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One Race, Three candidates. One goal, Three Ways to Go About It


195th Representative District Race Finds a Neighborhood at the Brink of a Turning Point.

As Tip O’Neil, the former Speaker of the House, once said, “All politics is local.” As we near the Pennsylvania primaries, Spirit News would like to highlight one local election in a district where many of our Penn’s Garden readers reside — The 195th PA House District.

The 195th district seat comes up for election every two years, but none of the three candidates on the Democratic primary ballot this year ran back in 2014. If fact, no one ran against then-incumbent Michelle Brownlee, who resigned in 2015 as part of a plea deal in the now infamous pay-to-play case that embattled Attorney General Kathleen Kane tried to quash.

The candidates include; Donna Bullock, who won a special election against Republican Adam Lang last summer to complete Brownlee’s term; Jamar “Izzo” Izzard, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood and longtime local radio personality; and Jimmie Moore, a former Philadelphia Municipal Court judge until his retirement in 2011.

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Donna Bullock

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Jamar “Izzo” Izzard

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Jimmie Moore

With Bullock having never faced a Democrat in the district, both challengers are looking to capitalize on their own name recognition and party-outsider status to woo voters. Meanwhile Bullock seeks to build on the momentum from last year and utilize her experience with the city government in Councilman Darrell Clarke’s office.

Bullock now has seven months experience on the job following her time with the city. She previously practiced law at Community Legal Services and points to her appointment to a committee and subsequent appointment to chair a sub-committee as evidence of her hard work and aptitude. It was last year’s budget impasse among legislators that led her to focus on the money.

“The first thing I did when I got to Harrisburg was [recognize] that I need to learn more about the budget,” Bullock said. “I sat in on the Appropriations Committee hearings… I was one of the only non-committee members sitting in that room.” Bullock added that she constantly questioned the chairman about what was happening. She feels that is why she was tapped to become a member.

“The state is where all of our resources flow [from]… and I hope I can be an important voice for the community and for the City of Philadelphia,” Bullock said.

To do it, Bullock will need to work with Republicans from a completely different background. “It’s not just across the aisle, it’s across the Commonwealth.” Or as she put it, “be that bridge builder” and “finding someone from York County or Tioga County who can feel comfortable [talking] about stuff that’s happening on York Street.”

Bullock, a mother of two boys, said she will focus on education funding first. “I do everything I can to make sure they have a quality education,” she said. “But I also know that they are living in a society with other little kids… [and] I want to make sure that each one of those kids [receives] a quality education… regardless of the resources of their family,” Bullock said.

Jamar “Izzo” Izzard, a father of two girls, was one of those very kids from the area. He cites his personal history through local schools as an example of what’s wrong with the education system — he said it took him until 11th grade to convince the staff at Strawberry Mansion High School that he was misplaced in special education courses. After getting back into the mainstream he was able to get accepted to every college he applied to. Izzard went on to become a local radio personality.

Walking outside on a breezy April afternoon through his neighborhood, Izzard waved back at a couple guys on the corner who yelled, “Hey, ‘Mar!” A few ventured over to wish him luck in the upcoming primary. He believes the personal connection to residents in the neighborhood will trump the party machine that supports the incumbent.

“I’m not afraid to go up and talk to them. I know them. I’m one of them,” Izzard explained. “I’m the only candidate who grew up here.”

Izzard has some experience in Harrisburg, having worked on the staff of State Sen. Anthony Williams. It was that experience that showed him the path to expanding his advocacy for the issues of his community.

“I was always a community guy [while on the radio],” Izzard said. “But up there I realized, ‘Ahh, this is where it happens,’” referring to how to fund the various programs he sees as being necessary through legislation.

One of his first orders of business will be regarding the violence in the area. As a 22nd District police car whizzed by, sirens blaring, Izzard just shook his head and said, “All day.” He then explained how his father was gunned down on these streets and he wants to stop the cycle of violence. Preventing straw-purchasing is his focus.

“I am for people having the right to bear arms,” Izzard said. “But there’s no reason why somebody should be able to buy 30 guns [in a short period of time]… where are these guns going?”

Izzard proposes limits on how many guns can be purchased in a certain period and strict laws on reporting thefts of firearms. He also thinks safety classes are a good idea.

As a parent of young children, his positions on education don’t differ much from Bullock’s. Where they do part ways is on the issue of imminent domain.

“The fact that older people who lived here for 30 years or more get only $2000 to move is terrible,” Izzard said. He cited an elderly, displaced, Sharswood woman who had the local young men always looking out for her and making sure no one violated her space. But young men from the block couldn’t stop the Philadelphia Housing Authority from taking her home as part of the plan to redevelop an area along Ridge Avenue. Izzard wonders who will look out for her at her new residence in a different neighborhood.

Izzard wants to involve the community in creating legislation to address these issues through town meetings. “How great would it be to have someone from around here be able to [participate in creating] a law, to know that they were part of it?” he said.

Izzard’s other opponent, Jimmie Moore, joins him in bristling at the imminent domain issue that has impacted the neighborhood recently.

“It’s a disgrace, it’s a disgrace,” Moore repeated.  “There are families there for three to four generations being displaced and [PHA and developers] offered folks little or no money.”

He sees a solution in strengthening the laws to help ordinary residents get legal help, property appraisers, and professional advice, which is impossible for folks on a limited, fixed income. Further, Moore said if there is going to be development from this government action, he wonders why aren’t the potential jobs going to the people who live there.

“You got developers making billions and millions of dollars on the community and the community is not able to reap the benefits,” Moore said.

Moore said his experience as a judge will allow him to be impartial and cross party lines to get the job done.

Bullock defends her position on imminent domain by saying, “This is a major, major project for the community. [It’s a] community that’s surrounded by more than a thousand vacant lots. [It’s] also bordered by market pressures, like Temple and from Francisville and Brewerytown. So it’s important to maintain affordability and the Housing Authority is trying to do that.”

She still wants to advocate for displaced residents though.

“It’s important that those whose properties, particularly homeowners, [that] have been identified for the imminent domain process… are compensated… more than fairly,” she said.

For Moore, the education problems don’t stop at the learning — he sees capital improvements in school buildings as critical.

“One woman I spoke with told me about her daughter going to a school where all the water fountains are covered in plastic. The kids can’t even wash their hands,” Moore said. “They have to use hand sanitizer. Can you imagine the psychological impact on a child [who can’t wash her hands at school]?

Moore wants to fight for more funding for Philly schools and will rely on his judicial understanding of the law to get it.

The primary election is on Tuesday April 26. Polls will open at 7 AM and close at 8 PM.

 

 

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