CANDIDATES RESPOND TO OUR QUESTIONNAIRE

Philadelphia Must be The Best Place to Raise a Family. A mayor that embraces the policies set forth by The Kids Campaign, will be doing what it takes for Philadelphia to be the best place to raise a family.

Below are 12 questions designed by The Kids Campaign, posed to each candidate.  Click on the candidates name to see how they responded.  Less than half of Mayoral Candidates Tell Voters What They’ll Do for Children > Read The Press Release Here

Q1: How will you, as Mayor, make Philadelphia a great place to raise your family?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

The COVID-19 pandemic made clear that the most desirable city of the future is the most livable city of the future. When the pandemic hit and shutdown orders were issued, much of the country and our city relocated toward the places that most felt like home – places that were safe, and affordable and where families felt assured that those from the very young to the very senior were cared for. As Mayor, I am focused on livability and affordability as one of the key drivers of growth and our economy.

This means focusing on quality of life services throughout the city – from safe and clean streets to on-time public transit, improved sanitation and public trash cans throughout the city as well as increased fines for illegal dumping particularly in and around construction sites and schools. As a Councilmember, I invested in a Just Services campaign to direct more funds and attention to clean up streets and improve street lighting in dangerous neighborhoods, as well as address blight.

Livability means making sure our public assets are funded, staffed, and open. It’s why I am focused on weekend and evening hours at our libraries and recreation centers, and accelerating the timeline and finishing the job on ReBuild to deliver world-class parks in every neighborhood of the city.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

As the first mother to serve as the Mayor of Philadelphia, I will listen, learn, and lead. My daughter is in seventh grade in Philadelphia public schools. I share many of your coalition’s worries about our kids’ well-being. We need a safer, cleaner Philadelphia and a city government that works for all families in every neighborhood. That’s my vision for this city. As Mayor of Philadelphia, I will use my experiences to make our city’s services run more efficiently and cost-effectively to achieve this vision. On gun violence, I would declare a citywide emergency activating the city’s emergency operation center to coordinate our operating departments’ response to focus on the neighborhoods most impacted by the violence urgently. I will make sure that we get more officers on the street meanwhile taking steps to make sure policing is fair, efficient and effective based on the needs of the communities and neighborhoods our officers serve. My administration will clean up the city within the first 100 days of my term, including removing thousands of abandoned cars. The Rhynhart Administration will develop a citywide housing plan that prioritizes creating new and affordable housing in every neighborhood, working with City Council to leverage the 8,500 city-owned vacant lots and properties to develop this much-needed housing supply for our residents. Finally, I will establish workforce development pathways to help mothers, fathers and caregivers access the skills they need to excel and thrive in family-sustaining jobs.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

I am running for Mayor to make Philadelphia a safer, cleaner and greener city with economic opportunity for everyone.

Safer: For the city and business to function, people have to feel safe in their homes, getting to work, dropping their kids off at school, and commuting into the city for work or fun. But currently, there is a sense of lawlessness in our city. That is why, while on City Council, I introduced a comprehensive plan to fill our depleted police ranks and hire an additional 300 foot and bike patrol officers to be present in every neighborhood in our city. Additionally, the plan addresses the root causes of crime, fix the quality of life issues that are pervasive in our city.

Cleaner and greener: We all suffer whenever anyone calls the city we love “filth-adelphia” because the streets and sidewalks aren’t clean. People do not want to live, visit, or open a business in a city. That’s why while on council, I introduced the PHL Taking Care of Business where we clean in and around commercial corridors by giving people from the neighborhoods a chance by hiring them at $15/hour and giving them the soft skills they need to enter the workforce and build a career.

Economic Opportunity: From start-up, to building and growing an existing business, to scaling a company to IPO – especially for Black and brown businesses that have not shared equally in the growth of the city – Philadelphia is entirely too complicated a place to do business. That is why I’m going to bring my experience in Harrisburg and City Hall to streamline city government interaction for all businesses. This means moving to a strong customer service model for all city agencies, adding app-based one-stop-solutions for businesses, and cutting through the red tape that makes doing business in our city so onerous.

But we also have to lift up our small businesses and entrepreneurs that are the backbone of our city’s economy and stabilize our communities. While on City Council, I created a model program in conjunction with the Community College of Philadelphia called Power Up Your Business–a free program that provides business courses geared toward small businesses to help teach the basics of running a business. Power Up Your Business has assisted more than 1,000 small businesses across the City through its free programming. The program has become so successful, it is now the number one feeder for Goldman Sachs’ 10k Small Businesses program. As Mayor, I’ll be working to scale up these types of programs and create new ones so that Philadelphia is the model for how government can nurture and grow businesses in our city, and how we can partner with our colleges and universities.

Q2: How will you, as Mayor, ensure that Philadelphia is a city where we have the courage to heal systemic rifts that disproportionately harm children of color?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

I am running for Mayor because I am a proven fighter who has taken on healing systemic racism and the flawed policies that keep it in place – our under-resourced public schools, an eviction crisis, inhumane conditions for young people in the juvenile welfare and justice system, persistent poverty and violence – and delivered solutions that improve people’s lives and are national models of success.

