Friends, I want to congratulate the hundreds of volunteers, staff members, contributors, friends and supporters that made up our campaign for honest change in the First District.

This was our first campaign. Our first time on a ballot. It was the first time we had a chance to look voters in the eye and share our vision of growth, hope and prosperity.

We were out-spent 8 to 1. We were out-manned 3 to 1. We had a grassroots organization that stood against one of the strongest Democratic political machines in the country. And we did it without any institutional help on Election Day.

We were an army of dedicated volunteers armed with a burning passion for the city, lots of water bottles and cool t-shirts. And with all the votes counted, we earned nearly 8,000 votes in a district that hasn’t seen more than 10,001 total primary votes cast in a dozen years.

Leslie, Jacob, Elizabeth and I want to thank the volunteers, staffers, contributors and friends who made it possible to get this far. You got in the ring with us. You stood toe-to-toe with us. You helped us go the distance. We are forever grateful for your support and are humbled by your dedication. We are your friends for life.

Our campaign broke new ground in the First District. We knocked on over 10,000 doors. We embraced new technologies to communicate our message of change. We breathed new life into an old political system.

But the time for politics has passed.

Now, I ask that you join me in standing with our Councilman, Frank DiCicco. He needs our help fighting the casinos and we should give him our solid support. He'll need our ideas on offering the casino developers alternate sites that will not hurt neighborhoods.

He’ll need our help with property tax reform, zoning reform, education reform and city service reform. And he'll need our help in demanding better police protection and long-term solutions to the causes of crime. I ask that all of us -- 8,000 plus strong -- help Frank reach our collective goals.

And I also ask friends and supporters to join me in standing with my friend, Michael Nutter, as we embark on an era of reform in City Hall. Lend our future Mayor your hand, your energy, your creativity and support. I know I will.

Finally, I would like to congratulate my friends, Maria Quinones-Sanchez, Bill Green, Ellen Green Ceisler, Linda Carpenter and Robert Mulgrew on their respective victories.

I'm ready to work together to take Philadelphia in a new direction. Because it is, indeed, a new day in Philadelphia.

Respectfully,
Vern Anastasio
vern@vernanastasio.com