This story originally appeared on PlanPhilly.

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Who runs Philadelphia City Council? If campaign spending is any indication, the answer is labor unions and the real estate industry.

With 2019 reelections just around the bend, campaign finance reports show that members raked in over $2.3 million in political contributions last year. Trade unions and individuals associated with the real estate industry — like developers, realtors, contractors and others — eclipsed all other interest groups combined, accounting for at least half of all 2018 contributions to council.

Public-affairs consultant Larry Ceisler, a longtime observer of council, credited the lopsided spending patterns on the stranglehold that district members have over construction in the city — sometimes referred to as “councilmanic prerogative.”

“The way the government of Philadelphia is set up is that Council is very integral to the development process…a lot of [council members] consider themselves to be ‘mini mayors,’” he said. “They control your life, in this government. There’s so many steps in the process, zoning, permits, whatever.”

Council members can also introduce legislative tweaks to the city’s building code in order to create valuable work for unions. Recently, the Sheet Metal Workers union got City Council to alter the city’s fire code with a regulation that will create more work for their members.

Labor union PACs — political action committees that spend money to influence elections — gave more than any other interest group. More than two-thirds of the $923,000 donated by all political action committees came from union-affiliated groups.