Lewis Nash, Sr., leader of the 47th Ward in Philadelphia, will officially be removed from his position after two months of scrutiny following homophobic and transphobic comments. The Philadelphia Democratic Party County Committee voted on April 4 to ratify the recommendations previously made by the county Organization Committee to revoke Nash’s status as a committeeperson and as a ward leader.
Bob Brady, Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, told PGN that the decision to remove Nash from leadership was directly tied to his problematic comments.
“We don’t subscribe to anything or condone anything he said,” he said. “That’s not us.”
A ward is the smallest political unit used for tax and election purposes in Philadelphia. As a ward leader, Nash oversaw various election initiatives for part of a neighborhood near Temple University. The role includes a seat on the Democratic City Committee, a group that endorses candidates and gets voters excited about upcoming elections. Ward leaders decide which candidates — for national, state, local and hyper-local elections — will be endorsed.
Nash was recorded by Dan Laufer, the ward’s secretary, telling committeepeople to endorse the Republican mayoral candidate during a 47th Ward committee meeting in August 2023. Nash’s comments were made public after Laufer provided the Philadelphia Inquirer a copy of the audio recording. The Inquirer published an article about the incident on Feb. 1.
Nash — who is currently running for state representative against incumbent Malcolm Kenyatta — justified this voting recommendation by repeating rhetoric often touted by ring-wing influencers.
According to the article, Nash claimed that some elected officials are encouraging children to seek gender-affirming surgeries and called for those present to endorse leaders who would not support “the mutilation of kids.” He also highlighted his discomfort with school children learning about same-sex parents — explicitly noting concern over teaching about families that have “two mommies.”
Bob Brady openly condemned Nash’s comments in the article, calling them disgraceful and absurd. A hearing about the issue took place at party headquarters on March 5, but Bob Brady told WHYY that party leadership hadn’t decided whether or not to sanction Nash at that time.
Nash defended his comments, telling the Inquirer, “I’ve been a pastor for 24 years, and we all have individuals in our families that chose an alternative lifestyle, and I never discriminated against them.”
State Rep. Kenyatta, who is a Black, gay man, responded to public discourse on the topic, underlining his own religious beliefs.
“My faith teaches me to lift up, ‘the least, the last, and the lost’ — that’s what guides my work,” Kenyatta told The Advocate. “My opponent’s comments speak for themselves and make clear he doesn’t share those values.”
A nearly unanimous vote
“We made a motion, and that motion was unanimous, we believe,” explained Bob Brady about the process to officially remove Nash’s title. He said one committeeperson may have had a virtual hand up during the meeting to oppose the action and said he’s checking into that possibility.
“But if it was, it was just one person,” he emphasized.
Those present were able to talk about the issue before the vote.
“There was some discussion — but the only pushback was from Nash himself,” he said. “He was complaining that he didn’t get a chance to defend himself, but that’s not true. We listened to him for an hour.”
During the meeting with all ward leaders — which was held via Zoom, a brick was thrown through the front window of the office for the party headquarters on 219 Spring Garden St. It is the eighth broken window since the start of the year.
John Brady, Political Director of the Philadelphia Democratic Party and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, told PGN that neighbors are sharing video surveillance footage to try to identify the perpetrator — who he said was chased by the committee’s data director before fleeing by car. The data director was able to copy the car’s license plate. John Brady believes the string of incidents is unrelated to Nash’s expulsion.
What happens next?
It is the first time in 25 years that a Democratic ward leader is being removed. Nash will be replaced by Mark Ross, the 47th Ward Chair, as an interim ward leader for 30 days so that an election can take place.
The election is not open to the public as is typical for ward leader elections. Any voters in the 47th Ward who want to share their concerns or discuss possible new leaders can reach out to the interim leader to stay informed.
Democratic committeepeople who were elected to serve the 47th Ward in 2022 will vote to select Nash’s permanent replacement, and that newly elected leader will be eligible to serve the remainder of Nash’s two-year term which will end in December 2026.
This is a developing story, which we will update as more information becomes available.