Jannie L. Blackwell is the Vice Chair of the Philadelphia

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and a former member of the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

. She represented the Third District, which covers much of

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and

Southwest Philadelphia Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA. The nort ...

, including University City, from 1992 to 2020.

Early life and career

Blackwell grew up in Philadelphia, and worked as a public school teacher before her career in politics.

Political career

In 1991, Blackwell was elected to represent the Third District on the

, succeeding her husband,

Lucien Blackwell Lucien Edward Blackwell (August 1, 1931 – January 24, 2003) was an American boxer, longshoreman, and politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975, Philadelphia City Council fro ...

, who had held the seat for 17 years. Blackwell opposed certain provisions of

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and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

reform bills proposed by then-Councilman

Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia. Elected on November 6, 2007, he was reelected to a second term on November 8, 2011. He is a previous member of the Philadelphia ...

. During a 2005 hearing she stated that minority contractors would be at a disadvantage in bidding for city work if required to disclose campaign contributions. As the lone councilmember to vote against the ethics reform package she noted that placing onerous restrictions on political contributions from firms seeking work would benefit political candidates that are independently wealthy, and that people should be able to contribute to whomever they choose. Blackwell also initially opposed banning smoking in public places in the city. In 2004, Blackwell introduced two bills that would give City Council the power to designate local

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

s, rather than having the process controlled by the City's Historical Commission. She has challenged the role of the

University City District University City is the easternmost portion of West Philadelphia, encompassing several Philadelphia universities. It is situated directly across the Schuylkill River from Center City. The University of Pennsylvania was instrumental in coining t ...

in representing citizens' interests over those of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. Blackwell was a member of the

Philadelphia Housing Authority The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is a municipal authority providing Public housing services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the fourth-largest housing authority in the United States and is the largest landlord in Pennsylvania. PHA ho ...

board. In 2010, Blackwell was the lone member of the PHA board to vote against terminating the contract of PHA Executive Director Carl R. Greene for his alleged sexual harassment of four female subordinates. Blackwell was Ward Leader of the 46th Ward Democratic Executive Committee. In the 2019 primary, Blackwell lost the Democratic nomination for her council seat in the Third District to Jamie Gauthier.

Background

Ms. Blackwell is the widow of former U.S. Representative, State Representative, and City Councilman

. Her step-son,

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, was a former member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Jannie Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Educators from Pennsylvania American women educators Philadelphia City Council members African-American women in politics Pennsylvania Democrats Spouses of Pennsylvania politicians Women city councillors in Pennsylvania African-American city council members in Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women