Philadelphia's City Council special election of 1954 was held to fill the seat vacated by Republican John W. Lord, Jr. when he resigned to join the federal bench.
After the 1951 elections, those seats were occupied by Republicans Louis Schwartz and John W. Lord, Jr.
[3] Rubel was selected by Democratic mayor Joseph S. Clark, Jr. in order to preserve the spirit of the charter's minority representation while promoting a cross-party ally in the reform effort.
[3] He characterized his victory as a call for reform of the city Republican party, saying "[i]f they don't read the handwriting on the wall now, they are hopelessly ignorant.
Running as a Republican in the 1955 elections, did well in the independent wards, but placed fourth among that party's nominees, narrowly missing out on one of the two available at-large seats.