I ran for public office after two decades of community organizing work changing the political landscape for issues long neglected and overlooked. I wasn’t going to accept a status quo of broken politics; I needed to change the limits of what was possible to win. In less than two terms, I helped end a state takeover of our public schools and started a $500 million infrastructure campaign that gave clean water, air conditioning, and lead, asbestos and mold removal to thousands of children. I built the most successful eviction prevention program in the nation that slashed evictions by almost two-thirds in one of the highest evicting cities in the nation. I wrote the country’s most expansive Fair Workweek law for advance schedules, built a new Department of Labor to enforce labor laws, and supported unionization efforts at museums and non-profits as well as Starbucks. I led the charge to reform the city’s 10-year tax abatement, and I will continue to lead the city toward common-sense taxation policies that grow our city and make sure corporate entities and wealthy individuals pay their fair share.

I am running to finish the job I started in communities more than two decades ago: to build a city where prosperity is shared among all of us, not just a privileged few; a city where lifelong residents can afford to stay, and where others will want to come. I am meeting the violence crisis head-on. America needs its justice leaders to be both visible and successful in bringing forward real solutions – including mental health mobile crisis units, safe routes for children to and from school, fully opening up public spaces like libraries and recreation centers to be safe havens for youth, and targeted interventions towards those most likely to be harmed or to harm others.

I am the only mayoral candidate who will prioritize our public schools and has a plan to deliver the stable and quality school that every child in every neighborhood needs. I will focus government resources to expand Black and Brown businesses, and ensure our city is in service to small and local businesses, emerging industries, our labor force, and diverse entrepreneurs — not lobbyists. I will rebuild the infrastructure of our city with good union jobs and tackle the climate crisis.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

The next mayor needs to pursue a long-term transformation of our school system to create the high-quality education that all of Philadelphia’s students deserve, focusing on correcting the racial injustices and disinvestment of the past and present so that Philadelphia’s Black and brown children can grow and thrive here. The places where kids go to learn, play, and create need to be accessible and safe. The School District of Philadelphia is responsible for ensuring that every school is one where students are supported and can learn. Schools need to be clean, healthy spaces. I will appoint school board members who are in lockstep with my vision for this long-term transformation, who put children first, and who will listen to school-based staff. I will ensure that students and families have all the support staff they need – social workers, counselors, school nurses, ESL teachers, reading specialists and special ed teachers. Parks, playgrounds, recreation centers, and libraries must expand hours and programs. We will need to work hard to ensure the city fills all its open positions with competent and caring adults. In short, our goal should be for SDP schools to look like the best suburban schools in the collar counties around Philadelphia. As mayor, I will fight to ensure that Harrisburg follows through on its responsibility to provide the funds necessary to make this happen. I will also ensure that our city’s resources are spent on their highest purpose to support these efforts.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

I am where I am because my family and community believed in the power of education. My undergraduate degree is in education, and my first job after college was as a teacher. And I am committed to ensuring that every child in Philadelphia has an opportunity to use education and our schools as a tool to do whatever they want.

But we cannot ignore that Philadelphia is one of the most segregated cities in America. This has been true for generations, and the divide in equity was always far from closing. But the struggles and the challenges of the pandemic shone a light on these disparities, and only increased the size of the rift. And as the pandemic receded, we were left with even greater systemic challenges that we must face.

This is why I support the creation of quality seats in state-of-the-art buildings to have a world-class education system in the city of Philadelphia. This includes both District-run and charter-run schools. And I support holding failing schools accountable. It is in the creation of good seats, irrespective of school-type that we start to create true equity.

But we can’t get there if there is a battle between charters and traditional public schools. To bridge this gap, I will lean on my intergovernmental experience to insist that the state legislature reinstate the Charter School Reimbursement line-item that was deleted by the Corbett administration in 2011. Removing this reimbursement that refunded the School District of Philadelphia for students lost to charter schools pitted public schools against charter schools unnecessarily by leaving public school no way to defray the overhead and stranded costs that remained the same despite smaller enrollments. Reinstating this will grow the pot of funds and allow for more opportunity for Philadelphia’s students no matter what type of school they attend.

Additionally, with my call for schools to open earlier and close later, so children of every background have the opportunity to participate in enrichment programs, and older children have a chance to get job skills and college preparatory training like those offered in suburban and private schools.

Q3: How will you, as Mayor, make sure no child in Philadelphia goes hungry or lives in poverty?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

I’m running for Mayor because our kids aren’t alright, and some of the biggest problems we are facing as a city stem from this disinvestment in whole generations of children and their neighborhoods. Philadelphia needs a proven fighter who has a real track record of improving people’s lives with a visionfor lifting up our residents. Going forward, we have to build a real anti-poverty mission where our government leans in.

It starts with the City budget. Our city and its residents need well-funded public schools, better sanitation services, and every resource at our disposal to keep communities healthy and safe. We need full-service libraries, parks, and recreation centers. We need to deliver city services that do more than just meet needs — the lighting up and cleaning up of our streets, sealing of vacant lots, and beautification of parks and green spaces is a proven antidote to violence.

The Biden agenda showed how the Child Tax Credit nearly cut child poverty in half. We should be exercising tax breaks to go to families in need. We can clear civil debt, provide care packages for new moms with guaranteed diaper banks and formula access, and better support food banks – because we have to end hunger.

