Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. and Councilman Kenyatta Johnson exercising their civic duty

by Thera Martin theramartin10@gmail.com

God only knows how many mayoral forums there will be between now and May 16th, Primary Election day in Pennsylvania. I’m proud that Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., and Councilman Kenyatta Johnson were amongst the first out the door to host a mayoral candidates forum with a specific look at violence and how the various candidates think they will address the violence crisis in Philly. Hosting a candidates forum, whether it’s for the office of the Mayor, or some other political seats, I think it’s a wonderful exercise in civic education. Let me take a look back at the first question asked at a Mayoral forum on Gun Violence that took place on January 19th.

Each candidate was asked to offer an opening statement explaining why they want to be the Mayor of Philadelphia.

Warren Bloom, one of at least ten people vying to be Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor, describes himself as a pastor. In his opening statement on why he wants to be Mayor and how he’d address violence, he stated, “There’s only one way to overcome the evil of gun violence, and that is by doing good and to lay an atmosphere where we can have a better community. If you listen to something long enough, you’ll start thinking about it and doing it. I plan to use my experience with the media. I would let everybody know first of all, that I cannot solve this problem on my own. I would need the whole Philadelphia community, with everybody chipping in to solve this problem. No one person can solve this problem. We have to solve this problem together. And I’m looking forward to hearing from you, the voters, how we’re going to do all of this.”

Businessman Jeff Brown stated, “I’m running for Mayor because we need change. In this city, people die every day, and it’s not right. It needs to be addressed. Fifteen years ago, I met with Bilal Qayyum from the Father’s Day Rally Committee. We were having a crisis at that time as well. We wanted to do something about it, so we started running Gun Buy Back programs, and we have taken thousands of guns off the street. For most of that time, we raised the money ourselves to do that. We know we have a structural poverty problem that needs to be addressed. Tonight, I’m prepared to talk specifics and details of how I would solve this gun vio-lence problem and make this city safe for all of us.”

Retired Philadelphia Judge James DeLeon stated, “As a municipal court judge in Philadelphia for 34 years, I had a first-hand look at the constant gun violence that continues to sweep across our city. I’ve created and developed what’s known as the local incident management system. As Mayor, I would implement this system from day one to address the ongoing violence and to include the court system, which has not been done by any previous office, to keep crime at bay. This job and initiative are personal to me. I was born and raised in West Philly. I’m from here. I’ve raised my family here. And have actively contributed to the communities and saved lives for over 30 years. In office, I will bring forth my legal background, understanding, and leadership as a military veteran to restore the hope in this city that is hurting. We deserve to live long, undisturbed lives, and as Mayor, safety will be my number one priority.

Retired Philadelphia City Councilman Alan Domb stated, “Thank you for having me here tonight. I especially want to thank my colleagues Councilman Jones and Johnson, for all the work you’ve done for hosting this event tonight. You are the champions in the city council on these issues, and I want to just thank you because you guys are doing an amazing job. I’m running for Mayor because Philadelphia is in a crisis. We have a community safety crisis. We have an affordable housing crisis. We have an education and poverty crisis, and we have a jobs crisis. But most importantly we have a crisis of leadership. We need strong leadership. No government can be successful without strong leadership. I spent my whole career doing hard work and getting results. That’s how I built a successful business from the ground up, employing people and helping families build strong futures. Being Mayor isn’t about speeches. It’s not about sending out funny or sarcastic tweets. It’s about leadership. It’s about hard work. It’s about getting results.”

Retired Philadelphia City Councilman At Large Derek Green stated, “I’m going to cut right to the chase. We all know in this room and around the city of Philadelphia, We have a gun violence crisis in our city. Last year we had 18 hundred shootings. Seventy-four percent of the victims and the shooters looked just like me. As a former Assistant District Attorney and as someone who had to deal with issues of trying to provide accountability for someone who came from my church, but also understands the over-criminalization of the criminal justice system for young men that look like my son Julian; and having had that duality come together at the same time, when I was leaving the D.A.’s office once and also being racially-profiled. So in the Green administration, we’re going to reduce shootings by 25% through presence, through hiring bonuses, and making sure we have police officers who look like the communities they serve. We’re also going to make sure we have accountability by having an advanced gun violence task force and bringing back focused deterrents.

