Former City Council member Maria Quiñones Sánchez suspended her mayoral campaign over the weekend, becoming the first viable Democratic candidate to bow out of the race.
Quiñones Sánchez, in a message to supporters posted on her campaign website, wrote that “the obnoxious money in this race makes it almost impossible to compete.” She said Philadelphia needs to consider publicly financing candidates to even the playing field.
Finance reports filed last week show that Quiñones Sánchez had about $321,000 in campaign cash – much less than five of the other major candidates. Her former council colleagues, Helen Gym and Allan Domb, both reported more than $1 million on hand.
Domb, a real estate magnate, has put $7 million of his personal funds toward the race, and grocer Jeff Brown has also pulled significantly from his own bank account.
“I am sorry to be suspending my campaign,” Quiñones Sánchez said Sunday in a statement. “I ran for mayor because I’ve lived every challenge this city faces, and with my policy and legislative experience, I felt I could tackle our city’s challenges head-on.”
She went on to say that she’s been disappointed that the other 10 Democrats “have made no mention of how they would help Latino Philadelphians.”
Quiñones Sánchez also released a set of positions, called Agenda Latina, and called on mayoral hopefuls to respond to the proposals, most of which align with her campaign platform.
Among the agenda’s priorities are ensuring Latino representation at every level of municipal government; creating a city housing voucher program; and instituting free enrollment in the Community College of Philadelphia.
“Over the next few days I will decide if I’m ready to endorse someone in this race, but I haven’t seen anything that makes me feel we are being included,” Quiñones Sánchez wrote in the letter to supporters.
Quiñones Sánchez led the nonprofit ASPIRA before being elected to council, serving 14 years representing a district that included Kensington and sections of North and lower Northeast Philadelphia.
Her campaign said she intends to “remain in public life and have community impact.”
