A little more than a year after his narrow loss to three-term incumbent Councilmember Cindy Bass in City Council’s 8th District Democratic primary, Seth Anderson-Oberman has been named the first executive director of Reclaim Philadelphia – a role he says will enable him to continue and expand the work of his campaign.

Reclaim, founded by a group of 35 political progressives in the aftermath of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 loss in the presidential primary, has since grown into a 1,000-member organization dedicated to “reclaiming government for working-class Philadelphians.” It is again using a campaign year to take yet another significant step – hire its second employee and first executive director. Anderson-Oberman will join Sergio Cea, Reclaim’s political director, in mid-July. 

Anderson-Oberman, who told the Local in a recent interview that this was “something I felt like I had to do,” describes it as an ideal place for him to continue his work of  “building an independent political infrastructure.”

With his background in community organizing, Anderson-Oberman said he feels uniquely equipped to bring energy and resources to the needs of working class Philadelphians.

“When I was presented with the possibility of working for Reclaim, it felt like an opportunity to align my work in a way that would allow me to continue what we [his campaign supporters] started,” he said.

Anderson-Oberman sees his work at Reclaim as a continuation of his early childhood beginnings. He grew up in Germantown, the child of working class Black and Jewish parents, and got his start organizing at the age of 10 when he joined his first picket line alongside his stepfather, Henry Sanel. 

State Representative and East Mt. Airy resident Chris Rabb, who endorsed Anderson-Oberman’s candidacy, told the Local in a phone interview on Friday that he is looking forward to what Seth can accomplish at Reclaim. 

“Seth is empathetic, compassionate, intellectually curious, resilient, caring, and unapologetically Black – committed to serving Black and Brown working-class families,” Rabb said. “He’s earned my trust as a friend and colleague, a strong coalition builder committed to mass liberation. His work centers the voices of those most impacted by structural poverty and racial inequities and those types of leaders are hard to come by.”

Rabb, who described his 68,000 constituents as his “bosses,” said he thinks they’ll be well served by “intentional, strategic, long-term grassroots organizing, within our communities, led by our communities.” 

And he thinks Anderson-Oberman is the man for the job. 

“His success is my success,” Rabb said. “I want him to thrive in this new role.” 

As executive director, Anderson-Oberman will have several immediate priorities, which go beyond the political mission on which Reclaim was founded. 

“We are fighting for deeply affordable housing against displacement and gentrification,” he told the Local. “And for community safety, with working class Black and Brown families as our most urgent priority.” 

Reflecting on his campaign days and the support he received, he expressed optimism about the potential involvement and enthusiasm of Northwest residents. 

“When I would talk to people in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy, there was lots of interest in and support for working in coalition with folks who don’t have access to the same resources.”

Expanding resources will be a significant part of his role, Anderson-Oberman said, and essential for advancing Reclaim’s mission. He intends to maintain diverse income sources to decentralize power and influence and to keep Reclaim rooted in its mission to serve the community without contributing to power disparities and systemic inequities, he said.

He also stressed Reclaim’s desire to collaborate with other organizations.

“We have a tremendous network of volunteers and activists – who carry out a ton of work,” he said. 

Anderson-Oberman lives in Germantown with his wife of 24 years, Aisha Anderson-Oberman. The couple have two children, Nadja, 20, a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) and a creative writing major at the New School in New York, and Gyasi, 16, who is in his senior year at CAPA and majoring in theater and dance.