Mayoral candidates square off

by Tom Beck
Posted 4/7/23

Mayoral candidates were asked about some of the city’s most pressing issues last week in a mayoral forum in Germantown.

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Mayoral candidates square off

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Mayoral candidates were asked about some of the city’s most pressing issues last week in a mayoral forum that gave Germantown residents the opportunity to ask several candidates how they would handle issues such as gun violence and the city’s ongoing housing crisis, which has seen rents skyrocket in recent years. 

The event’s planned lineup included Democratic candidates Derek Green, Cherelle Parker, Jeff Brown, Helen Gym and Maria Quinones-Sanchez, along with Republican candidate David Oh. However, only Green, Parker and Brown showed up at the event hosted jointly by Center in the Park, the Foundation for Health Equity and Face to Face. Green left about halfway into the forum. The event was moderated by WURD radio host Thera Martin. The Local attended and summarized a few of the candidates’ responses below. 

Working with Harrisburg to curb gun violence

Brown said Philadelphia makes a big mistake when it “makes excuses” about Harrisburg getting in the way of the city passing gun control legislation. 

“I'll be honest with you, I think it's an excuse,” he said. “We've got to solve the problem right here in Philadelphia.”

The solution, Brown said, is to hire 1,500 additional police officers – which is exactly how many officers the Philadelphia Police Department needs to be fully staffed. 

“You have no visible presence of police on the streets,” Brown said. “We need to rehire these officers, and there should be far more diversity” in the force.

Officers should police the neighborhoods they live in, Brown said, and be taught to de-escalate tensions.

“When you let them escalate,” he explained, “bad things happen.”

According to Green, “the problem isn’t either/or.”

“We have to do this here in Philadelphia and also Harrisburg,” he said.

Green said he’d form coalitions with mayors from across the state in cities like Pittsburgh, Williamsport and Harrisburg, which are experiencing similar problems with guns.

“Our citizens are hurting and dying,” he said. “We need to make sure that we have leadership in Harrisburg.”

Parker said “there’s no silver bullet” that can solve the problem – adding that “sometimes we don't know what we don't know.”

Legislation to curb the flow of illegal guns simply won’t get passed without working with state leaders in Harrisburg, Parker said. “That's just a fact whether we like it or not.” 

She’d focus on the open-air drug markets in Philadelphia, she said, because they foster violence. She does not support safe injection sites.

“I grew up during [the] crack cocaine [epidemic], and no one talked about the safe crackhouse in my neighborhood,” she said. “So we have to fight against things like safe injection sites in our neighborhood.”

Interacting with constituents

Philadelphians, Green said, should “expect more and deserve better” from their city. For instance, he said, the mayor’s poor communication with residents during the recent water crisis caused chaos throughout the city.

“We had people trying to go to different locations to get water because the administration put out some information on a Sunday afternoon, not having a press conference and not assuring people [about] what was going on,” he said. “And people went into a panic. When I say that Philadelphia should expect more and deserve better for our city, what better example than what just happened with the water crisis?”

Brown, who owns a chain of ShopRite and Fresh Grocer grocery stores throughout the city, talked about his experience engaging with communities his stores are in as a businessman.

“We work with community organizations very seriously,” he said. “We have always started our work with town hall meetings, [and] we've always coordinated with local community organizations.”

Brown said the communities he’s involved with have long complained of crime and other quality-of-life issues like potholes and damaged sidewalks.

“Someone has to take this more seriously because a large percentage of the city needs better conditions, more reliable conditions,” he said. “We're going to do that.”

Parker said she plans to create a neighborhood safety and community policing plan as mayor, which would, in part, make sure police officers are strengthening relationships with the communities they’re sworn to protect.

Tiny homes for seniors

Green said he was open to the idea of building tiny homes for seniors on vacant city lots.

“We should be looking for more creative ways to develop housing,” he said.

Brown agreed, but cautioned it wouldn’t be enough.

“We're short like 25,000 homes. I will come to council with a package for the whole thing,” he said. “You will see cranes in the air building legitimate homes so every Philadelphian has a home. I'm confident that it can be done within two terms.”

Parker, on the other hand, argued that “every ounce” of vacant city land should be used to build new affordable, mixed-use housing – but not tiny homes.

“You will never hear me advocate…to build any development that is solely for people considered to be low income and or poor,” she said. “Whenever you do anything that's just for people considered to be low income, everything around them becomes a lower quality.”

The mayoral primary is May 16.