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Prissies, filthy lakes, oozing cars, and more as 2nd Council District Candidates debate in Point Breeze
Candidates for the 2nd City Council district seat gathered in Point Breeze to make their cases yesterday.
Prissies, filthy lakes, oozing cars, and more as 2nd Council District Candidates debate in Point Breeze
Over 60 people packed into Mt Zion church in Point Breeze to hear a public debate between the 2nd City Council district hopefuls (the 2nd is currently represented by Anna Verna, who is retiring): Tracy Gordon, Kenyatta Johnson, Barbara Capozzi, and Damon Roberts answered a line of questioning prepared by various point breeze community organizations including the Point Breezew Pioneers and South Philadelphia H.O.M.E.S.
Candidates rattled off answers to concerns about everything from the environmental impacts of fracking to air impacts form the local Sunoco refinery — but budget cuts and grant funded projects were hot topics.
Environment
State Representative Kenyatta Johnson noted that he just signed a bill to stop fracking in Pennsylvania calling it an issue "that's really going to contaminate the water that we drink."
Gordon wants to meet with Sunoco officials, and CSX the railroad company about garbage and pollution on their tracks. "They say their in the transportation business, not the trash business." She also wants to address what she calls 'psychological environmental issues' she says, "those vacant houses and lots? They're brownfields for the kids psyche that we gotta walk by these dirty houses abandoned for years and years."
Roberts called lakes at FDR park a disgrace, "There used to be a time when you could swim and roll and do all kinds of different things there, now you don't even want to put your pinky finger into the lakes because it's just so dirty," he said taking a jab at Capozzi, who was the secretary of that committee. "Well you might need to do a better job next time."
Undaunted, Capozzi said that in 2005, her neighborhood successfully forced out a car crushing business that was oozing toxins everyday. "I lead that coalition," she said.
Budgets and government
Gordon said she is ready to shake up local government. She wants to ask for funding from the baseball stadiums, saying the owners are "making billions of dollars in our councilmanic district." She asked the audience, "where is it trickling down?"
"Show me the money" she added with regard to Kenneth Gamble's recently being awarded $31 million for revitalization of Point Breeze. "He needs to be having meetings so we can plan this neighborhood together," she said.
Damon Roberts stood up about budget cuts and boasted, "I'm the only candidate sitting here that fought for the pools to stay open." Both Gordon and Capozzi chimed in "Not True."
"I was at the forefront of the coalition to save the libraries and the pools," Roberts said.
Capozzi said she wants to see City government to start using facebook and twitter to communicate with citizens instead of flyers which can be a waste of money and paper. "We need to tell people what's going on, especially if there isn't much going on so then they can complain about it."
Neighborhood revitalization
"Nobody wants to come to point breeze if people are selling dope on the corner." said state representative, Kenyatta Johnson. He wants to bring in money from the state for small businesses and increase police patrols.
"I don't believe in teddy bears, not guns. I believe in jobs not guns," said Gordon. She wants to target big business players in Philadelphia and have them contribute more to neighborhoods and hire locally.
Gordon, a block captain, also complained about politicians asking block captains' help to elected and then neglecting them. "When its time to pass out flyers and its time for us to volunteer, we're the first ones they call," she said. "But when its time to hire we see all these prissy people around them. And they're getting these six figures and such."
When asked about state and local funding for Community Development Corporations, some candidates were fired up.
Johnson said the money should be equally funded between all community groups and wants to bring back as much money as he can.
But Gordon said some CDC's should be eliminated. "I really don't see how some of these CDC's have really been effective."
She cited organizations that she said had been shaving off public funds for their own economic gain, like Germantown Settlement in Northwest Philadelphia. "It was one of the most horrendous acts done in Philadelphia in it's history," she said.
Roberts agreed, "We need to see which CDC's are working for the community, not funded because of their political connections.
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