Jarrett Smith

Jarrett, a community and labor advocate, is seeking the position of Philadelphia City Commissioner with the Working Families Party. Jarrett's lifelong commitment to organizing has fueled his mission to cultivate a diverse and inclusive voter base in Philadelphia, capable of electing candidates that genuinely reflect the needs and priorities of the community. If elected, Jarrett plans to safeguard the rights of Philadelphia voters and increase access for all eligible voters in the city.

Over the past four years, Jarrett has worked as Legislative Director for SEIU Healthcare, where he advocated for the rights of members in state and local government, fought back against right-to-work attacks, and empowered members to participate in elections. In 2022, Jarrett coordinated advocacy efforts that resulted in safe-staffing ratios for nursing home workers and secured over $600 million in recurring Medicaid funding for bedside care.

Before joining SEIU, Jarrett led a statewide youth voter engagement program with NextGen America. As a provisional voter in 2016, Jarrett was among over 30,000 voters in Philadelphia, mostly new registrants and young people, who were unable to vote due to the commissioners' office's failure to process voter registrations on time. As Commissioner, Jarrett is committed to ensuring that no voter falls through the cracks, particularly new voters to the process.