Helen Gym stated, “I am here before you for one rea-

See “Mayoral Candidate Forum” page 11

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son only, it’s because violence is destroying our families, and it is the single greatest threat to everything we ever hoped for, for this city. When there was violence happening at a local high school, one of the most dangerous high schools in the state, I turned that school around in less than two years. What I learned from that is that we don’t need ten-point plans. We need leadership and accountability, and we need action. That’s why, on my very first day as Mayor, I’m enacting a state of emergency on gun violence. We are coordinating all of our city agencies in an effort to deliver resources and support the people who need it the most. That absolutely means patrols out on the streets. That means interventions for those who are in the path of violence, support for victims, and attention to addressing illegal guns and restoring safety and dignity. That’s my number one priority.

Retired Philadelphia City Councilwoman Cherelle Parker stated, “ We are here tonight because too many families like me and too many parents, like me, have seen too much bloodshed in our streets with children’s lost and families lost, to senseless gun violence. As a mother and a former teacher I affirm that we in the Parker administration, will have a safer, cleaner, and greener city that provides economic opportunity for all. “Cherelle we hear you saying it, but how do we know you’ll get to done”? I’m the only candidate seated on this stage here today that has offered a comprehensive neighborhood safety and community policing plan that includes putting 300 police officers--proactively engaged in community policing on the streets of our city. We will get it done!”

Rebecca Rhynhart stated, “I’m running for mayor because I love Philadelphia. I’ve spent the last fifteen years working for the residents of our city. For the last five years, I’ve been the independently elected City Controller, and I’ve expanded the role of my office beyond the traditional financial audits to look at issues and tackle issues such as gun violence. As Controller, I made recommendations, but that’s where my power ended. As Mayor, I can and will make changes happen. As Mayor, I will tackle gun violence and make our city safer. I will make education a top priority. I’m a public school parent,, and I believe strongly that every family deserves a good school for their kids. I will make sure that our streets are clean and that trash pickup doesn’t depend on your zip code. I think we are in a critical moment right now, and we need a Mayor with courage and leadership, and I believe I am that person.”

Democratic candidate for Mayor Amen Brown, who is currently a PA State Representative, did not confirm his attendance for the forum and consequently did not show up. Retired Philadelphia City Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez did participate. However, she arrived late, and thus that’s why we did not hear her answer to the question of why is she running for office.

This candidates' forum was one of the first to be held in this new political campaign cycle. The event took place on the campus of Saint Joseph’s University on Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. It was sponsored by Philadelphia Coty Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and by Philadelphia City Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. They invited key stakeholders to be a part of planning the forum and providing strong questions. The stakeholders were the Father’s Day Rally Committee, Every Murder is Real, Urgent 365, The Price Hall Mason’s Foundation, The Men of Germantown, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, and the Wynnefield Residents Association. There was a panel of journalists and broadcasters who asked some of the questions to the candidates. That group included Loraine Ballard Morrill from iHeart Radio, Solomon Jones from Radio One and WURD AM/FM, Cherri Gregg from WHYY/FM radio and WHYY/TV-12, and Christie Iletto from 6ABC. 6ABC really took the ball and ran with it, providing live streaming of the entire program on their website and the 6ABC cell phone App. On top of that, the city of Philadelphia cable TV channel agreed to rebroadcast the mayoral forum on gun violence. This mayoral forum has gotten a lot of coverage, and at the end of the day, it’s about informing and educating would-be voters.

My hats off to Councilmen Johnson and Jones for caring enough about their civic duty to educate the citizens of Philadelphia on this upcoming primary election Tuesday, May 16th. In sponsoring and hosting the mayoral forum on gun violence, they were willing to put themselves out there, even if some people might dare to say, “Oh they both have to run for reelection this year, and they just want publicity for themselves.” That wasn’t it at all. Curtis Jones and Kenyatta Johnson understand civics and what civic duty means. They want to see Philadelphia have strong leadership not only on city council but in the Mayor’s office too. That’s why they stood up and made sure this candidates' forum took place.