October Newsflash
Groups press mayoral candidates on community issues
Until recently, according to some local observers of the Philadelphia mayoral election campaign, the leading candidates had spent more time talking about the city's wage tax than issues like public education that directly affect the city's most disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
But two recent public forums tried to change that.
In a packed Free Library auditorium September 30 both John Street and Sam Katz, the two leading candidates in the upcoming November 2003 Philadelphia mayoral election, pledged to spend at least $35 million more on programs which address issues affecting youth and families.
Organized by the nonprofit child advocacy group Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) and co-sponsored by more than 80 local civic and advocacy organizations, the forum was part of the "1 Percent More For Kids" campaign launched last July to encourage the mayoral candidates to devote an additional one percent of the city's budget--roughly $35 million--to improving public schools and libraries, creating more afterschool programs and affordable housing, and promoting better delivery of social services to families.
Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project (EPOP), a citywide faith-based organization, also organized a recent forum where 300 community members showed up to hear Street and Katz questioned on issues important to the city's working class and poor communities at its annual Neighborhoods First Convention held September 21.
The candidates discussed their positions on EPOP's platform for a new city--"Many Communities: One Philadelphia"--which included an agenda for public education, safety, housing and economic development, coordinated city services, and immigrant-friendly policies.
Too often community-based groups are ignored in public debate about city politics, says PCCY education specialist Dennis Barnebey.
Barnebey believes community groups "need to be very vocal about the real issues" facing Philadelphia's most disadvantaged, especially its children, during the 2004 election campaign.
City plans still need clarification
The organizers of both forums said they hope their message got through to the candidates.
"Our goal was to focus attention on issues that are important to children and families and to remind the candidates that people who care about kids are voters," said PCCY executive director Shelly Yanoff. "We think we did that."
EPOP activist Dolores Shaw commented that both candidates could have been more specific about their plans to address the issues raised by the community over the next four years.
"I'm just not so sure that [Street and Katz] were addressing any of the concerns with substance," said Shaw, who is a parent organizer in local schools. "There are still so many issues that need to be addressed."
Leonard Bryant, a member of Youth United for Change, a youth-led organizing group and EPOP member organization, said he wanted to hear each candidate's position on the EPOP platform so that he could make an informed decision at the polls.
"I really wanted to know more about them," said Bryant, an Olney High School senior.
But in the end Bryant said he was not particularly pleased with either candidate and added that they both could "listen [more] to students."
Shaw lauded Mayor Street for putting more money into fighting neighborhood blight, but noted that even with new school construction--which she says is a much needed step forward in the District--the city still needs to focus more on stabilizing the decaying neighborhoods where these new schools will be located.
"We need to see more plans for what a revitalized and rehabbed Philadelphia will look like," Shaw said.
While the "1 Percent More for Kids" campaign coalition emphasized that programs targeted at improving the lives of children and families are much needed in the city, the group did not make concrete suggestions as to how the mayoral candidates would find the extra millions needed to fund such programs.
But if the candidates are truly concerned about the future of the city and its youth, they will work to find the needed funds, Yanoff said.
"We find money for convention centers and parking authorities; we should find money for this," Yanoff stated.
Neither the PCCY-led coalition nor EPOP endorse political candidates, but both camps hope that the public forums will increase voter participation and help Philadelphians make informed decisions about which candidate will help move the city forward when they vote on November 4. (Voter registration deadline is October 6.)
"Whoever wins the election, it's about keeping people to their words," said Shaw. "The city needs to be the winner, not necessarily the candidates."
Where they stand
Here is a description of where Street and Katz say they stand on public education issues in Philadelphia, based on comments made by both candidates at the "1 Percent More for Kids" candidates forum and the Neighborhoods First Convention and written documents published on their campaign websites.
State takeover
Both Street and Katz say they support returning the Philadelphia School District to local control. Street says that while the School District is making progress, he is wary about restoring local control too soon before the District sufficiently improves. Katz says he would work to make local school district control a reality by the end of his four-year term.
School funding and reform
Both candidates say they would like to see Governor Rendell's plan to increase and equalize state education spending realized in Harrisburg, and both recognize the need for more funding in Philadelphia's public schools.
Street says the school reforms currently being implemented are moving the School District "in the right direction," but he emphasizes that without receiving at least some of the additional state funding from a proposal now stalled in the state legislature, the city is limited in its ability to make progress.
Street also touts his role in negotiating the state takeover compromise with former Governor Schweiker and preventing the for-profit management company Edison Schools Inc. from taking over the entire District.
Citing a fragmented system, Katz says that he would improve the lives of Philadelphia youth by strengthening the lines of communication between City Hall, the School District, and community-based organizations.
He says he would emphasize teacher recruitment and support existing school reforms that "work," while arguing that it is premature to judge the performance of educational management organizations currently running several Philadelphia public schools.
Katz says he supports publicly funded vouchers for private school tuition but would not push for them in Harrisburg during the next four years because Governor Rendell does not share his view.
Early childhood education
Both candidates emphasizes the importance of early childhood education--with Street saying that he has brought more early childhood education money into the city than any mayor in the city's recent past.
Katz says that he would get the business community to invest more dollars in early childhood education, which he calls "the most important investment this city and this region can make."
Afterschool programs
Both candidates support the expansion of afterschool programs for youth, particularly through partnerships with faith-based organizations.
Street says he would spend an extra $25 million on creating more properly monitored and staffed afterschool program options for children.
Katz says he would publicize existing afterschool programs more aggressively to families through a Services Clearinghouse and promote more community use of school recreational space.
Learn more about the 1 Percent More for Kids campaign by calling PCCY at 215-563-5848 or go to www.pccy.org. For more information about EPOP's Many Communities: One Philadelphia platform call 215-634-8922 or visit www.epopleaders.org.
Contact Notebook staff writer Beandrea Davis at beandrea@thenotebook.org.