Stefan Roots | |
---|---|
Mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania | |
Assumed office January 1, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Thaddeus Kirkland |
Member of the Chester City Council from the At-Large District | |
In office January 3,2022 –December 31,2023 | |
Preceded by | William Jacobs |
Personal details | |
Born | Chester,Pennsylvania,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | Villanova University |
Occupation | Electrical engineer,politician,blogger |
Stefan Roots is an American politician currently serving as the Democratic mayor of Chester,Pennsylvania,since January 3,2024. He defeated the incumbent Thaddeus Kirkland in the May 2023 Democratic mayoral primary and Anita J. Littleton in the November 2023 general election. He previously served as a member of the Chester City Council from 2022 to 2024.
Roots was born in Chester to a 15-year old single mother. [1] He attended Archmere Academy in Wilmington,Delaware,and graduated from Chester High School. He received a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Villanova University. [2]
He lived in Denver,Colorado,and New York City but moved back to Chester after 2001. [3] He worked in engineering,marketing and sales roles for Philadelphia Gas Works,IBM,MCI and the Delaware County Daily Times. He also worked in industrial operations for Sunoco,Praxair and DELCORA. He worked as a substitute teacher for one year in the Chester-Upland School District. [2]
He served as a director on several boards including the Delaware County Interactive Gaming Revenue Authority, [4] the Delaware County Historical Society [2] and the Chester Education Foundation. [5]
In 2006,he published a monthly paper Chester Spotlight which in 2010 evolved into the blog Chester Matters. [2] In 2012,he published a book titled Toxic Man - the Melvin Wade Story. [2] In 2016,he published a podcast,"Dirty Water Dude",which focused on practical ways to obtain clean drinking water. [6] In 2017,he published a book titled "How to Buy a Water Filter". [7]
Roots defeated William Jacobs in the Chester city council Democratic primary in May 2021. [8] In January 2022,Roots was elected to Chester City Council and served as Director of Public Property and Recreation. [2]
In May 2023,Roots defeated the two term incumbent mayor Thaddeus Kirkland in the Chester Democratic mayoral primary election [9] [10] by nearly twice the vote. [11] There was no Republican opponent,and Roots defeated independent candidate Anita J. Littleton [12] in the November 2023 general election. [13] He was sworn into office on January 1,2024. [14]
He is married and has seven children and ten grandchildren. [2]
Delaware County,colloquially referred to as Delco,is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census,it is the fifth-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the third-smallest in area. The county was created on September 26,1789,from part of Chester County and named for the Delaware River. The county is part of the Southeast Pennsylvania region of the state.
Chester is a city in Delaware County,Pennsylvania,United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington,Delaware. The population of Chester was 32,605 at the 2020 census.
Francis Lazarro Rizzo was an American police officer and politician. He served as commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) from 1967 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democratic Party throughout the entirety of his career in public office. He switched to the Republican Party in 1986 and campaigned as a Republican for the final five years of his life.
Chester High School is an urban,public high school located in Chester,Delaware County,Pennsylvania,United States with a ZIP code of 19013-4288. Chester is a part of the Chester-Upland School District. The school serves the City of Chester,Chester Township,and Upland. In 2018–2019,the school had 994 pupils.
Cherelle Lesley Parker is an American politician who has served as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia since 2024. She is the first woman to hold the office.
Wade Dump was a rubber recycling facility and illegal industrial waste storage and disposal facility in Chester,Pennsylvania. It was located at 1 Flower Street on the western bank of the Delaware River just north of the Commodore Barry Bridge.
Thaddeus Kirkland is an American politician who served as the Democratic Mayor of Chester,Pennsylvania from 2016 to 2024. In May 2023,he lost the Democratic mayoral primary to Stefan Roots. He served as a Democratic member of the 159th district from 1993 to 2016.
James Francis Kenney is an American politician who served as the 99th mayor of Philadelphia from 2016 to 2024. Kenney was first elected on November 3,2015,defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning the crowded Democratic primary contest by a landslide on May 19.
David Henry Oh is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican member of the Philadelphia City Council from 2012 to 2023. He was the first Asian American elected to the city council.
Jared G. Solomon is the representative for the 202nd District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is a member of the Democratic Party. A former Army Reserve JAG officer,Solomon is chair of the PA House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Derek S. Green is an American politician and Democratic was a member of the Philadelphia City Council from 2016 to 2022.
The 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on November 7,2023 to elect the mayor of Philadelphia. Nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties were selected through primaries on May 16,2023.
Wendell Butler Jr. is a former American politician who served as a Republican mayor of Chester,Pennsylvania,from 2002 to 2012.
Isaiah Thomas Sr. is a Democratic politician and At-Large member of Philadelphia City Council. He was born to a family of 10 children from the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia. He attended Frankford High School,Pennsylvania State University and Lincoln University. He was first elected to an At-Large seat on Philadelphia City Council in 2019. Thomas was re-elected to a second term with the highest votes in the 2023 primary and general elections. He assumed office January 2,2024 and was elected by fellow members to serve as Majority Whip.
The Stroud Water Research Center is a not-for-profit organization performing freshwater research,environmental education,and watershed restoration;it is headquartered in Avondale,Pennsylvania. It was co-founded in 1967 by American scientist Ruth Patrick and philanthropists William Bolton Dixon Stroud and Joan Milliken Stroud. Studies at Stroud Water Research Center have contributed to the disciplines of river ecosystems and ecosystem ecology;it is the 14th ranked water security think tank in the U.S. according to the 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index published by the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania.
Amen R. Brown is an American politician. He is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,representing the 10th District since 2023. Brown previously represented the 190th District from 2021 to 2022 before redistricting moved him to the 10th District.
Curtis J. Jones Jr. is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council. In 2007,he was elected to represent the 4th District,which covers parts of North,Northwest,and West Philadelphia. He has served as Majority Leader (2012–2016) and Majority Whip since 2020.
The 2022 Philadelphia City Council special elections were planned special elections in 2022. The reason for the special elections was at least five resignations from the Philadelphia City Council.
Jim Harrity is a Democratic politician and at-large member of Philadelphia City Council since 2022.