Global Courant 2023-05-04 16:12:42
In Philadelphia’s first mayoral race since crime peaked during the coronavirus pandemic, the crowded Democratic field is seeking to make public safety a cornerstone of the campaign, advocating approaches ranging from mental health interventions and cleaner streets to echoes of “tough crime” Republican rhetoric.
Six Democrats are considered serious contenders to succeed Mayor Jim Kenney. Because Philadelphia weighs heavily in the Democratic Party, their May 16 primaries will likely determine who leads the nation’s sixth-largest city.
They’re not just talking about gun violence — 473 people were fatally shot last year and 1,789 were injured by gunfire last year, according to city stats — but how they’d handle other public health and safety threats, including blacked-out streetlights and garbage collection issues .
“A two-year spike in crime is leaving deep scars in cities and we’re seeing that in this election cycle,” said John Roman, director of the nonpartisan Center on Public Safety and Justice, part of the social research organization NORC at the university. from Chicago. Roman is also a member of the Crime Trends Working Group of the Council on Criminal Justice, an impartial group that develops policy suggestions for tackling crime.
MAYOR OF PHILADELPHIA: IF YOU DON’T SUPPORT THE GUN CONTROL, YOU DON’T SUPPORT THE BLUE BEHIND
The only Republican to run for mayor, former Councilman David Oh, took aim at the “defund the police” movement — which seeks to tackle crime through means other than more police — and called for the department to be fully staffed. Some of the Democratic candidates have also focused on crime-fighting through the police.
Former city councilwoman and state legislator Cherelle Parker, who previously fought to end the unconstitutional and discriminatory use of the police tactic known as stop-and-frisk, says police should be able to use their discretion to make an arrest when they witness something suspicious.
“It’s not either/or — you’ll be held accountable, we’ll make reforms too, but we’ll use every tool in the toolbox to make sure our city is safer, cleaner and greener,” Parker said in a debate.
Candidates Jeff Brown and Allan Domb also support strong policing solutions. Brown, a political outsider who franchises grocery stores, earned the endorsement of the local Fraternal Order of Police, promising more cops and money for the police in city budgets. Domb, a former councilman, said he would convene a group of local, state and federal agencies to tackle the crime. He said bringing the agencies together could help reduce homicides, tackle shoplifting and prosecute people who illegally acquire guns.
State Representative Amen Brown, whose experience as a gunshot victim has influenced his crime policy, pledged to “work with law enforcement, not against law enforcement.”
Mayoral candidates, from left to right, Jeff Brown, Helen Gym, Rebecca Rhynhart, Cherelle Parker, State Representative Amen Brown and Allan Domb participate in a Democratic primary debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 2023. (Philadelphia mayoral candidates)
“I am the only candidate who has never become pro-police or not,” he said. “And that’s a fact.”
Rebecca Rhynhart, the former city controller who published a critical assessment of the precinct before announcing her candidacy for mayor, has chided the idea of ”going back to ‘law-and-order’ policies that were racist” and urged intervention and therapy programs that would help people at risk of becoming violent or committing crimes. She also supported preventive measures, such as long-term investment in programs that would help alleviate poverty and provide opportunities for those who lack them.
In the short term, however, she said the city needs “consequences and rules.”
DEM MAYORAL CANDIDATE SLAMMED FOR DEBATE ANSWER ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD: ‘THE WASTE HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE’
“Right now we have chaos in the streets and that is unacceptable,” she said. “Of course we need compassion, but we also need consequences.”
Helen Gym, which is supported by progressive organizations at the city and national level, has proposed radically different solutions to eradicate crime, including funding mental health first responders, guaranteeing employment for young adults and providing of effective city services to keep the city streets clean. She denounced a “top-down” police-heavy focus.
“I think that’s one of our biggest issues that we have,” she said. “I’ve made it very clear that the violence in our city stems directly from disinvestment in individuals and in neighborhoods and communities, which is why a security agenda really needs to transition into an investment agenda.”
Voters responding to polls generally agree and list mental health and substance abuse needs; access to opportunities, education and housing; and getting illegal guns off the streets as the key solution to crime, said Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships for the Vera Institute of Justice, an organization working to transform the legal and immigration systems.
In fact, the public has become less punitive over the past three decades, and their desire to see that shift in government policy is reflected in both the voting booth and how politicians behave to gain approval, said Justin Pickett, a researcher at the University of Albany.
“They follow the trends in public opinion and in that direction they look at the policies that really have a lot of support,” he said.
John Fetterman, who won the US Senate race in Pennsylvania last year, seemed to heed that message. During his campaign, he discussed ensuring public safety in a way that never devolved into “hard crime” rhetoric. It’s a route few Democrats choose, Rahman noted.
“He made crime and security a kitchen table issue and said, ‘We can have security and justice, we deserve it and we need both.’ That actually really appealed to voters,” she said, noting that while exit polls showed crime was a voter issue, Fetterman still won against his hardline Republican opponent.
“That’s a notable shift in how voters view Democrats in their approach to crime and security,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Progressive Brandon Johnson won Chicago’s recent mayoral race after reversing his previous support to “defund the police,” while also rejecting his opponent Paul Vallas’s suggestion that Chicago should hire hundreds of additional cops. Instead, Johnson called for more investment in mental health, affordable housing and youth jobs.
The outcome of that race and the game in Philadelphia could shape how the Democratic Party approaches crime and public safety in future national elections, said Michael Sances, an associate professor at Temple University.
“It tells us about intra-party politics in the Democratic party — where they stand with policing, how they can reconcile with reform,” he said.