It’s also about ensuring those in low-wage work have access to things that have traditionally lifted people up, like unionization and stable schedules. We can build on my anti-poverty initiatives that we passed into law on City Council, such as my nationally recognized Eviction Diversion Program and Fair Workweek. As Mayor, I’ll deliver a real anti-poverty agenda and a promise for economic opportunity and livability for all Philadelphians.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

The root cause of poverty is a lack of opportunity. So, when I’m mayor, I’ll be laser-focused on creating pathways to family-sustaining jobs and fixing our schools so that we’re making that opportunity available and breaking cycles of poverty for this new generation. That means job training to upskill our residents to help parents find and excel in family-sustaining jobs, making sure that every kid in Philadelphia has access to a high-quality neighborhood school and expanding hours and programming at library and rec centers throughout our city so those same kids have a safe place to be outside of the classroom that enriches their learning and wellbeing. Our goal will be to build a level of opportunity where our residents and their children can go beyond surviving to thriving. I’ve also released a plan for affordable housing to lessen housing insecurity for families struggling to make ends meet because every one of us, especially our kids, deserves the dignity of a roof over our heads.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

We know that a hungry child is the main contributor for delayed development, risk of chronic illnesses like asthma and anemia; and behavioral problems like hyperactivity, anxiety and aggression. In Philadelphia, there are many homes with children that face true food insecurity every day. 

That is why I want to expand on the School Distristrict’s free breakfast and lunch program – with early drop-off and late-pickup, as well as year-round schooling, we have the opportunity to provide a snack and dinner to help make sure that no student has to go hungry and that they have every opportunity to succeed.

In addition to feeding our children we have to address the root cause of their hunger: poverty. Anti-poverty efforts must begin with our youngest citizens, which is why I was proud to support PHLpreK, which has now served more than 13,000 three and four year-olds. For older children, as a City Councilmember, I was proud to support investments of over $1.2 billion to improve the School District of Philadelphia and upward of $249 million in Community College of Philadelphia since 2016. Though these investments may take time to see a return, numerous research studies have shown the importance of investing in children and youth of all ages as an effective anti-poverty measure.

And as Mayor, we will be investing in adult-oriented job training because one of the key tenets of my administration will be to break the cycle of poverty and get as many adults as possible off of the poverty hamster wheel so they can be a part of our city’s economy.

And as these workers enter the workforce, we must ensure that everyone is paid a living wage.The current minimum wage of $7.25 is set far below a level that is a liveable, family-sustaining wage. This hits Black, Latino, and women-led households the hardest. I supported a $15/hour minimum wage, but now that is not enough. According to the MIT living wage calculator, a living wage in Philadelphia is $17.87/hour for someone with no children. Ultimately, any meaningful minimum wage change will need to come from Harrisburg, and I’ve got the experience to get it done – not just once, but to have it permanently tied to the rate of inflation so we don’t have to have these fights again.

Curing the problems of hunger and poverty won’t happen immediately, but the steps we take now can make lasting change for generations.

Q4: How will you, as Mayor, make sure every neighborhood has a quality District school?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

I am the only mayoral candidate who will not only prioritize our public schools but has a plan to deliver the quality school that every child in every neighborhood needs. The City cannot reach its potential if it leaves its children further behind in our school system. Because Philadelphia is the only municipality in the Commonwealth without an elected and taxing empowered school district, it is the Mayor’s responsibility to bring the School District under the wing of the city government and for the city government to be accountable to the public schools.

As Mayor, my top priorities are improving literacy K-12, ensuring quality pre-K and broadening access to affordable child care, and addressing mental health and restorative supports in schools to help children and families address the trauma of the last several years. I intend to expand on the school safety zones I advocated for as a Councilmember, and focus on safety on public transit and safe routes to and from school. And finally, I am going to focus on at-risk youth and truancy to re-engage young people year round in order to see them through graduation.

As state teaching certifications plummet, I am Philadelphia’s loudest cheerleader for recruiting and retaining teachers and educational professionals. I have long supported grow your own programs for hiring and retention, and I want to put the full force of the city’s college, Community College of Philadelphia, to use on this front.

And finally, I am on a mission to modernize our public schools. I am proud to have led a clean water campaign that kickstarted a massive $500 million infrastructure investment in upgrading schools, but that must only be the start. Philadelphia’s population growth has been driven by new birth rates and immigration, both of which make public schooling a necessary and essential part of the City’s growthstrategy. A major investment in school modernization is a promise to Philadelphia families and a new generation that we are looking to our future.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

As a public school parent with a daughter in seventh grade, this issue is personal to me and is one I would take ownership of as Mayor. We need a school board that puts kids first. I’ll appoint school board members who are in lockstep with my vision for a long-term transformation of our school system and the high-quality education that all of Philadelphia’s students deserve, especially focusing on correcting the racial injustices and disinvestment of the past and present. Of course, I’ll fight for Philadelphia’s fair share of funding in Harrisburg. Still, I believe the city can best provide opportunities for our students and our teachers with investments and support from city agencies in our school building and our neighborhoods. I’ll ensure that our city agencies provide services in the schools to ensure safety within the building and classrooms and mental health and other wraparound services. I’ll also make sure that we’re dedicating the resources necessary to expand operating hours and programming at our libraries, parks and recreation centers so that our kids have a safe place to be outside of school hours that supports their academic success. On staffing, the school board needs to improve its systems to hire talented staff in a timely manner. Currently, schools in impoverished neighborhoods are struggling to find and retain staff. Our team is looking into ways to train current support staff at these schools to fill the teaching openings. Extra attention must be given to schools in our most impoverished zip codes.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

It has been my life’s work and personal passion to close the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ While I grew up poor, access to a quality education exposed me to many opportunities throughout my life It’s why I started out as a teenage organizer and went on to become a teacher. Underfunding, school closures, layoffs, and mismanagement have hurt students, teachers, staff, and the entire community.

