Editor’s note: This is another story in a series about candidates running in the upcoming primary election.

Michael Cogbill is running against long-serving state Sen. Art Haywood in Pennsylvania’s 4th State Senate District, which encompasses Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, parts of Germantown, West Oak Lane, and Montgomery County.

The 37-year-old candidate has a background in organizing and community outreach and is running on a platform of progressive tax reform. He describes himself as representing the values of a “progressive community.”

Cogbill was born in North Philadelphia, spending his early years living around the corner of North 25th and West Cambria streets. When his mother would work overnight shifts for SEPTA, Cogbill would stay with his aunt, now Councilmember Cindy Bass, at her house in Mt. Airy.

Growing up with an aunt in politics, Cogbill was introduced to many social issues at a young age.

“The first movie she ever showed me was, ‘Paris is Burning,’ and to show a cisgender black man, a movie like that and say, ‘I want you to care about gender justice,’ she was like that and I think she was smart,” Cogbill told the Local. “… I think my interest in this work comes from being raised by women, by women of color.”

He graduated from Martin Luther King High School in Germantown and attended Lincoln University to study physics. Deciding the physics route was not for him, he left Lincoln to work for political campaigns and organizations and quickly fell in love with that work.

Since then, Cogbill has worked with organizations like CeaseFirePA, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, Common Cause, and has served as regional director for voter protection with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

During this time, he also has worked as a district organizer for Bass.

Entering this upcoming primary election, Cogbill said he has decided to run on a platform of economic justice, voting rights, climate dignity, housing justice, and common-sense gun laws.

The platform

On “economic justice,” Cogbill is seeking progressive tax reform.

“The first action step we can take to raise tax revenue is closing the Delaware loophole. The Delaware loophole allows corporations to register in Delaware and evade state taxes. It is estimated that more than 70% of corporations in Pa. benefit from this legal tax strategy,” Cogbill said. “The commonwealth loses over $300 million annually. Since school districts have a structural deficit of $300 million, implementing an equitable tax formula could practically solve that issue in one year.”

Part of Cogbill’s idea of reform is ensuring that corporations that do business in Pennsylvania pay Pennsylvania taxes. For him, that means closing other loopholes that allow companies to profit in the state and not report earnings from offshore accounts.

Legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana is another route Cogbill sees to generate funds for needs like schools and public transportation.

He also expressed support for the Pennsylvania Policy Center’s Fair Share Tax Plan, which seeks to ease the tax burden on working- and middle-class families and draw a higher tax percentage from passive business, profits, capital gains, dividends, royalties, and estates.

“A business like High Point Cafe is registered here, and they’ll pay business income taxes, and then Starbucks won’t be paying any business income taxes,” Cogbill said. “I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t think High Point should be paying more taxes than Starbucks because they’re able to register in another country. … Pennsylvania doesn’t have a spending problem. We have a revenue-generating problem.”

Cogbill said he understands that pushing for much of this policy will likely take flipping the Senate.

“I think flipping the Senate [is necessary]. The governor said he wants to close the Delaware loophole,” Cogbill said.

At home in the district, blight and development issues are areas Cogbill would like to address.

“This would require amending the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to impose a use and occupancy tax on vacant and blighted properties; establish escalating rates for non-use; provide exemptions for active redevelopment; and authorize municipalities to dedicate revenues for blight remediation and redevelopment,” Cogbill said. “It’s kinda like blight reduction through use and occupancy tax reform.”

Cogbill said he’d like to see progress on abandoned properties in Germantown, like the YWCA. While he said he shares his aunt’s desire to promote Black developers, he’d like to see movement on the project even if that means moving forward with a different developer.

For voting rights protections, Cogbill supports protected polling places, permanent vote-by-mail, and strengthened access.

On the environment, he seeks strict environmental standards for data centers, a ban on utility rate hikes, and enforcement of a “statewide sustainability agreement that mandates clean energy use, environmental protections, and community reinvestment.”

With his experience at CeaseFirePA, Cogbill says he will advocate for expanded background checks, the closure of loopholes that allow violent offenders to own guns, and will work to pass “common-sense gun reforms supported by the majority of Pennsylvanians and responsible gun owners.”

With the primary election on May 19, Cogbill is challenging Haywood, a staple in local politics.

When asked why people should vote for him, Cogbill said, “I’m young, I’m energetic, I’m astute, and I really want to do the work. … I like making this neighborhood better, and I share the same progressive principles of the Northwest.”

“I like the way we do advocacy,” he added. “I like the way we show up for other marginalized populations, and we don’t just think about ourselves. … We just have so many people who want to do this work and so many people who care.”