December 04, 2017
Your vote matters. Especially when it's the only one cast — and it's for yourself.
Phillip Garcia was a write-in candidate for judge of elections in Ward 21, Division 10 in Manayunk.
That was all it took to win. Garcia tweeted a photo of the official certification Friday after winning the seat in the November election. The tweet went viral, gaining more than 17,000 retweets.
They say that one vote doesn't matter, but I literally wrote in my own name and won an election because I guess no-one else ran/voted for this position. pic.twitter.com/43iam09Inp
— p.e. garcia (@AvantGarcia) December 1, 2017
Election results show there were three write-in votes for the seat, but Garcia told The Hill the others likely were ineligible.
Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt confirmed Garcia's victory to The Hill, noting that many of the city's judge of election seats are filled the same way, as evidenced by a review of the city's election results.
Garcia, an editor for literary website The Rumpus and a Ph.D. candidate at Temple, described yelling "what the hell" after opening the letter confirming the victory. Garcia had been a write-in candidate for elections in the past but never expected to actually win.
Garcia, who identifies as non-binary, said the position will be an impetus to get more involved in the community.
"I actually have a background in community organizing, and while I'm not entirely sure how this position could align with that, it seems like an opportunity to find some ways to at least more deeply connect with my neighbors," Garcia told The Hill.
Garcia's first order of business? Impeach President Donald Trump and make every Tuesday Taco Tuesday, according to the "accidental politician."
My first act as an elected official is to call for the impeachment of Donald Trump and also now every Tuesday in Manayunk is officially Taco Tuesday.
— p.e. garcia (@AvantGarcia) December 2, 2017