It is unconscionable that we ask anybody, but especially children, teachers, and other workers to go to buildings with environmental, structural, and other issues. I’ve said this before at my public appearances: many of our school buildings need immediate attention but some are too far gone and need to be torn down, period. While the school district is already implementing an improvement plan, it’s not happening quickly enough for kids and parents who don’t have options, and for the first time in my experience, the money is there to get it done. Until we do these things, it will be difficult for the School District of Philadelphia to viewed nationally as a prime destination for teachers. 

A great example of the type of leadership I am talking about is when I was serving as a State Representative and Chair of the Philadelphia Delegation. I took on one of the worst financial crises the Philadelphia School District had faced: The state had cut education funding and the Superintendent of the school district of Philadelphia was looking at a monumental budget shortfall. It was so bad, they had already mailed pink slips to 3,783 school district employees. I worked with Democrats and Republicans – including Republican leadership in the state House and a Republican Governor – to find a new dedicated funding source for the school district, saving those jobs and saving schools from closing. Building this consensus wasn’t easy, especially with other elected officials that I had had spirited policy disagreements with, but it was what was necessary to get things done. 

As we look to the future of childhood education in the city, I am excited to see the details of the legislation that comes from the state following the Commonwealth Court ruling that will ensure that all Pennsylvania schools are funded equitably. There is almost no scenario where the Philadelphia School District does not receive more funding, and I am excited to tackle the problem of workforce development with increased funding.

Q5: How will you, as Mayor, make Philadelphia the prime destination for the best teachers in the country?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

Teachers deserve to be treated as experts in creating safe, healthy school environments — whether it’s modernizing schools district-wide to make every classroom a safe place to learn or guaranteeing safe passage to and from school. I will ensure that my administration works with teachers to fix hard problems,
treating them as assets — not adversaries. My long history of working with teacher and dedication to ensuring that they have a voice at the table in the next mayoral administration is why she earned the endorsement of the city’s teachers’ union.

I am the only mayoral candidate with a real plan to fully remediate, renovate, and modernize our school buildings so that teachers have a safe place to work. I will ensure the District dedicates $4 billion for a Green New Deal to transform Philadelphia schools over her first term. It will be a transformative start to bringing Philadelphia’s school facilities into the 21st Century. For far too long, the School District’s facilities planning process has been developed behind closed doors, with little oversight and input. Rather than allowing leaders to work in silos, I will bring together leaders who will forge a path through open communication, and joint planning and leadership. This coalition will include the Mayor, City Council, Superintendent of Schools, School District Chief Operating Officer, City Department of Planning and
Development, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Public Property, building trades leaders, environmental leaders, teachers, principals, maintenance workers, parents, caregivers, and community leaders.

I will ensure that working with communities and having authentic dialogues with families about their needs is essential to the project of leading a healthy, vibrant, and thriving Philadelphia. I believe that engaging teachers and communities is not just about more than just soliciting one-time feedback on already-crafted plans. It’s about who we are as a city and whether we shut the doors on families that bear the brunt of broken systems—or whether we bring everyone to the table to lift our young people up and make Philly the city that it can and should be.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

Teachers want good benefits, fair wages, and sustainable working conditions. I will appoint a school board that respects teachers, will ensure their contract is honored and will negotiate the most rewarding contract that is affordable to the School District of Philadelphia. I hear complaints from teachers and school-based staff of waste, especially in purchasing ineffective “programs” and consultants. They also complain that excessive paperwork leaves them frustrated and exhausted but does not foster learning for their students or make them more effective teachers. I will direct my school board to make sure teachers can focus on planning and executing lessons. That will attract the best candidates – either homegrown or from other states. Also, I will expand opportunities for Paraprofessionals to become teachers. In the SDP, most Paras are Black and brown women from Philadelphia neighborhoods. These women will make some of the best teachers for our kids. Research shows that all students benefit from having a Black teacher, and kids deserve to see someone who looks like them leading classrooms. Hard-working Paras who choose to become teachers have earned our respect and deserve assistance in quickly getting their degrees and certifications. The solution to the teacher crisis is right here in Philly.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

From early childhood learning to high school instruction, we will have a chance to re-examine and fund how our kids learn to better prepare them for their lives after high school: whether that is learning a trade, going into a specialty field, or to college. 

Philadelphia students need to be prepared for a modern economy, but Philadelphia’s public school system is stuck in the past. Elementary schools are open for 6 hours and 39 minutes a day – sometimes not beginning until 9 am. The short school day means that kids miss out on extra curricular activities like language, art, music, sports, coding, and the kinds of enrichment that lead to a strong educational foundation, college scholarships, and a better future. Schools should also be places where children learn the fundamentals like cooking and balancing a checkbook, and also topics such as getting an introduction to entrepreneurship – all without taking time away from the necessary basics of education.

