Once upon a time, there was a state representative in NW Philadelphia. She wasn't really a member of any political camp (Fattah, Evans, Fumo) and maybe she thought she needed the patronage of someone to stay in office, so she chose John Perzel. And so she voted with Republicans all the time.
I am talking of course about Rep. Rosita Youngblood. She represents one of the most progressive districts in the city, and yet has been not only a disappointment in office, but also a defector to our cause. Just as there as been a laser focus on the person who represents the 182nd in Center City, Rep. Josephs' seat, there should equally be the expectation that the person who represents parts of North Philly, Germantown, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, is a progressive leader.
Marc Stier tried and came very close in 2004. Four others tried in 2006. Finally, now in 2008, with Perzel in a far less powerful position, there's only one candidate running against Youngblood, and he has a real shot at winning. His name is Byron Davis.
Byron Davis has been endorsed by:
-9th Ward Democratic Committee
-UNITE-HERE!
-AFSCME District Council 47
-SEIU PA State Council
-Planned Parenthood of SE Pennsylvania
-Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) of Philadelphia
-Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club
-The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local Union #332
-Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
-Philly for Change
That's an impressive list of endorsements. This is the one race where there seems to be real progressive cohesion around a challenger, and an uncomplicated campaign (no write-in opponent for instance) that can be won on the ground.
According to his website, Byron is "a resident of Germantown, Byron Davis is an educator, activist, husband and father." And also from his website, here is Byron's basic platform:
3 Keys: Byron Davis believes the people of the 198th deserve a range of opportunities that have not been created by the incumbent towards improving their quality of life.
The keys to this are . . .
Service
Elected officials must live up to their positions as public servants
* Those holding elective office must truly serve the public interest
* Their service must be consistent and of high quality
* They should communicate and bring together the district’s diverse stakeholders
Responsibility
As a husband, father, teacher and community organizer, Byron is not afraid to take on difficult issues or to be held accountable for achieving results. He believes:
* True reform cannot happen unless leaders’ results are measured and compared to what they promised
* “Politics as usual” flourishes when constituents cannot see what their representatives are doing — or with, and for whom, they are doing it
* “Sunlight is the best antiseptic”
Opportunity
Byron believes the people of the 198th deserve dramatic improvements in opportunities, including:* Increased crime prevention in our streets and schools
* Improvements in the quality of educational and job opportunities
* Business and civic development that enriches all communities for the long haul
Byron Davis deserves your money and your time. If you'd like to donate to his campaign, click here and if you'd like to join Liberty City for a lit drop in Mt. Airy on Monday evening at 6:45 PM, email me. Rides will be provided from Center City.
And if you live in the district, Byron deserves your vote.
Byron was very impressive
at the voter forum last night by the African American United Fund. He spoke well to a number of issues and registers a sense of humility and desire for service that is so lacking in so many candidates.
Davis vs. Youngblood
Buoyed by the recent endorsement by the Philadelphia Daily News, strong fundraising efforts, and obsessive door-knocking, Byron Davis may very well be the 198th District's next state rep. As a friend and Byron's strategy advisor, I'm admittedly biased. But my personal feelings aside, here are some basic facts for undecided district voters to consider:
• State Democrats have a 1-vote majority in the 203-member PA state house
Do you want to rest assured knowing that the winner of Tuesday's race for this seat will vote with his/her party when it's time for redistricting after the 2010 census is out? Due to PA's shrinking population, we'll be losing at least one congressional seat. So, who do you want fighting to make sure we keep and strengthen as many Democratic seats as possible in the state house and in the U.S. House of Representatives?
• Byron Davis is a bridge-builder
In a district that circuitously stretches from Chestnut Hill to North Philly, constituents need a bridge-builder and communicator who can bring together disparate individuals, groups and communities for meaningful dialogue and collaboration. This requires skills, experience and a temperament unique to Byron in this race. As a candidate not born with privilege, but who has developed social capital through his work, educational and civic ties, Byron will be able to represent the economically and culturally diverse constituencies within his district.
• Byron Davis is running for the right reasons
Byron's not running to run. He's running to "make a change to make a difference." That's his campaign slogan and that's his motivation. He readily admits he already has a good job and a good life. But he has often said at fundraisers and community meetings over the course of this race that some time ago he got tired of complaining about what other folks weren't doing. He would say, "We need somebody who's smart, has good communication skills and committed to real service." And he looked in the mirror one day and realized that that somebody could be him. That moment for him embodied the oft-quoted line, "we are the leaders we've been waiting for."
Not born with privilege and knowing first-hand "the power of community to change lives", Byron represents the type of leadership we so rarely see, but so desperately deserve. Listen to him speak. He moves people with his personal story, having grown up in poverty with a mother who despite her limited means selflessly served the needed. This is at the heart of what inspires him to serve his community over the years and to run for this office.
Byron's very authentic message has not been lost on residents who he has met while canvassing throughout the district's 8 political wards. In fact, Team Davis was pleasantly surprised that people on Youngblood's very own block gladly put up Davis For State Rep lawn signs. (And we hope they don't befall the same fate of our signs that were ripped up along Stenton Park earlier this week.)
