One of the fringe benefits of being a political blogger is that I get to meet people that are running for office and discuss issues with them. One of those politicians is Maria Quinones-Sanchez. She’s running for City Council in the 7th District of Philadelphia. I’ll let progressive leader, Jen Murphy describe her for you.
Amidst all of the debate back and forth about the merits and drawbacks of the various mayoral, council, and judicial candidates, there is one candidate who has bubbled to the surface as the most unifying candidate among all progressives. She also happens to be running in the most gerrymandered city council district in the country, a district that desperately NEEDS a candidate to unify these diverse neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that have been forgotten by their city and state representatives. Neighborhoods that are vibrant and craving real leadership. Neighborhoods that have been deliberately chopped up and split from one another. And all of us agree: these neighborhoods need Maria Quinones-Sanchez.
Maria is the ONLY candidate who has been endorsed by EVERY major progressive political organization in Philadelphia, including Philly for Change, Young Philly Politics, Philadelphia NOW, SEIU 32BJ, AFSCME DC47, Neighborhood Networks, Liberty City, and Americans for Democratic Action, to name just a few. Add to that endorsements from the Daily News, the Inquirer and the Northeast Times. Not to mention a national endorsement from Democracy for America (founded by Howard Dean), highlighting Maria as one of only 10 candidates nationwide to be recognized as part of their “DFA-list”. Oh, and let’s not forget Governor Rendell coming out of relative silence to endorse Maria – the only candidate running for any city council position that he endorsed.
Are we all in agreement for once? It sure seems that way. Many of these same organizations protested the way that this seat was filled last November (for a refresher, check out the article: Link). Now it’s our chance to fight back. Let’s show the party machine that we will not stand for politics as usual anymore. Like the neighborhoods of this gerrymandered district, we are often disconnected from one another. It’s time to join together and become a unified force.
A reporter on WHYY this morning referred to Maria Quinones-Sanchez as the candidate with the best shot of winning among all of the challengers running citywide. However, this race is far from over. Maria’s major opponent, Dan Savage, has a lot more money on hand and will have the party machine behind him on Election Day. Can we just sit back and cross our fingers, hoping that she wins? Are we going to do nothing more than just pat her on the back for running a great campaign? I hope the answer is no. I hope instead we all come together and help elect this amazing woman to city council. Hell, council is a no-brainer at this point; Maria should be running for Mayor.
In short, Maria needs your help. This race may be our best shot at victory on Election Day. She might be the candidate that unifies us post-election and helps move us toward a true progressive vision for our city. We need Maria on council. Even though you might not live in her district, she will be representing the entire city. And she is the natural leader we can all get behind.
We need you – tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, Election Day – even if just for a couple of hours. Come out and knock on doors with us. Make some phone calls. We only have 5 more days. Let’s wake up on May 16th even more unified and ready to move our city and state forward.
Email me to volunteer:
jmurphy@temple.edu
The progressive movement has united behind the mayoral candidacy of Michael Nutter. But Nutter needs a progressive city council to make the city run the way he wants it to run. On Tuesday I have a feeling the whole nation will wake up to discover the power of the new progressive movement within the Democratic Party. And they’ll discover that Philadelphia is the epicenter of the revolution. Help us make that statement. Contact Jen and do what you can to help Maria Quinones-Sanchez prevail. She’s an outstanding person, and she represents the aspirations of thousands of progressives in the city of Pennsylvania, and even nation wide.