The Parker Plan for Education will transform how we think about public schooling, and will be paid for by leveraging existing funding, with new state and city funding, Cherelle will make Philadelphia a national leader in public education.

Q6: How will you, as Mayor, make sure every child has a safe and stable home and access to healthcare?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

On Council, I sponsored the Emergency Housing Protections Act, which kept Philadelphians housed during the COVID-19 pandemic by enacting a local eviction moratorium; an eviction diversion program; a temporary ban on late fees; and requiring tenants be provided the option of repayment plans to get back on track with rent. This legislation helped reduce evictions by 75 percent over two consecutive years and prevented tens of thousands of cases of COVID-19. (Co-sponsored with Councilmembers Gauthier and Brooks). We also developed and implemented Philadelphia’s renowned Eviction Diversion Program, the first mandatory pre-filing diversion program in the nation requiring landlords and renters to resolve disputes with the aid of housing counseling before an eviction can be filed. The program has a 93% success rate in avoiding evictions and has been replicated by cities and states around the nation. In 2021,
Philadelphia’s diversion program was lauded and recommended as a national model by the White House, U.S. Department of Justice, and the Treasury Department.

While this work was critical for protecting renters struggling to stay in their homes, we also need to recommit to housing as a human right, and look at how the city can evolve in its land use to build more affordable housing – and permanent affordable housing rather than short term fixes for people in crisis that don’t upend the cycle of displacement. As Mayor, I would prioritize use of public land for permanent affordable housing, a dedicated preservation fund to keep current homeowners in safe and modern housing and assist landlords to improve properties and protect renters from displacement, greater outreach on government programs, and assisting new homeowners with down payment assistance, credit support and clearing of consumer and student debt.

Additionally, I want to ensure that every child has access to quality healthcare options in their neighborhood by piloting programs that place healthcare professionals, particularly mental and behavioral health professionals, for sessions in recreation centers. I will also use my power as Mayor to work with Governor Shpairo and House Leader McClinton to get healthcare expansion, particularly expansion in CHIP, passed in the Commonwealth’s General Assembly.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

Families need more access to support – Social Workers, counselors, and doctors. The Rhynhart Administration would ensure that our city’s health centers have the hours, capacity and services necessary to meet the needs of the communities where they exist. In addition, we must ensure parents have access to excellent and affordable daycare and that working parents have access to and training for family-sustaining jobs. 

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

During my time on City Council, I was known as the “housing preservation, neighborhood stabilization, and commercial corridor revitalization” Councilperson. I helped launch numerous programs to support and create homeowners (Restore Repair Renew, a low-interest home repair loan program and Philly First Home, a grant program for first-time homebuyers). I worked to stabilize neighborhoods by investing in neighborhood commercial corridors, and creating programs like PHL TCB to clean and green on and around corridors. I also worked tirelessly to support our neighborhood assets, such as parks, recreation centers, and libraries. These assets serve as anchors for our neighborhoods, and their success determines the surrounding neighborhoods’ success.

Also, as a result of the health and economic crisis, we’ve learned more than ever how crucial it is to ensure all people access to decent healthcare, housing and education. One thing that I pushed for when I was still a Councilwoman, and that I continue to push for, is for the City to draw down more quickly on the $1.4 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The City has currently spent less than half of the ARPA funds, despite the great need for these funds now.  As Mayor, I would also explore using city funds (including ARPA funds) to eliminate medical debt for Philadelphians. A little bit of city funding can go a surprisingly long way. For example, Toledo used $800,000 to wipe out $240 million in medical debt. Philadelphians are burdened by so many different types of debt, and medical debt is just one of them. If we can help unburden many Philadelphians of a significant source of debt, it will undoubtedly improve their economic situations.

Despite our Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other health centers,  far too many use emergency rooms across the city as their primary care providers. And if they are uninsured, then the medical costs can be exorbitant. As Mayor, I would work to ensure that every Philadelphian has access to and receives health insurance coverage – via Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, etc. I would focus on education and outreach, targeting vulnerable communities.

Q7: How will you, as Mayor, make sure every neighborhood has great rec centers, parks, libraries, safe places, and afterschool and summer programs?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

Research shows that investing in neighborhoods experiencing disproportionate amounts of violence has a direct impact on gun violence reduction. My plan for investing in communities across Philadelphia includes the much-needed delivery of services and physical improvements to city facilities, particularly the 57 blocks where the majority of violent incidents occur.

My vision for creating safe havens for Philadelphians, particularly youth living in neighborhoods with high rates of violence includes the following:

  • Fully fund our libraries and recreation centers.
  • Fill all vacancies across the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Parks and Recreation Department.
  • Ensure that recreation centers and libraries are open on all nights and weekends, especially during the summer—no excuses.
  • Station clinical social workers, housing counselors, and job counselors at recreation centers in the zip codes most impacted by gun violence after hours to help youth and families with family case management, connections to therapeutic interventions, general emotional support, and access to resources.
  • Provide universal and ongoing training on strategies for gun violence interruption, conflict resolution, de-escalation and trauma-informed care approaches to all adults stationed in recreation centers.

