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Let's examine some statements from Gym regarding economic policy:
Well I'm not a communist but I do agree with her point that the side effects of capitalism can be bad for those with inherent social and/or economic disadvantages. At least here in Philadelphia, organized labor is stronger than in most cities and PA accepting the ACA's Medicaid expansion has helped to increase access to healthcare even if it's still not available to "all".
Quote:
The amount of buzzwords and meaningless moral gestures these people can pack into a sentence is astounding. And the most important thing: It never ever has anything to do with making the lives of Philadelphians better.
All of the candidates - and many of us here on the forum - have expressed concerns about public education, affordable/safe housing and transit. What Gym's issue may be - as I expressed in my "rankings" post further upthread - is that it's not clear how she would pay for her solutions as not enough of Harrisburg or Washington are currently inclined to assist us with the increased funding we would need.
Quote:
It doesn't pick up the trash. It doesn't stop drug dealers from setting up shop outside of schools or subway stations. It doesn't do anything.
Looking at Gym's website, she actually does offer solutions for sanitation as well as safety outside of schools. I admit there is not anything specific about preventing drug trade in front of subway stops.
Quote:
It's Jim Kenney/Bill DeBlasio 2.0, all equity and rainbows of white privilege happiness.
I agree about not wanting another Jim Kenney but probably not for all the same reasons. It's easier to be dismissive of intentions and declarations of equity if one doesn't identify with any or all of currently/historically marginalized Philadelphians.
That said, it looks like we're both leaning towards Rhynhart so there's that.
Well I'm not a communist but I do agree with her point that the side effects of capitalism can be bad for those with inherent social and/or economic disadvantages. At least here in Philadelphia, organized labor is stronger than in most cities and PA accepting the ACA's Medicaid expansion has helped to increase access to healthcare even if it's still not available to "all".
All of the candidates - and many of us here on the forum - have expressed concerns about public education, affordable/safe housing and transit. What Gym's issue may be - as I expressed in my "rankings" post further upthread - is that it's not clear how she would pay for her solutions as not enough of Harrisburg or Washington are currently inclined to assist us with the increased funding we would need.
Looking at Gym's website, she actually does offer solutions for sanitation as well as safety outside of schools. I admit there is not anything specific about preventing drug trade in front of subway stops.
I agree about not wanting another Jim Kenney but probably not for all the same reasons. It's easier to be dismissive of intentions and declarations of equity if one doesn't identify with any or all of currently/historically marginalized Philadelphians.
That said, it looks like we're both leaning towards Rhynhart so there's that.
The other issue about Gym that I have read about is: As one of her fellow progressives put it, she "doesn't play well in the sandbox."
You may be full of righteous indigination over <insert specific injustice(s) here>, but if you actually want to do something about it from within a democratic republican government, you will need at some point to bring some people who don't see things as you do on board.
That will require you to bank some of that righteous indignation and talk calmly and maturely with those who oppose and disagree with you to see if you can't find something you both can agree on.
It seems that this sort of bargaining and compromise is not one of Gym's strong suits, and even her fellow progressives fault her for it. Certainly protest politics won't get her too far when she goes to Harrisburg to try to extract money from the General Assembly. In politics, "my way or the highway" tends to produce nothing, or at least nothing measurable.
Rhynhart is a progressive at heart, but she's also both pragmatic and concerned with getting the most bang for the bucks the city spends. That last will serve her well when she goes to Harrisburg.
I was all set to shift my vote from Domb to Rhynhart. But if Parker polls highest next to Gym heading into the vote, I'll go with her.
Anything but Gym.
I often dine at the FOP lodge, and heard something interesting from more then a few of it's members.
That was the FOP originally was leaning towards endorsing Parker because of her support of "stop and frisk". However she would of declined the endorsement in fear of losing some black vote.
Not saying it is true, all hear say, but interesting.
I agree anything but Gym, and preferably someone who was never on city council. I no longer reside in the city so I can't vote.
I often dine at the FOP lodge, and heard something interesting from more then a few of it's members.
That was the FOP originally was leaning towards endorsing Parker because of her support of "stop and frisk". However she would of declined the endorsement in fear of losing some black vote.
Not saying it is true, all hear say, but interesting.
I agree anything but Gym, and preferably someone who was never on city council. I no longer reside in the city so I can't vote.
Were you in the city, the only candidates you could vote for, then, would be the Browns (Jeff and Amen) and the minor candidates with an ice cube's chance in Hell of winning.
Since public safety is Issue Number One in this campaign (nosing out education), I thought it might be useful for those following this thread and the subject to contemplate this:
The cops themselves were split in the DA election two years ago.
From this article on FOP Lodge 5 head John McNesby by my colleague Victor Fiorillo, which I recommend you read in full. The subject is the November 2021 general election, when Larry Krasner became DA:
Quote:
In the ensuing weeks, the FOP, which had endorsed Trump the previous year, doubled down by endorsing Republican DA candidate Beth Grossman. But Philadelphia’s Guardian Civic League, founded in 1956 as a labor group supporting black officers, went Democrat and endorsed Krasner.
