House candidates battle for Hill vote
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
In the final stretch of a short campaign season, three candidates seeking election to the state House of Representatives in the 200th District traded barbs at a Chestnut Hill forum last week, touching on everything from the minimum wage to school reform to the controversial legislative pay raise.
Democrat Cherelle Parker, Republican Robert Rossman and Green Marlene Santoyo pushed their platforms and answered questions from an audience mostly stacked with party operatives and supporters.
Still, the event, sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Community Association, provided some members of the electorate one last chance to probe the legislative hopefuls before a special election on Sept. 13. The winner of that contest will succeed former state Rep. LeAnna Washington, who was sworn into the Senate in June.
Last week, both Rossman and Santoyo railed against what they consider an entrenched, ineffective Democratic power base in Northwest Philadelphia. Responding to the criticism, Parker billed herself as the “homegrown, not handpicked” candidate with the government experience to advance
quality of life issues for the district’s homeowners and entrepreneurs.
Santoyo, a retired public school teacher and longtime activist, characterized herself as a “desperate housewife,” not unlike many of the district’s constituents, she said, who struggle on minimum-wage jobs, send their children to inadequate schools and live without healthcare.
She said both major political parties had failed on all three issues, and called for an end to what she labeled the “tyranny of the majority.”
“I’m tired of the Republicrats,” Santoyo said. “It’s time for a different voice, one that’s not beholden to the status quo. I’m not a politician. I’m running out of a sense of responsibility.”
Rossman framed his candidacy as an extension of his volunteer work with a number of area community groups, including the Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, the Wissahickon Charter School and the Weavers Way Co-op.
Focused on reforming public education, Rossman said he would act as a schools advocate to correct the disparity in state funding between city and suburban districts.
“The 200th District has all the demographics you’d expect to find in a suburban town,” he said. “And if that were the case, we’d have excellent schools. But in Philadelphia our schools get lost.”
As a first step, Rossman, a retired computer programmer, vowed to donate his entire legislative salary to a different local community service organization each month if elected. The first beneficiary, he said, would be the Mt. Airy Schools Committee.
Parker cited her 15 years of experience in city government, first as an intern in City Council, then as an aide to City Councilwoman Marian Tasco, saying, “Harrisburg is not the place for lone rangers. You always like to vote your conscience, but you can’t bring in the noise because then you won’t bring home the resources.”
Parker centered her platform around economic development, pledging to push for legislation and funding to improve neighborhood commercial corridors throughout the district, something she said she has already accomplished in her capacity as Tasco’s special projects coordinator.
Experience has proven her an effective leader, Parker said. As a key Tasco aide, she said she played point for commercial revitalization projects, helped to close nuisance establishments and fought against predatory lending.
She said she would also work to implement the “Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia,” a law authored by state Rep. Dwight Evans, among others, to curtail violent crime in the city.
“I’m not a lone ranger. I’m a coalition builder,” Parker said. “I’m not here to bring in the noise. I’m here to bring home the bacon.”
Campaign finance reports filed last Friday show Santoyo entering the last week of the race with $2,053 in her war chest, just ahead of Rossman, who claimed $1,713. In her month-long candidacy, Santoyo raised a total of $3,158, mostly from individual contributions.
Rossman, on the other hand, financed his campaign with nearly all his own money, save one $250 contribution from Republican Majority for Choice, a local political action committee headquartered in Chestnut Hill.
According to Brian McDonald, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation had not received Parker’s campaign finance report as of Tuesday afternoon. While it remains unclear just how much she has raised, Parker said last week that she had received $15,000 from laborers’ Local 332, in addition to 373 individual contributions.
Where the candidates fall on the issues raised by voters at last week’s forum:
Smoking ban: Both Santoyo and Parker advocate a statewide smoking ban for restaurants and bars. Rossman said he was “not so sure” about a total ban, instead favoring more public education on the issue and allowing individual businesses to enact such a restriction.
Minimum wage: Santoyo and Parker favor raising the state’s minimum wage, particularly at a time when state legislators have voted themselves a pay raise, both candidates said. Rossman said mandating a higher minimum wage would “cut off the bottom of the economic ladder,” forcing businesses to eliminate jobs.
Public transit: Parker said she would push for dedicated funding for the state’s public transportation systems, in addition to more city representatives on the SEPTA board. Santoyo floated the idea of an annual “Humvee tax” on “gas guzzlers.” Rossman called for “more flexibility” in the public transportation arena, saying private vendors should be allowed to compete.
School reform: All candidates favored measures that would build on the accomplishments of the School Reform Commission and schools chief Paul Vallas. Parker noted that she did not favor returning control of the Philadelphia school district to the city, as Mayor Street has advocated.
Campaign Finance: Rossman and Santoyo called for more transparency in the electoral process, and favor measures to limit the influence of special interests. Parker said she favors campaign finance reform at the state level, but does not favor limiting individual contributions to $1,000.
Health care: Santoyo and Parker said they would work toward universal health care in Pennsylvania. Both also said they would push to restore cuts in the state’s medical assistance funds. Rossman favors private-market over state-managed health care.