Finally, as important as increased and stable funding, my administration will work with the Civil Service Board and unions to modernize our hiring process to ensure we can appropriately meet the public’s need for services.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

As Mayor, I will fully fund our parks, recreation centers and libraries. This investment is a crucial component of my administration’s long-term strategies to reduce gun violence, increase opportunity in our neighborhoods and improve the quality of education. Philadelphia has a great system of amenities that serves our citizens. As Mayor, I will ensure that we hire a full complement of staff, ramp up the days and hours those amenities are open and ensure that they are safe places for kids to learn, play and create beyond the classroom. I will also expand opportunities for teenage seasonal workers so that all elementary-age kids have safe places to have fun in the summer.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

Every child deserves to have access to green spaces in their neighborhood. Additionally, recent studies have shown that properly designed and maintained outdoor green space has the potential to help reduce violent crime and gun violence, in addition to keeping residents healthier, and reduces the effects of urban heat islands. As Councilperson, I worked tirelessly to support our neighborhood assets, such as parks, recreation centers, and libraries. These assets serve as anchors for our neighborhoods, and their success determines the surrounding neighborhoods’ success. This requires us to address the rise of violent crimes in our neighborhoods by having additional police out walking the block, getting to know the community.

Currently, the majority of the foot patrol officers are assigned to the highest crime areas. Once the City has filled their depleted ranks through hiring to fill vacancies on the force , the City should disperse beat officers across the City – to neighborhoods, rec centers, parks libraries, and commercial corridors beyond just the highest crime areas. This will allow for the officers to become known in these areas and to act in a proactive manner. Research has found that there were statistically significant reductions in reported violent crime in areas patrolled by beat officers, but the effect faded once the officers were removed from their targeted beats. And when the officers know the residents – know their names and where they live – there is a natural accountability on both ends, and the likelihood of excessive force is reduced. We know community policing works; we now must commit to it.

Q8: How will you, as Mayor, make sure every child has access to high-quality, early learning opportunities?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

I helped champion legislation that created a specific and dedicated revenue stream for expanding free Pre-K education across the city. As Mayor, I will continue to advocate for increased resources for Philadelphia’s early childhood education system to ensure that every child has access to quality options. This includes fighting for increased wages for early childcare professionals because research shows that one of the most important factors in the future academic success of a child is the quality of their teacher.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

The City of Philadelphia should expand access to pre-K opportunities. High-quality pre-K will prepare students with the fundamentals that will help them learn in the early elementary school years. Investing in kids today is an investment in the future of Philadelphia for decades to come. Pre-K also gives parents a nurturing and supportive environment to care for their children while at work. One way we can ensure that pre-K gets the resources it needs is to ensure the revenue from the soda tax is kept in an account separate from the general fund so that every dollar of revenue goes to its intended purpose, which includes pre-K.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

I have always believed in the importance of early childhood education. One of the first landmark pieces of legislation that I was a part of on my election to City Council was using a new revenue stream to fun PHL Pre-K so that quality education early was available for all children

As a city, we need to do a better job of preparing our students and adult learners to enter the workforce. As we look to the future of childhood education in the city, I am excited to see the details of the legislation that comes from the state following the Commonwealth Court ruling that will ensure that all Pennsylvania schools are funded equitably. There is almost no scenario where the Philadelphia School District does not receive more funding, and I am excited to tackle the problem of workforce development with increased funding.

But what will that look like? From early childhood learning through to high school, we will have a chance to re-examine and fund how our kids learn to better prepare them for their lives after high school: whether that is learning a trade, going into a specialty field, or to college.

Q9: How will you, as Mayor, make sure every teenager has a meaningful summer job and a job on graduation?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

I know that in order for our residents to qualify for careers with opportunities for growth that provide family-sustaining wages, Philadelphia must do a better job of workforce development and job training. There is currently a large gap between the skills that city businesses need to grow and thrive, and the workforce development pipeline that empowers Philadelphians to build their skills to meet modern employment opportunities.

As Mayor, I will expand the number and increase the quality of career and technical training programs that set students up for good union jobs and bright futures. Programs like the District’s new CTE program at Strawberry Mansion have started the process of placing children into the pipeline for the building trades. As the District transforms its buildings, it must accelerate and expand programs like this, developing a growing cohort of Philadelphia graduates with practical, hands-on learning experiences in Philadelphia schools, dedicated to servicing Philadelphia school building issues. I also plan to utilize the city’s numerous post-secondary educational institutions like the Community College of Philadelphia to provide workforce development opportunities for high schoolers looking to grow their skills and be prepared for post-secondary opportunities.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

The city should expand training for recreation center lifeguards and summer camp assistant counselors throughout the year. This training is a win-win because it gives kids fun, safe places to play in the summer while teens can earn money, learn new skills, and keep busy. The SDP has a system that tracks teens to ensure they are college bound or entering a trade. We must redouble our efforts to make sure that every young person who chooses higher education graduates from college. For those who choose not to be college-bound, we must have strong pathways for them to acquire the training they need to excel in the trades or emerging technical industries. My administration will engage with unions, private companies, Eds and Meds, and the city government to connect students with job opportunities throughout the Philadelphia area.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

We need to look at the economic impact on working families that schools provide by being safe and nurturing places for children while their parents and caregivers are at work. Acknowledging that, we will work to find ways to grow and increase both the safe spaces as well as the economic freedom that they provide, so we will be looking at before and after school as well as summer programming in our schools. There is no reason that a working parent or caregiver should not have a safe place for their children while they are working from 9 to 5.

