.

Today, February 14, marks the first day for you to begin gathering signatures to get your name on the ballot for the Primary in May. The signature period is from February 14 to March 7. You must collect all signatures from registered Party members in the division or district you are seeking to represent.

Where do I get my nomination petitions?

The Committee of Seventy has nomination petitions for City Ward Committeeperson - just swing by and pick one up
1628 JFK BLVD
8 Penn Center
Suite 1002
Philadelphia, PA 19102

You can request a nomination petition for State Representative and other state offices through the PA Department of State website

More Questions - See Seventy's 2006 Manual on "How to Run for Office"

Welcome:

Since my State Representative, Marie Lederer, has announced she will not be seeking another term, the upcoming Democratic primary in May is likely to nominate the next seat holder in this vastly Democratic district.

LEDERER, MARIE (DEM) 19,772
MESTER, GREG JR. (REP) 4,607

As such, I'll be posting news and information about the potential candidates for the Democratic nomination. I'll add any info I get about other parties, too.

But to get us started, here's a PDF file map of the PA General Assembly districts in Philadelphia from the fabulous Committee of Seventy:

http://www.seventy.org/maps/mapimages/philahouse.pdf