God only knows how many mayoral forums there will be between now and May 16th, Primary Election day in Pennsylvania. I’m proud that Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., and Councilman Kenyatta Johnson were amongst the first out the door to host a mayoral candidates forum with a specific look at violence and how the various candidates think they will address the violence crisis in Philly. Hosting a candidates forum, whether it’s for the office of the Mayor, or some other political seats, I think it’s a wonderful exercise in civic education. Let me take a look back at the first question asked at a Mayoral forum on Gun Violence that took place on January 19th.
Each candidate was asked to offer an opening statement explaining why they want to be the Mayor of Philadelphia.
Warren Bloom, one of at least ten people vying to be Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor, describes himself as a pastor. In his opening statement on why he wants to be Mayor and how he’d address violence, he stated, “There’s only one way to overcome the evil of gun violence, and that is by doing good and to lay an atmosphere where we can have a better community. If you listen to something long enough, you’ll start thinking about it and doing it. I plan to use my experience with the media. I would let everybody know first of all, that I cannot solve this problem on my own. I would need the whole Philadelphia community, with everybody chipping in to solve this problem. No one person can solve this problem. We have to solve this problem together. And I’m looking forward to hearing from you, the voters, how we’re going to do all of this.”
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