Philadelphia and many other major cities across the United States are governed by political systems structured to make sure only candidates of one party are likely to win. In this city’s past mayoral election, and many of the previous election years, barely a peep was heard from Jim Kenney’s Republican challenger Melissa Murray Bailey.

   At times, during Bailey’s few television appearances, she appeared to us as unenthusiastic, and when Philly Mag asked her why she hadn’t voted in three of the past six elections, the then Republican mayoral candidate told reporters, “Like a lot of people, I didn’t vote because I didn’t think my vote mattered.” Bailey was defeated by Mayor Kenney in a landslide.

   This has been the case with candidates up and down tickets throughout the city. There are enclaves of Republican voters throughout the city. However, only Democrats seem to have a chance at winning. Philadelphia is, and has been for well over a hundred years, a city dominated by a one-party system. It hasn’t been limited to Democrats.

   In the early 20th century, Philadelphia was controlled by a political machine resembling New York City’s infamously corrupt Tammany Hall. According to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), Republican William Scott Vare was the political boss of Philadelphia in the early 1900s.

   According to HSP, the Vare family maintained control of elections through ward leaders and favorable treatment to political friends. The stranglehold on elections ensured only certain Republican candidates, who were in bed with the administration, had a shot at holding office. Vare was also accused of rampant voter fraud, and after winning a U.S. Senate seat in 1926, the senate refused to seat him due to allegations of corruption.

   At the core, the same problem that plagued voters who sought real change in Philadelphia back then is the same problem we are faced with today. Only this time around, it’s the Democrats who have control. While their power is based more on their solidly democratic electorate, a one-party system does not benefit the voters.

   Unfortunately, Republican candidates for most offices outside of certain enclaves and City Council are not taken seriously. The belief is that politicians will be less likely to initiate change if they know they can just cruise through the primary and win the general in a landslide.

   The race to fill disgraced former congressman Chaka Fattah’s 2nd Congressional District seat is no different. You have Dwight Evans, a Democrat and  career politician,  who is likely to win the election. Spirit News repeatedly attempted to reach out to Evans for comment, but he continues to evade us. We will continue to reach out to him.

   Evan’s challengers include T. Milton Street, who spoke to Spirit News right after announcing his candidacy on June 9, 2016, and Republican challenger James Jones. Jones is local businessman who has worked for HR and consulting companies for many years. He served in Vietnam, and was also honorably discharged from the Navy as a 60 percent disabled veteran. Jones believes his HR experience will help him deal with people in his district, and has worked in the past with Congressman Patrick Murphy to develop electronic ID systems for people seeking employment. Jones is a vocal advocate for cancer research and ending gun violence in Philadelphia.

   According to Jones, Evans isn’t just avoiding Spirit News. Jones has repeatedly invited Evans to a public debate, which Evans has refused to date. “I asked for 12 debates,” Jones said. “He won’t even return my phone calls, my text messages, my emails.”

  You have to ask yourself, why would a candidate not want to debate someone who according to most polls will probably lose? Perhaps it’s just arrogance, but Jones was more than willing to discuss why he thinks he’s better suited for the job than Street or Evans.

Spirit News: It seems like you’ve been around the whole country. How did you arrive in Philadelphia?

James Jones: I was in the Navy, and I lived in Atlanta before I came here…I went to law school there. I’ve been here for 20 plus years. It was the result of a job, a large company. I’ve been involved with community activities out in Bucks County. I’ve been in North Philly, South Philly, Northwest, Southwest… I used to go to church in West Philly. Now I go up in the Northeast.

Spirit News: Do you have any planned debates with Evans?

James Jones: Well, I’m trying to get him to commit to 12. Six in an area that I’d like to debate in and six in an area of his choice. He is kind of reluctant because he’s of course in an all Democratic area so he should feel very comfortable, but that is not the case. He’s trying to keep a low profile. [Evans is] under an FBI probe right now, and I think what’s happened is that he doesn’t want the rest of the voters to know about that.

Spirit News: Why do you think Dwight Evans won’t debate you?

James Jones: I think he’s a chicken. I really think he’s a coward. He’s afraid of me and what I will tell the people of the district, because the people of the district have a right to know what his reputation has been as an appropriations chairman. They need to know what his character is now, and whether they want the same kind of bully guy to represent them this time in Congress. I think they want someone who will go in there and work with Congress, work across party lines.

Spirit News: Why do you think you can beat Dwight Evans?

James Jones: I think I can beat Dwight because I have experience in business. I have experience in developing relationships. I ran for Congress in 2010. I also believe that I have the ability to coalesce around a problem, and right now I think we have major problems in Philadelphia. Pre-K, we have high rates of unemployment, we have crime and we do not have a property strategy.

   I’m a solution provider. I know how to develop a strategy…and how to create jobs, and how to raise money for issues for the school system. I’ve been around a lot of people who are not happy with the political structure that’s going on. I think I got a good feel for that during the course of the primaries. The people in the district want me here, and they’re very open to that because they’re tired of the same old people, going through the same old motions, getting the same old results. I want to break that cycle.

