You can read my post on all the races and ballot questions at the May 17 Primary here.
And don’t forget to vote for me and Diane Gottlieb for member of the Democratic Committee from our division.
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I’m part of an organization that works closely with members of the PA General Assembly, I never endorse candidates in Democratic primaries. This year I have a responsibility to make an exception to that rule. The Democratic primary in the 200th House District, which includes division 24 of Ward 21 which I serve as the Democratic committeeman, is unfortunately a contest between good two incumbents, Chris Rabb and Izzy Fitzgerald, who the new legislative map put in the same district.
So I’m torn between my responsibility to my organization and to the voters who have elected me to this party position four times. So just this time I’m going to violate my rules and make an endorsement.
I don’t know Izzy Fitzgerald well, but I gather she has been a good representative. I talked with her a few weeks ago and she impressed me. In most cases I would have endorsed her in our division.
But she is running against Chris Rabb, who has not only been a personal friend of mine for over ten years but has been one of the most progressive, far-sighted, and creative members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He has been at the fore front of a number of critical issues, from raising the minimum wage to making our upside-down tax system fairer to changing the rules to make police officers accountable for their actions to calling for reparations for Black people for our legacy of slavery and white supremacy. He has been one of the legislators most committed to building the We The People–PA campaign, the progressive advocacy effort I helped initiate.
His leadership has been striking. He was a leader of the protest on the part of Black members of the PA House who took over the rostrum until the Republican leadership agreed to allow a number of police reform bills to come up for a vote. He was a lead sponsor of a bold minimum wage bill and one of the sponsors of the Fair Share Tax plan which my organization devised. He has spoken at dozens of events for other progressive candidates in both Primary and General Elections. And he’s never failed to step up when we’ve asked him to join us at an even to build the We The People–PA campaign.
In this primary election I ask you to support Chris Rabb for reelection for one simple reason. All of us who are trying to build a progressive movement in this state need him.