State Representative Chris Rabb

by Maddie Clark

After defeating the 200th District’s former State Rep. Tonyelle Cook-Artis in the 2016 election, State Rep. Chris Rabb, also the leader of Philadelphia’s 9th Ward, will have to battle it out once more to remain the district’s representative for a second consecutive term.

Formerly the chief-of-staff to former State Rep. Cherelle Parker, Cook-Artis won the seat in a special election after Parker left the state house for City Council.

Rabb’s election came as a shock to many. given that Cook-Artis was supported by the Northwest Coalition, a group of politicians who have remained dominant until Rabb’s subsequent arrival.

Running against Rabb in the 2018 General Primary is Melissa Scott, a West Oak Lane resident who most recently served as the Senior IT Project Manager for Philadelphia’s Revenue Department.

Asked about what prompted her to make a run for the 200th district seat, Scott offered a mix of big-ticket progressive causes.

“I am seeking to be elected State Representative for the 200th District in an effort to enact both a legislative and community-based agenda that promotes equity and fairness of opportunity,” said Scott.

“My campaign is about standing up to the NRA and demanding serious gun control laws that save lives and stop the flow of guns into our schools and neighborhoods,” Scott said. “It's about providing quality education for our children and universal health care for all of our families within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Scott also emphasized the need for more women and particularly women of color in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Scott noted that “according to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers, Pennsylvania ranks 39th in the number of women elected to the state legislature.”

“We can and must do better!” said Scott.

Despite knowing very little about his fellow candidate, Rabb said he made the effort to introduce himself to Scott, offer her his phone number and formally welcome her to the race.

Rabb would not say Scott was another move by Democratic ward politicians to take back control of his seat.

“As I often said during my grassroots campaign two years ago, our legislators should be elected, not selected,” Rabb said.

One of the challenges that Rabb had to overcome in the 2016 election was that the position of State Representative of the 200th District had not been seriously challenged since 1983.

Rabb said he has spent his first term in office trying to reach his constituents.

“I’ve sought to recruit young people, women, people of color and newly politicized neighbors into our ward committee, either to fill vacant committeeperson seats or as volunteers interested in getting involved in hyper-local politics,” Rabb said.

In addition to also studying other wards and political entities similar to those in Philadelphia, Rabb feels most strongly about “fashioning role as ward leader into a facilitator within a democratic collective,” said Rabb.

With these steps and actions in place, Rabb said he has seen “an unparalleled level of interest and engagement in hyperlocal politics, specifically electoral politics on the division level.”

“At the same time, results from recent election cycles clearly show that the influence of ward leaders is waning as engaged voters are getting their information, and resources to mobilize from independent and varied sources,” Rabb said. “That’s all good news.”

While Rabb is trying to create positive changes within the Philadelphia ward system, his campaign platform has stayed fairly similar to that of the 2016 election, during which he adopted the slogan “Better, Together.”

“It’s now more of a mantra for me,” Rabb said. “Better to remain being committed to principal leadership, strategic collaboration and civic innovation. It also means policies founded on furthering shared prosperity. And as a hallmark of any true progressive, the four cornerstones of my service rest upon accountability, transparency, equity and inclusion.”

The concept of “Together” has come into action for Rabb, he said, in working with other district affiliates as well as conservatives from rural and suburban Pennsylvania on various bills, including the First Chance Trust Fund, a bill introduced by Rabb that provides educational scholarships and grants for youth in Pennsylvania areas that have high rates of incarceration.

The primary election will be held May 15. Citizens can find their local polling place by visiting www.pavoterservices.pa.gov. April 16 is also the last day citizens can register to vote in the primary election.