Spirit News: Some of the poorest sections of the city are in your district. What will you do to bring jobs back to these neighborhoods?

James Jones: We’ve lost companies like Cardone Manufacturing…1300 jobs are gonna go to Mexico. We’re losing QVC. 220 jobs gonna go to Mexico. We need people to understand what the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) is all about. They don’t understand what NAFTA did for us. We need to have a fair trade system where we can inspire companies from outside of the city of Philadelphia to come back to the city. Then we can have people properly trained, specifically targeting for that job. We have a lot of universities willing to work with us to develop programs to help train individuals for talent pools specifically for that job. That’s why I believe I can make a bigger difference and get the federal government and the local government out of people’s business…allow the people to start to work. The federal government doesn’t create jobs. The federal government creates [patronage-type jobs]. That’s not what we want. Those patronage jobs are only going to come to a select group of people. We’re going to break that. It’s not working for us.

Spirit News: A lot of people in the 2nd District had their property taxes rise due to the recent changes in property tax assessment. How will you work to lower property taxes in your district?

James Jones: I think that I can help to lower taxes by the earned income tax credit.  I think we can inspire people to utilize that as an incentive to create jobs, and to be able to identify the issue of gentrification. When you have million-dollar homes coming into a neighborhood that was a certain size, it makes a big difference when you do the assessment. I think we need to be smart to address those issues. Yes, we need to have community improvements, but we need to have tax incentives so that people want to stay in those communities and they don’t feel like they’re being chased out.

Spirit News: Donald Trump made a statement that he was opposed to the G.I. Bill. In your bio it says you benefited greatly from this program. How does this make you feel?

James Jones: I’m not really sure about what he’s really been opposed to in terms of veteran’s benefits. I can say that what I have enjoyed about being a veteran…I retired from the Navy a 60 percent disabled veteran. I’ve used the G.I. bill for a number of reasons. I used it to pay for my education…to buy a home, for training. If Donald Trump wants to work at improving VA care, James Jones will be his best partner. I think veterans should have so much more benefits than what they are actually getting. I would hold Donald Trump or any person accountable to ensure that we never break ranks on benefits for veterans

Spirit News: How does it feel to be a Republican running in a one-party system?

James Jones: I would never be able to run for Congress as a Democrat in this city. The reason I couldn’t is because I am such a low person in the eyes of some of the powers that be or the special interest groups that I have to run as a Republican. I am a longtime Republican. I have a compassion for Pre-K, a commitment to job creation and creating economic opportunity. I’m speaking a language that they said, I’ve never heard a Republican talk that way before. It’s impressive to me that I get a chance to talk to a brand new audience of people who’ve actually never heard a Republican. All they’ve ever heard were Democrats.

   I believe we should feel good about what we can accomplish. The poverty rate is 28.6 percent in the 2nd District. It’s called deep poverty. The 2nd District is considered one of the poorest districts in the United States, and that’s nothing to feel good about. I believe that people really want to do their very best, and not rely on the system.

Spirit News: How will you ensure that your office is protected from corruption?

James Jones: I’m not excited very easily about sitting in dinners with lobbyists, or sitting in the presence of kings and queens because I’ve sat with them before as a business consultant. I’m not that impressed to allow that type of influence to sway my conscience. I’m a Christian, and I believe in holding strong to my Christian values of being honest, with integrity and maintaining a certain character all the time. I believe in treating everyone fair. We are one nation. We are American. I will keep a system in place of checks and balances to ensure that we never lose sight as to why we’re in this office.

Spirit News: T. Milton Street told us that neither you nor Evans has a plan to stop the violence in the city. Can you elaborate on how you will address violence in Philadelphia?

James Jones: I think right now in terms of getting (Street’s) plan to work, requires some significant investment from somebody somewhere. Of course, as we look at budgets, everybody’s budgets are crunched real tight. My plan is this. The crime in the 2nd Congressional District is overwhelming because there’s 50 percent unemployment within the black community. It’s gonna take a heavy lift to get people back to work again, and to bring companies to come into the 2nd Congressional District. I believe I can work with larger companies to help bring back good jobs. If I can bring that company into the district, there has to be certain guarantees that people from that zip code will be working. I believe private industry will help by hiring people from the community.

Spirit News: So to be clear, Street says stop the violence, then the jobs will come. You are saying the opposite, that we need to bring jobs here first, then the violence will stop. That shows a fundamental difference in both your approaches to ending violent crime?

James Jones: It does. It’s unfortunate that we’ve had a sitting congressman that has allowed the district to work its way into the condition that it is. Any man or woman…if there’s an opportunity for them to work, they’re not going to go out and sell drugs. In fact I know they won’t. That is a stereotype that people don’t want to work, and I don’t like that tainted attitude that goes along with it. •