The significance of this is hard to overstate. The city is 44 percent black, and the demographics of the police force, currently around one-third African-American, have never quite reflected that. The idea that in 2019, black officers need a labor organization of their own should be troubling enough. But Philly actually has two, including a local chapter of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), and these recent election cycles brought the departmental schism into focus: The GCL, a 2,000-member organization within the police force, supported a candidate who’d vowed to aggressively prosecute police and was siding with the same people McNesby had dismissed as “parasites.” The disagreement captured the degree to which the FOP is out of step with the city and a significant portion of its own membership.
McNesby has a long history of protecting bad and racist cops. And since retired officers can vote for FOP leadership, he has a base of out-of-touch former cops who long for the days of Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo to keep him in power.
(Edited to add an aside: I've also said at times in the past that the issues with the Philadelphia Police Department could probably be solved by replacing the FOP with the Guardian Civic League as the official bargaining agent.)
The good news is, the younger officers actually in the force don't have this mentality. A little later on in the story, after quoting a professor who says that the police unions may not actually represent their members, we find this:
Quote:
And this idea — that the police’s representatives don’t actually represent the police — finds another adherent in a seemingly unlikely source: Larry Krasner. “I think there are a lot of good police,” says the DA. “I think it’s wonderful to see police in touch with the reality that young men who get jobs are much less likely to be involved in criminal activity. And I think it’s a good reflection on our police commissioner to be fostering this.”
Krasner, however, has fewer good things to say about the FOP. His own history with the group is obviously strained. He sued the police many dozens of times as a civil rights attorney. And in January, McNesby went on Fox News and alleged that Krasner’s policies were responsible for an uptick in crime. (The fact is, homicides and aggravated assaults are up, but the violent crime rate is down.) Back during the campaign, when Krasner came to the FOP’s headquarters to speak, he received a message through an intermediary: “I was told McNesby wanted me to know he ‘couldn’t guarantee my safety,’” he says. “I guess that was supposed to intimidate me.”
Krasner went, of course, and when he spoke, he looked out on a crowd of virtually all white faces — and old ones at that. The realization led Krasner, too, to see the possibility of a new coalition. “I think younger police, who were not raised in quite the same culture of brutality and corruption, understand there is a better way to do things,” he says, “and I believe they hold more power to create change, over time, than it might appear.”
So maybe the DA isn't quite the problem many here think he is?
The Progressive Take Over of Big Cities Is Nearly Complete Philly may elect a left-wing mayor, too. That would put Eric Adams on notice.
Just over a month after Brandon Johnson was elected mayor of Chicago, another Democrat endorsed by Bernie Sanders has a chance to govern a major American city. Philadelphia’s Helen Gym, a former city councilwoman who has also secured the support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, is a top contender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. If Gym prevails — and this is no guarantee, given the number of viable contenders — progressives will have capped a remarkable run of victories in mayoral races that were once the domain of machine-backed moderates. Eric Adams, who once declared himself the “face” of the Democratic Party, would find himself strangely alone in New York, sandwiched between progressives in Philadelphia and Boston, where Michelle Wu, a 38-year-old Elizabeth Warren protégé, has been mayor since 2021.
NBC10 News Midday reporting it's still a statistical dead heat.
The Emerson College poll shows Gym, Parker and Rhynhart within the 3.9% margin of error of one another (20.5, 18.2 and 17.7 percent, respectively) and Domb at 13.6 percent. 15 percent of those polled were still undecided, with the largest share of those leaning Domb.
Jeff Brown should be ashamed of himself for not dropping out. Domb too.
I was a Domb guy but I vowed to vote for whomever was the closest candidate to Gym. These guys know they're not gonna win. And they know that Gym will be a disaster. It is flat-out trading the future of Philadelphia for your ego.
I still can't believe she is going to be our next mayor.
NBC10 News Midday reporting it's still a statistical dead heat.
The Emerson College poll shows Gym, Parker and Rhynhart within the 3.9% margin of error of one another (20.5, 18.2 and 17.7 percent, respectively) and Domb at 13.6 percent. 15 percent of those polled were still undecided, with the largest share of those leaning Domb.
It will all come down to turnout. I did see an image of a big Gym rally over the weekend, however.
If you live in the city still, vote like the outcome depends on your vote. It just might. I may opt to vote strategically for Parker.
I might do that, and if Parker and Rhynhard weren't tied in every poll, it would make it much easier. My hope is the vast majority of undecideds are tossing around Domb, Parker and Rhynhart. And I don't think its an unreasonable hope either. Seems like you are either on the Gym train or not.
And FWIW, West Mt. Airy I would guess has a more Parker signs than Gym. As one might guess, Seth Anderson Oberman signs are everywhere and if the vast majority of them are supporting Gym, they aren't advertising it with a sign. There just aren't that many Gym signs. But signs are just signs. I remember Brooklyn in 2016, all the "hot spots" were covered in Bernie signs, but lost to Hillary 2-1. I guess its an urban version of "flyover country".
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