Question 1: What talent, experience, and expertise would you bring to the office of state representative?
Experience getting the job done, especially in a divided and partisan government, is the key to delivering results for the 182nd and the citizens of the 2nd Ward. No one has more legislative, economic, and community development experience than I do; and as the only union member in my race, I have the unique insights to deliver for all sectors of our economy and our community. Fighting for a progressive agenda in a conservative-majority isn’t easy, but not impossible. Strong negotiating skills, honed interpersonal relationships, and political pragmatism are key.
I won’t need on-the-job training when I get to Harrisburg; I’m already doing the work. In the last five years I have been responsible for writing and passing more than twenty-five state and local laws, including right here in Pennsylvania, opening up billions of dollars in contracts and economic development to small business owners, including minorities, veterans, those with disabilities, and LGBTQ-owned entrepreneurs.
They told me I couldn’t pass a pro-LGBT law in Texas. I got it done.
They told me I couldn’t pass a disability rights law in Massachusetts. I got it done.
I can and will get the job done for the 182nd and for all our citizens across Philly.
I have helped institutions, from the largest corporation to the smallest local government, spend their money more efficiently, equitably, and with greater direct impact on our communities than ever before.
The 182nd is the beating heart of Center City Philadelphia. We are the Commerce center; we are the center of art, culture, food, and diversity of experiences– all the elements that make Philly so special. And it needs a champion who is as experienced at making progressive change as he is experienced at navigating the intersection of city and state politics that arise when progress and economics may feel at odds with one another.
My passion for public service is rooted in a belief that when we all do better, we all do better. I’m fighting for the safety and success of all workers, and supporting the importance of unions; affordable and inclusive healthcare and housing; essential services for our seniors and veterans; gun-free, fully-funded schools; supporting our arts and culture institutions; preserving our environment; and protecting Philadelphians’ vote.
When we’re battling the opposition for our most basic civil rights: equality, freedom to vote, healthcare, the environment, and education, we don’t need slogans and angry rhetoric. We need results. We need leadership. We need someone who can work across the aisle to build consensus while never compromising convictions about what is right. I’m ready to serve my neighbors in the 2nd ward and across the 182nd district with honor and dignity.
Question 2: What is your plan to win this election with regards to fundraising, field, and votes?
I couldn’t be happier with the momentum and support for my campaign in the 182nd District. With over 700 donors, extensive union and community support, and the most bipartisan legislative experience, we continue to demonstrate winning viability and I am so ready for the primary ahead.
In early February we announced a record-breaking $150,000 raised, and have a comprehensive plan to get out the vote for my race as well as fellow Pennsylvania Democrats to help flip the legislature blue.
The fact that we are approaching the primary with so much support from Philadelphia and across the nation signals that seeking to truly help people is the message voters want to hear. From unions to business owners to teachers to community leaders, my neighbors in Philadelphia are fired up and ready to work with me to make a difference. I am ready to knock every door, meet with every neighbor, and earn every vote ahead.
Team LovitzForPA has the ideal mix of experienced statewide consulting support coupled with local political and community engagement experts to GOTV. Primary strategies include:
- Aggressive fundraising strategy that includes daily blocks of call time, virtual and in person (when possible and safe) fundraising events with the support of an expert, experience finance team
- NGP/VAN + VoteBuilder utilization for targeting (multiple members of the team are experts)
- Extensive labor union and grassroots support for phone banking, door knocking, and other GOTV efforts.
- A robust “in house” and “in office” event schedule to meet voting groups and networks where they are
- Targeted paid media campaign that includes direct mail, social media, and text bank
- Youth vote engagement with local college Dem networks and endorsers like Youth Political Strategies; focused on squads of door knockers, event volunteers, and GOTV promoters
Question 3: What endorsements do you have or are you seeking, if any?
As of February 1, 2022
PHILADELPHIA LABOR UNIONS:
- RYAN BOYER & LABORERS’ DISTRICT COUNCIL
- PHILADELPHIA MUSICIANS’ UNION LOCAL 77*
*This is their FIRST EVER political endorsement
PROGRESSIVE MEDIA:
- The Washington Blade Newspaper (the US’ LGBTQ Paper of Record)
- Latino Connection Magazine (PA based)
- Affinity, Inc. Magazine
PROGRESSIVE PACS/ORGS:
- Roadmap for Progress
- Building Bridges for America
- Youth Political Strategies
ELECTED & PUBLIC OFFICIALS:
- US Congressman Ritchie Torres
- US Congressman Tony Coelho, Father of Americans with Disabilities Act
- State Senator Brad Hoylman
- Brig. General Richard S. Miller, Dpt. Commanding General, 38th Infantry Division (Ret)
- Jimmy Vacca, Former NYC Councilmember
- Ryan Miccio, Human Rights Commissioner, City of Palm Springs
GUN REFORM ADVOCATES:
- Fred Guttenberg, Gun Violence Advocate, Father of Parkland Shooting Victim
- Brandon Wolf, PULSE Shooting Survivor, Gun Violence Advocate
COMMUNITY LEADERS:
- Jim Obergefell, Winning Marriage Equality Plaintiff
- David Mixner, LGBTQ Advocacy Icon
- Dennis & Judy Shepard, Founders of Matthew Shepard Foundation
- Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO, Philanthropist, and MWBE Leader
- Jeff Zarrillo & Paul Katami, CA Prop 8 Lawsuit Plaintiffs and Activists
- Judith Windsor, Spouse of Marriage Equality Champion Edie Windsor
- George Fernandez, CEO & EIC, Latino Connection
- Audra McDonald, Actor & Social Justice Advocate
- Jackie Richter, Trans Activist & Construction Industry Pioneer
- George Takei, Actor & AAPI/LGBTQ Activist
- Billy Porter, Actor & HIV/LGBTQ Activist
- Wilson Cruz, Actor & Hispanic/LGBTQ Activist
- Anthony Rapp, Actor & #MeToo/LGBTQ Activist
- Greg Louganis, Olympic Champion and LGBTQ advocate
Question 4: What would be your three highest priorities as a legislator?