As mentioned previously, from early childhood learning through to high school, we will have a chance to re-examine and fund how our kids learn to better prepare them for their lives after high school: whether that is learning a trade, going into a specialty field, or to college. This means strengthening the School District’s relationship with the Building Trades and scaling the pre-apprenticeship program they are currently piloting. It also means working with business and industry to identify both the jobs that are needed now, and to look around the corner to the jobs that will be needed five, 10, and 15 years from now and start integrating training for those jobs into the curriculum. And it also means enhancing college preparatory training and looking to increase the number of quality schools like Masterman and Central. 

And we will be doing all of this without interrupting the current curriculum. Students will be able to learn after school and over the summer as we keep our schools open longer and year-round.

Q10: How will you, as Mayor, make sure youth who make mistakes have restorative options?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

As a City Councilmember, I wrote a youth anti-violence strategy, and as Mayor I intend to finish that work. With more than 4,000 young people moving through the Juvenile Justice Services Center each and every year, I am focused on targeted interventions for youth and their families who are in the path of
violence. This means new discharge programs that involve parents and guardians as well as different agencies from the city and School District to have a restorative home-school-employment plan that meets young people’s needs when they are returning from juvenile facilities. Additionally, my goal on day one is to increase the number of youth in high-crime neighborhoods who have jobs and opportunities that keep them off the streets and help them build leadership skills and a resume. I am prioritizing a city-led effort with community partnerships to ensure visible safe routes to and from schools twice a day so no parent has to fear that their child could be harmed while getting an education.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

We need to provide a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff while simultaneously offering a compassionate response to students who are struggling. Therefore, I support efforts to reduce suspensions and the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program. This program diverts students who commit low-level offenses on school property into programs that provide wraparound services offering these students genuine support with the goal of behavior change. The mayor appoints the school board and the police commissioner. Thus, I would select appointees who share my priority to have a robust diversion program that keeps our youth in school and out of prison. Our goal as a city should be to help young people and their families get back on track so they can grow up to be productive members of society. Teenagers belong in school and need a high school diploma to have the options that will lead them to successful livelihoods. The Community College of Philadelphia has programs for students close to graduation but haven’t yet crossed the finish line. The Rhynhart Administration will work with CCP to enhance its efforts to help these young adults get on track.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

I recognize that we must have a comprehensive approach to criminal justice. I have long championed restorative justice programs – including juvenile justice programs – that use innovative and unconventional tactics to help rehabilitate those already caught up in the justice system, and help all parties – both victims and perpetrators – find healing. 

We also need to look at broader reforms to the entire criminal justice system. That is why, on Council, I supported a special committee tasked with overhauling Philadelphia’s criminal justice system. This committee examined:

  • Unsustainable and rapid growth of the adult corrections population
  • Unique issues presented when dealing with juveniles involved in the criminal justice system
  • Policy changes across the nation that have proven effective in reducing costs, recidivism, and corrections populations
  • The impact that current laws have on Philadelphia communities and the justice-involved population

Another area I support reforming is the cash bail system. We know that cash bail for low-level and non-violent offenses leads to unnecessary incarceration and is overly onerous on poorer communities, and that is not fair. 

And finally, I have supported and will continue to support, a host of violence diversionary programs that focus on at-risk youth, helping them avoid getting in trouble and find options if they do.

Q11: How will you, as Mayor, make sure Philadelphia contributes to solving the climate crisis to ensure a thriving future for our kids?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

I have long been an advocate for climate justice, particularly as it pertains to children and our schools. When I joined Council in 2016, I held town halls with students as young as middle school who spoke about the terrible quality of water in their schools – or limited access to it. I swiftly passed legislation to require annual testing of water in our public schools, and the School District invested $1 million to install at least three modern filtered water hydration stations in every public school. This was not only one of the first citywide school modernization efforts in the District in years – it was one of the most popular as well. Before resigning from City Council to run for Mayor, I made sure that the legacy of my work alongside environmental and health justice advocates to ensure clean water for our young people lived on, passing
legislation requiring the School District to replace all of its old drinking fountains with lead-filtering hydration stations by 2025, and mandating that each school have one of those lead-filtering fountains for every 100 students.

I want to continue this work as your next Mayor and one of my top priorities will be building a municipal Green New Deal for the City. Re-envisioning the future of our public gas utility, modernizing public transit, stabilizing and retrofitting aging homes, modernizing our public schools, and greening and cooling neighborhoods are central to my vision.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

The mayor of Philadelphia plays a crucial role in preparing our residents for the impact of climate change and moving us toward a more sustainable future. The mayor should be the city’s chief advocate for moving the city towards achieving our sustainability goals. 

Firstly, the Rhynhart Administration will take steps to aggressively reduce our carbon footprint to achieve our citywide goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. As mayor, I will direct city agencies to lead by example on this issue by coordinating our city departments and investing in sustainability strategies such as green infrastructure to address flooding problems in Southwest Philadelphia. In addition, my administration will leverage the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds to complete the much-needed levee in the Eastwick neighborhood to mitigate future flooding.

