Surprising no one...

The Ward Leaders made their selections for Philadelphia's City Council special election (more coverage here). No stays, no unexpected faces. I especially enjoyed this bit:

Although voters will still have a choice between a Republican and a Democratic candidate for each of the seats, the party's nomination is tantamount to an early election victory because of the overwhelming dominance of the Democratic Party in the city. One nominee, Campbell, has even made a round of phone calls in search of potential staff hires and has discussed where in Council's chamber she will sit during meetings.

Also capturing that nepotistic coziness of Philly politics is this:

Within 15 minutes, Savage, the 23d Ward leader and a son of former ward leader and now U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage, got the nomination by an 11-1 vote. The dissenting vote was cast by 33d Ward leader Donna Aument in favor of her daughter, Marnie Aument Loughrey.

"You never go against your blood," Aument said.

Anyway, late-coming opposition aside, this outcome was pretty much foreordained. However, a discussion about the system has been started and could lead to changes down the line; at the very least, party progressives got a chance to reassert their existence and right to be heard. Whether anyone will spearhead an effort to change the special election procedures is yet to be seen.