From left, Alex Schnell, Dr. Dave Oxman, Sen. Sharif Street, Dr. Ala Stanford, Rep. Morgan Cephas and Pablo McConnie-Saad, attended a forum on Feb. 9 to discuss viewpoints as they run for the PA-03 representative's seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. (Image by Linda Stein)
Six of the candidates vying to take the place of retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.-3) squared off in a forum Monday evening.
Many of them–except the lone Republican, Alex Schnell–held similar views on various issues, so the race may depend on other factors such as personality, campaign funding, and who the voters believe is best able to step into Evans’ shoes.
The candidates discussed a wide range of issues, including healthcare, antisemitism, elections, and President Trump.
PoliticsPA’s Steve Ulrich, Gina Ceisler Shapiro, with Center City Residents’ Association, and Dick Polman with PhillyDaily, questioned the candidates. Polman asked about the hot-button topic of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the possibility of a Congressional statement shutting down the Department of Homeland Security. He noted that Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia), who was absent from the forum, has previously called for ICE to be abolished.
State Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) agreed that ICE should be abolished.
“It’s an organization that has recruited people from neo-Nazis,” said Street. “Donald Trump has given a badge that they don’t even use to the head of the Proud Boys. The culture of ICE has been corrupted…We should not have an agency that has been corrupted with neo-Nazis. We should not have an agency where a nurse at the V.A. can be held down by 10 people and shot five times and after he lay not moving, shot five more times.”
Dr. Ala Stanford said, as a pediatric surgeon, she’s “seen what bullets can do to the human body” and agreed ICE should be abolished. She said she should not have to explain to her child “that their freedom of speech is not honored and that they should have to worry about their mother when I speak up.”
“I will not support the paramilitary force that 47 is bringing to our cities,” said Stanford.
Schnell agreed that there are problems with how ICE is operating now but would reform and hold it accountable, rather than abolish it, because its function is necessary.
Pablo McConnie-Saad agreed ICE should be abolished and noted he is the only Latino running. ICE was not a “legacy agency” but was created by the Patriot Act after 9/11 “as part of the weaponization of the federal government on American citizens, along with the NSA (National Security Agency) and the mass movement to spy on U.S. citizens.”
“Both of my parents are Puerto Rican,” McConnie-Saad said. “They live in Puerto Rico and they are afraid of coming to Philadelphia to witness the birth of their first grandchild because they have witnessed ICE execute U.S. citizens in broad daylight.”
Dr. DavidOxman said, “If you have to wear a mask to hide your identity at work you need to ask yourself some questions about your job description.”
He said he cannot get the sound of the shots fired in the video of an ICE agent shooting Renee Good in Minneapolis out of his mind. But the demeanor of the agent just before was “just as shocking.”
“The sound of contempt in his voice, the arrogance of there being no authority greater than his own, that genie is not going back in the bottle,” said Oxman.
He called for Democrats to act.
“If this is not an issue worth standing up for, I really don’t know what is,” Oxman said.
State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia) also said ICE should be and called for people to “lean on” the city and state governments not to cooperate with it. And she called for ICE detention centers to be shut down.
Ulrich asked how the candidates would tackle affordable housing.
McConnie-Saad bringing down energy costs through tax provisions for renewable energy would help. He called private equity firms buying housing “nefarious” and raising prices. And more houses for low-income families need to be built.
Philadelphia lacks 70,000 affordable housing units and 7,500 federally subsidized units are going to expire, said Cephas, calling for more to be built.
“We want to be sure Philadelphians can afford Philadelphia,” she said, and agreed that private equity firms purchasing housing and apartments is a problem. “We have to make sure we don’t have New Yorkers just buying up our city and forcing people out of their homes.”
Children are the largest growing population of the homeless, said Oxman.
“The federal government needs to step in and spend more money on affordable housing,” he said. “We need a Marshall Plan on housing.”
Street said he’s secured more affordable housing, working with Habitat for Humanity, the Philadelphia Housing Authority and developers, but more needs to be done. He called for Massachusetts’ U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s plan to ban private equity from owning residential homes to come to Pennsylvania. If elected to the House, he said he would sponsor a bill to mirror hers.
Stanford said she lived in public housing growing up and knows how important it is to have a home. Home ownership is linked to wealth, education and health, she said.
“For me, welfare was a bridge, not a crutch, and I would support that for others,” she said.
More than 200 people came to the Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square to see the forum, which was broadcasted on Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) and through the Fideri News Network.
Others running for the 3rd District include: Democrats Karl Morris, Cole Carter, Isaiah Martin, Robin Toldens, and Republican Sheila Armstrong.
The primary is slated for May 19.