• Do the math: Byron Davis can win
When challenged by Marc Stier during the last presidential election cycle, the incumbent was re-elected by a hair over 50% of votes cast in 2004's 3-person race. This election represents the first time Youngblood is in a head-to-head race with someone who has also raised more than she has and who has received more endorsements. And to his credit -- and so indicative of Byron's grassroots orientation -- he has "knocked on so many doors, his knuckles hurt"!
In a primary where "change" is on the lips of so many new and disaffected voters and a Davis campaign that has benefited from the tidal wave of uncoordinated direct mail from unions including UNITE HERE!, name recognition will be far less of a problem for him than the traditional, first-time candidate. And while many have opportunistically allied themselves with Obama's candidacy, there is no confusing voters who the real change candidate is in the 198th district race!
this will be an interesting race
I think that this is the first time in years that this race has been one on one. Davis may win by default, because of the whole “anti” vote, but it depends on a few factors. I don't live in the district anymore, but I'm close to it, gerrymandered as it is. My friend is really excited about him, which bodes well for Davis, because I consider my friend to be very progressive, knowledgeable, and level headed. (He’s not going to go on a progressive campaign that can only be described as a “Remember the Alamo” campaign.)
The only thing is that I don't see the kind of excitement for him in the Germantown/Mt. Airy area which I saw for Marc Stier (you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Stier sign or volunteer.) The other problem that he has is that no one in the lower district knows him. I grew up in Germantown and have never heard of him and have never met anyone who has heard of him. I talked to my Mom on Friday and she asked me who was running against Youngblood. My mother is an educated professional woman in a progressive area of Germantown who looks forward to nothing more than voting AGAINST her state Rep, and she doesn't even know who Davis is. That's not good at all.
In order to win this thing, he has to slam dunk Mt. Airy and hold his own in the lower parts of the district. It will be interesting to see how he does.
Anyways, I hope that he wins, and I hope that he is independent of the Tasco/Evans machine, but I would not hold my breath on either count.
2004, 2006 and 2008
Supreme Dow ran against Rosita one on one in 2006. But he was underfunded in comparision to Byron Davis or Marc Stier in 2004. He also did not have Byron's labor endorsements. Stier was so new to politics in 2004 that he didn't have labor contacts and, anyway, no one thought a white guy would have any chance in a district that is 80 to 85% black so it was hard for him to get endorsements from anyone. Finally, Byron has the advantage of running in a presidential year when there is a meaningful primary, which will bring out a lot of voters who are not used to voting for Rosita.
Does anyone live in the district and know how much mail the candidates are doing and when it came out? Dow did no direct mail. Stier did two pieces that broke the last weekend including his famous milk carton piece. Are the candidates doing robo-calls? I recall being told that Stier did one or two. Did Rendell do his usual letter and robo-call for Rosita?
Going back to earlier elections, Yvonne Thompson-Friend who had worked for Dave Richardson, ran against Rosita twice one on one, in 2002 and 2004 I think. Both times she lost with less than 40 percent of the vote.
Interesting. I didn't know
Interesting. I didn't know some of those facts. Supreme is also a part of Germantown Settlement, which is more hated in the district than Rosita ever will be. All I know is what I see, and I can tell you that Marc had a much more vibrant campaign. I know that the way the district is written, that I barely live outside of it, and I don't see any significant number of yard signs, even in places with multiple Obama yard signs (which they had to PAY for). The fact that Dan and I both grew up in the district and have parents in the district and never heard of him before he ran speaks volumes. The fact that this site who openly hates the incumbent didn’t blog about him much speaks a lot too.
The political climate is different today then it was four years ago. Marc had an uphill battle, and he was a white guy with no clear institutional backing other than support from a family friend, Lou Agre, who Marc also helped overtake the 21st Ward, and Vernon Price in the 22nd, who is very close friends with Lou. The fact that Davis cannot take his institutional support from Evans and Tasco and harness the energy of the Obama campaign to create the kind of excitement that Marc did in 2004 says a lot.
I don't know about mail pieces, but, like I said, my Mom doesn't even know who is running in the race.
Vibrant campaigns
I drove through part of the district on the way from the suburbs and there certainly seems to be a lack of lawn signs, and not just in the 198th.
A lot of campaign strategists argue that lawn signs don't really change voters but only serve to motivate activists. Of course, you need activists to change voters. And I wonder if the new theory about lawn signs is much more true for high visibility campaigns than low visibility campaigns like those for State Rep.
That's one reason why I asked about direct mail. I was wondering if Byron was saving money on lawn signs to do more direct mail. Byron claims to have raised more money than any previous challenger to Rosita. So you would think he would have enough money for both.
Another reason the 2008 race may seem less vibrant is that posters on telephone polls are now illegal. They were illegal in 2004 but Stier thought the law was unconstitutional and posted them anyway throughout the entire district. He was the first witness in the ACLU's successful injunction against the law. It would be nice for someone to challenge the re-written law Council passed after the 2004 campaign.
Signs on Telephone Poles is Not a Progressive Activity
Defacing public property, such as telephone poles, with campaign signs (or any other type of advertising sign) is not a progressive activity. There are plenty of other ways for candidates to get their name and message out.