With all the hooplah self-described socialist Bernie Sanders is drumming up in the presidential election, we figured we’d highlight a few socialists running locally. Here’s a brief rundown on candidates running as members of the Socialist Workers Party on November 3rd. For more conventional candidates check out our rundown here.
John Staggs – City Council At-Large
John Staggs first ran for office in Philadelphia in 2003. He was a meat packer in North Philly and his mayoral platform centered on raising the minimum wage to $11 per hour. Now, Staggs is a socialist candidate for City Council and works at Walmart. He still wants to raise the wage.
“The Socialist Workers Party fights for a massive, government-funded public works program to put people to work at union wages rebuilding critically needed infrastructure, housing, schools, hospitals and other things workers need,” he recently wrote for The Militant.
Osborne Hart – Mayor
Osborne Hart
Which job sounds worse: Stocking Walmart shelves overnight or running City Hall? That’s what Osborne Hart, 63, of Germantown, wants to find out. The Walmart worker who thinks Democratic candidate Jim Kenney represents “the interests of big business,” is running a campaign for mayor that’s focused on raising the minimum wage, health care, police brutality, and public education.
