Pam DeLissio is considered by many good government activists in Philadelphia (including the undersigned) as our most reliable voice for democratic reform in Harrisburg.
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We are residents of Northwest Philadelphia who have worked closely with State Rep. Pam DeLissio over the past six years on issues of electoral reform and good government in Pennsylvania. Three of us are also constituents of Pam’s. We want to alert the new constituents of the redrawn 194th District to the qualities we have found in Pam DeLissio, the current incumbent.
Pam DeLissio is considered by many good government activists in Philadelphia (including the undersigned) as our most reliable voice for democratic reform in Harrisburg. Pam has stood up to her own party leadership on challenging issues, including on the 2011 gerrymander, in which Democratic leadership joined with Republicans to create a notoriously bad gerrymander (for the sake of creating safe seats for a few party leaders). Democratic House members were coerced by leadership to participate in this effort, but Pam was among those who stood up to this corruption, and she has been persona non grata to some party leaders since then.
Pam has also been a fierce and trusted ally in the fight for an independent citizens redistricting commission and in the fight to reform the rules that give party leaders undue power in Harrisburg. She is a champion of democratic reform. This has not endeared her to the party machine, which has thrown its weight behind her opponent in the primary.
As her current constituents know, Pam is not only a model of integrity, she is also extremely hardworking, accessible, and responsive to her constituents, holding very frequent town halls (well over 100 to date), and constantly keeping her constituents informed on developments in Harrisburg. She is results-oriented, with a strong focus on education and health (in addition to democratic reform) and, with 11 years experience in the House, is now the minority chair for the Children and Youth Committee.
We have found it unsettling to watch the baseless and misinformed attacks on Pam DeLissio’s record and integrity by her opponent over the past few weeks. In fact, losing Pam’s voice in the House - given her experience, proven integrity, intelligence, values, and extremely hard work - would be a serious loss for our hopes for democratic reform in Pennsylvania, and would lose Northwest Philadelphia an experienced, effective, and conscientious advocate in Harrisburg.
Agatha Andrews
Kathy Fagan
Keith Forsyth
Laura Richlin
Sara Stroman
