|
Hi John,
I want to take some time to re-introduce myself, why I think the City Controller is critical to our movement, and to also answer the question so many of you have which is…what exactly does a City Controller do?
I was born in Rochester, NY with my twin brother. I understood from a young age that my parents had lost my older brother and that sadness was unimaginable, that my brother struggled with many things that came easily to me and others, and that my parents being teachers meant that our family had less money than most of my friends’ families.
One of my defining childhood moments was when my brother asked me if I could teach him how to be more like me because the way he was wasn’t working out the way he wanted it to. I told him there was nothing wrong with how he was and maybe it was the world that needed to change.
I graduated from the University of Richmond in three years with a Bachelor’s in Psychology. During my undergrad, I worked as a server, a stripper, and a sales associate. I had an abortion. I fought for better treatment of children with autism in Richmond public schools. I worked and volunteered during my school breaks and summers to learn about healthcare in other countries. Post-graduation, I came to Philly to begin a master’s degree at Drexel.
When the pandemic hit, the dam burst wide-open. Every societal issue that our government had tried to sweep under the rug and normalize came to a head. I was on the frontline with our cancer patients, at testing sites, and handing out food. I saw how long those lines were. And these weren’t lines of able-bodied people – they were lines filled with elders, with parents holding multiple children, with people in wheelchairs or walking with canes. The only way these people were going to get enough food on their table was by standing in these lines for hours and somehow carrying a heavy box of food all the way home. Rain or shine. Car or not.
What a systemic failure. That was when I decided to run for office and challenged someone who wasn’t doing enough.
I knew running for office would be hard, but I had no idea how hard it would be. I have known pain and hardship and empty bank accounts. But my candidacy does not come from a broken place within me. My candidacy comes from the determination within me and my love for my neighbors, and that is exactly how we built this movement. We are not trauma bonded. We are connected by our readiness and willingness to fight back against the pain and injustice that are designed features of the system we live in. We are connected by our strength. We show up every day and work - for our city, our neighbors, our movement.
That brings us to today, to our launch for Philadelphia City Controller.
Why City Controller? The City Controller is someone who makes sure that Philly’s money is spent the way it is supposed to be spent. The City Controller is also someone who can demonstrate that the City has the money to spend on our priorities – like people, neighborhoods, and communities, instead of wealthy corporations. I’m running for City Controller to build a well-being economy in Philadelphia. A well-being economy invests in people, knowing that if people flourish, our village will flourish. We have to address Philly’s issues from the roots and the Philadelphia City Controller can do exactly that.
With our diverse, hard-working, and expanding movement, we can start to build a better city. And all of us will be better for it.
| 
