Written by Jessica Blatt Press at the Philadelphia Citizen

Whatever your feelings about the new administration, you have to admit: The November presidential election in Philadelphia ran totally smoothly — no rumors of tampering, no threats of interference, no claims about corruption. It was an election success story — in no small part thanks to Deputy Commissioner Eric Kapenstein and his hardworking team.

“Our staff did a phenomenal job under a big international spotlight, and I’m happy to have been a small part of that,” Kapenstein says. “We proved yet again that Philadelphia’s elections are safe, secure and accessible.”Looking ahead, Kapenstein says his team is already preparing for the 2025 primary election and anticipating “significant interest in candidates running [for] election board so that our election boards can truly represent the voices from voters on every block in Philadelphia.”

It’s that level of passion and commitment that earned Kapenstein a 2024 Integrity Icon award, alongside four other city workers: Adara Combs, the City’s first Victim Advocate;

Lesha Sanders, Director of Problem Solving Courts for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania; Tracey T. Williams, Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Records; and Deion Sumpter, then the Director of the City’s Gun Violence Intervention program, who has since been promoted to Deputy Director of Violence Intervention Strategies at the Office of Safe Neighborhoods.

“Being named Integrity Icon has boosted my profile,” Sumpter says. “The recognition of honesty, transparency, and ethical leadership played a key role in advancing me to the conversation for the promotional opportunity I received. The credibility that comes with the award has also inspired other leaders to follow that same standard of integrity.”

Integrity Icon is a program of the Washington, D.C.-based Accountability Lab; The Citizen has been partnering with the nonprofit for five years, adopting their mission to highlight the work of city employees worldwide who not only go against the all-too-common stereotype of corrupt government workers — but go above and beyond their job description to make their city better for all.

*Read the rest of the article on the Philadelphia Citizen