The race to fill convicted criminal and 2nd District Congressman Chaka Fattah’s seat is about to come to an end on November 8th. This election is doubly important because voters will have the chance to decide who fills the seat for the rest of 2016 in a special election held the same day. Voters will be able to chose from Dwight Evans or James Jones, or write in their own choice, of course.

  Spirit News has been following this race and spoke with two of the three candidates. T. Milton Street, who announced his candidacy in June, spoke with us first. Street left the race quietly to work with on Republican candidate James Jones’ campaign. Jones was more than willing to speak with us, even going on the record with us for a lengthy Q&A back in September. Jones told Spirit News that Street and Street’s daughter Renee Toppin have been “incredibly helpful” with his campaign.

  Despite numerous attempts at scheduling an interview over the course of several months, Democratic candidate Dwight Evans declined to be interviewed by our reporters. Evans is presumed to be the winner by many news sources.

  Republican candidate James Jones told us that he also got the cold shoulder from Evans when he pressed the Democrat to have a series of debates.

  “I hope the constituency don’t have buyer’s remorse should my opponent get elected,” Jones said. “Evans never debated me even though I requested a schedule in May 2016. He is still afraid to face me in a debate publicly for fear of public perception.”

  One reason Evans wouldn’t want to speak to us or debate Jones might be due to some of his activities as the House Appropriations Committee Chairman. An article on PoliticsPA.com points to Evan’s involvement with a pay to play scheme involving former top Ed Rendell aide John Estey. The article states that in the process of investigating, an undercover federal agent named “John Miles” allegedly made a $10,000 contribution to Dwight Evans.

  Evans was also investigated for allegedly channeling state funds into the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation (OARC), which he started. While some critics said Evans allegedly steered funds into this non-profit to benefit his district at the cost of others, Evans told reporters this was a political witch hunt and that no wrongdoing occurred.

  According to News Works, the investigation attributed no wrongdoing to the non-profit. In return, the OARC gave back 1.2 million dollars, halted four grant requests and would “undergo stricter spending controls.”

  This election may be the most important one of our lifetimes. Whether you are Democrat or Republican, the right to vote is American. Please make sure you vote on November 8 — it matters! •