We will also continue to fund basic systems repair programs to help families weatherize their homes and transition to more efficient appliances. The mayor can also encourage residents to pursue existing federal tax incentives that enable individuals to install clean energy systems in their homes.

My administration will work with SEPTA to improve our transit systems, transition our city’s fleet of municipal vehicles to all-electric powered, expand our electric charging infrastructure, and enforce laws against illegal idling to reduce emissions. In addition, I will coordinate a citywide initiative between departments such as Water, Parks and Recreation, and Streets to expand and preserve our tree canopy. I would also establish a public dashboard to transparently track progress toward achieving our tree canopy benchmarks. 

We must also manage energy use in the city-owned buildings, including our prisons, by installing energy-efficient insulation, making necessary building repairs, fixing windows, investing in energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and overall making improvements to lower our carbon footprint.

Lastly, we should explore our capacity as a city to install solar panels and utilize green roofs on city-owned buildings to decrease our carbon footprint further.

These are only some examples of ways the mayor can use her authority to lead in preparing our residents for climate change, ensuring that our city is resilient in the face of these impacts and moving us closer to sustainability. In addition, the Rhynhart Administration will have a renewed focus on energy efficiency in every city department.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

As climate change progresses, we must address the human and economic threats of environmental degradation while creating an economy that works for all.

Climate Change represents an existential threat not just to our way of life, but to humanity. Between global population displacement and competition for resources, extreme flooding and drought here in the United States, and increasingly severe weather events that directly impact Philadelphia residents and businesses, it is important that we acknowledge that climate change is already taking place today, and that it is incumbent upon us all to play our part in addressing the challenge. 

As Mayor, I would prioritize the conversion of our City’s commercial and municipal bus fleet (School District & SEPTA) from fossil-fuel powered vehicles to electric and clean hydrogen fuel sources. I would also take advantage of BIL and IRA funding through the Department of Energy that would expand the electric charging infrastructure necessary for private, personal vehicle conversion to electric. And I support the proposed green hydrogen hub as a means of greatly reducing our carbon footprint, improving the air quality for the residents of Philadelphia, and working towards bringing the City into compliance with federal Clean Air Act attainment standards. Additionally, as the ‘Cheerleader-in-Chief’ I would be a vocal advocate for attracting green industries to locate to Philadelphia.

I also plan on working closely with SEPTA to ensure that it is safe, clean, and a desirable option for transportation in our city so more people are comfortable taking buses, trains, and subways and leaving their cars at home. 

Philadelphia can have a true Blue-Green alliance, by creating green union jobs that are good for our environment, good for growing the middle class, and good for the future of our city.

Q12: How will you, as Mayor, make sure youth has a voice in all levels of city government?

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Warren Bloom Sr.

No Response Yet

James DeLeon

Note from The Kids Campaign: Mr. DeLeon submitted his response to our questionaire late and did not directly respond to each and every question.  Click Here to Download the document he has submitted.

Helen Gym

When I was first elected to the City Council nearly eight years ago, one of the very first steps that my office took was planning and facilitating community listening sessions with School District of Philadelphia students. During these sessions, I heard from students who felt unheard and wanted a city government that worked with and for them – not against them. They spoke about experiencing dirty, crumbling school buildings with bugs and asbestos and no access to clean water and healthy foods. It was out of these listening sessions that some of my most critical legislation was born – getting clean water hydration stations with filters on every floor of every school in the district.

As Mayor, I will continue to engage youth in legislative decisions and build out a governing structure that includes regular listening sessions with children and students from across the city of Philadelphia. Young Philadelphians deserve to be heard and we must engage them to build a city where they want to work and
live for not just the next 5 years, but for the next 50 years. That is how we will build a stronger and better
Philadelphia.

Amen Brown

No Response Yet

Allan Domb

No Response Yet

David Oh

No Response Yet

Rebecca Rhynhart

As the former Controller of Philadelphia,  I led by collecting input from stakeholders and community members to get a clear picture of the problems we face, build consensus on a vision for moving forward and make recommendations to the mayor’s office for improvements. Kids and teens must have a say in what happens in the public spaces that serve them, including schools, recreation centers and libraries. Every city agency solicits feedback from those they serve, and feedback must be analyzed so it may inform decision-making. Under a Rhynhart Administration, we will be hands-on with each department in the city – I expect departments to report to me about how they can efficiently and effectively serve the needs of all Philadelphians.

Jeff Brown

No Response Yet

Cherelle Parker

I will be an active, hands-on Mayor.

My plan for establishing Mayor’s Councils in every council district across the city will empower the community by establishing a direct line of communication with the Mayor’s Office to engage on issues ranging from crime reduction and addressing quality of life issues, to the types of businesses that locate in the neighborhood. 

Resources and quality of life for our young people are important to the long-term success of our city. Consequently, each community council would include voices of Philadelphia’s youth and youth advocates at the decision making table. They would also have an established rapport with the Mayor’s Philadelphia Youth Commission. This will allow us to cultivate and nurture an appreciation for civic engagement and proactive community involvement in the next generation.

The Kids Campaign has made every reasonable attempt to get candidates for mayor to respond to our questionnaire. Responses are as of March 27, 2023 unless otherwise noted. Candidates are still encouraged to respond to our questionnaire and we will post their answers as soon as they are received. For questions, contact Symbol Lai at symboll@childrenfirstpa.org