Council committee advances service agreement backing Philadelphia's 2028 DNC bid; appointments cleared for first reading

A Philadelphia City Council committee on transportation and public utilities voted Wednesday to report Bill 260,295 with a favorable recommendation, advancing a measure that would authorize the city to enter a service agreement with the Philadelphia Authority of Industrial Development (PAID) to support the city's bid to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.

Vanessa Garrett Harley, the city's chief deputy mayor, testified in support of the ordinance and said the service agreement would allow PAID to issue and, if necessary, the city to cover a service fee equal to PAID's obligations tied to a host-committee guarantee for a $35,000,000 letter of credit. Garrett Harley said the city's understanding of the arrangement is modeled on a similar structure used when Philadelphia hosted the convention in 2016, when the host committee raised the necessary funds and the city was not required to make payments under its guarantee.

Garrett Harley identified the host-committee fundraising organization (referred to in testimony as PIC Pennsylvania) and noted leadership that includes Ambassador David L. Cohen and Dan Hilferty. When asked about bank selection for the letter of credit, Garrett Harley said Amalgamated Bank had been chosen; Rob DeBeau, introduced by Garrett Harley as the city finance director, said the city did not expect to draw on the line and did not anticipate additional costs.

Why it matters: Committee members asked several questions about cost, logistics and public-safety planning as part of the pitch to the DNC. Garrett Harley told the committee that Philadelphia's pitch emphasized hotels, the convention center, cultural institutions, the arena district, and the city's transit network. She also cited a city estimate that the 2016 convention had produced about $230,000,000 in economic impact and said organizers expected 2028 could perform as well or better.

The committee also advanced four appointment resolutions for the Old City Special Services District. Joe Itzkowitz, executive director of the Old City Special Services District, testified in support of the resolutions appointing Baqir Gunaidin, Felicia Wilson, Ken Weller and Kya Gerner to the district's board of directors and provided written testimony for the record.

What the committee did: Councilmember Anthony Phillips moved to report Bill 260,295 from committee with a favorable recommendation and to suspend the rules to permit first reading at the next council session; Councilmember Jim Harrity seconded the motion. By voice vote, the chair recorded that the ayes prevailed and the motion carried. Phillips made the same motion for the four Old City Special Services District appointment resolutions, which the committee also reported favorably by voice vote.

Next steps: The committee's action reports the bill and the resolutions for consideration at the full council session; the suspension-of-rules request, if approved by the full council, would allow the items to receive first reading at the next meeting.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report are listed in the accompanying speaker roster and are quoted verbatim where indicated in the record.

Ending note: The committee paused its hearing after completing the DNC and Old City items and proceeded to additional testimony on the FY27 budget, including SEPTA's request and related transportation issues.