
Young Philadelphians tell mayoral candidate Shania Bennett what they want from the city’s next leader
By Leo A. Rodriguez
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What questions do you have about the 2026 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know. In addition to a U.S. senator and a congressman, voters in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, will decide who will serve as the city’s next mayor, select who will sit on City Council and whether or not to keep the city-funded Free Public Library open. The ordinance putting the question on Tuesday’s ballot was introduced in June to the surprise of Alan Maier, a library trustee and treasurer for the Friends of the Bridgeton Public Library, who was at that City Council meeting on a different matter. “I was there to make a presentation to ask the city for help in finishing the job that [Center for Historic American Building Arts] had started on restoring a building,” he said. “The next thing I know, I m wrapped up in the library situation, surprised.” Despite several residents speaking in favor of the city’s library, the council unanimously placed the question of whether to ke