Alan Butkovitz, a Democrat, defeated independent candidate Al Schmidt, by a ratio of more than 2-1. He won 72 percent of the vote.
That is less than the 7-1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans in Philadelphia, but consistent with Democratic-Republican contests in recent years.
"It's an affirmation of the work we've been doing for the past four years, and an affirmation of the work of the professionals in the Controller's Office," said Butkovitz, 57, who first won in 2005 after 15 years in the state House.
Butkovitz campaigned on his willingness to go beyond his office's traditional auditing function. He said the office helped transform government with exposés on poor emergency response, crumbling city facilities, and a hidden school district deficit.
He promised more of the same for the next four years, with a focus on delivery of services, collection of money owed to the city, and making Philadelphia more attractive for growth.
Schmidt, aggressively attacked Butkovitz over the last few months. He described Butkovitz, who is a ward leader, as a pillar of the city's political class who was not willing - or able - to reform it. He also chastised Butkovitz for failing to audit departments on a yearly basis, as required by the city's Home Rule Charter.
"We definitely knew what we were up against," Schmidt said of his first run for city office. "I'm very proud of the campaign we ran. I'm certainly proud that we helped Philadelphia, even if only a little bit."
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