- STRENGTHENING OUR ECONOMY FOR ALL: BUSINESSES, UNIONS, AND WORKING FAMILIES – From promoting higher wages, to paid family leave, to an unprecedented investment in affordable housing and small business support, I will work to make the life of working families in the District easier and more successful. We must make state resources work for the people.
- SAVING LIVES AND INCREASING PUBLIC SAFETY, WITH A PUSH FOR EQUALITY & JUSTICE FOR ALL – I will not let crime be a barrier to a better life in Philadelphia. Across PA we must fund public safety equitably, finally ban ghost guns and assault weapons, toughen requirements, and reverse gun show loopholes and private buyer exemptions. I will be one of the most vocal champions for women, BIPOC communities, veterans, those with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ citizens across America– and will be one of the strongest, most experienced voices fighting for their rights and opportunities in Harrisburg.
- CHAMPIONING STRONGER SCHOOLS AND A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT– Fixing the public school funding formula is critical to my campaign as the son and brother of teachers. Our students deserve an equal, equitable education regardless of zip code or antiquated spending priorities like vouchers. Ensuring our Commonwealth is doing its part to protect our home and investing in cleaner solutions is a moral and economic imperative. I will help Leadership demonstrate that Going Green and growing our economy are not mutually exclusive.
Question 5: What actions should the Pennsylvania legislature take regarding PK-12 school funding in the Commonwealth?
Working to fix the funding formula that starves our schools of resources is critical to my campaign as the son and brother of union teachers. Making our schools safer, smarter, and better, as well as improving teacher salaries and access to technological resources is key to our kids’ success. Barely more than 10% of funds in PA run through the ‘formula’ used to assess equitable distribution.
After talking with many teachers and PFT members, I fully agree that we must exponentially increase that percentage so as much as much funding as possible flows through such a formula. Equity in education begins with an acknowledgment that the physical needs of inner city schools in Philadelphia may be different than rural schools in Central and Western PA. No student from any community should be forced into a substandard (and possibly unsafe) learning environment because of their zip code and an antiquated spending formula. Corporate tax break/loopholes need to be rectified and made fair, while also establishing many more revenue lines, including PILOT payments and fines on developers who fail to meet standard, to support essential school repairs and educational equity initiatives.
Charter Schools hurt public education. Period. By being allowed to receive comparable state and local funds and yet be free of oversight and basic (but essential) requirements around certifications, testing, and equitable enrollment, these schools create a ‘separate and unequal’ educational system. This system also hurts hardworking union teachers and paraprofessionals in education. Charters regularly utilize lower paid staff on short-term contracts, increasing staff turnover which is both costly and disruptive to students. These problems are compounded by the many ways funds are siphoned to charter schools from public schools, whether through 529/ESA code manipulation, vouchers, or tax credits. Knowing that Educational Improvement Tax Credits – paid for by the public – do not prevent schools from arbitrarily shifting enrollment and academic standards, it’s time that we overhaul the use of public funds that work against public education and demand increased transparency and accountability for all school systems.
I also love to volunteer as a mentor and trainer for young leaders, especially those looking to learn how to use their voices for the causes that inspire them to make a difference. I hope to increase funding for afterschool mentorship and career training initiatives to create a pipeline of young, diverse leaders to power the future of PA. I see this as a great way to bring labor unions into the world of public school academics, but showcasing opportunities for apprenticeships/internships that can become life-long careers via CTE and other after-school, for credit programs.
Question 6: What is your position on fracking? Please address whether you support a ban on fracking or support a tax on fracking.
Unless we fundamentally tackle climate change, all other social and economic policies we work on are just bandaids on a broken planet. Ensuring our Commonwealth is doing its part to address these issues is a moral and economic imperative. With each passing month that the legislature does not enact green development incentives, green job training, and sustainable sourcing practices on public procurement contracts, we lose precious time– and money. That includes not supporting new fracking operations, and using all available tools to tax and walk back – and ultimately replace – fracking in PA.
A clear majority of Pennsylvania voters (55 percent) say they support the immediate or eventual end of natural gas drilling, also known as fracking, in the commonwealth, according to a recent poll commissioned by the sustainably minded think tank Ohio River Valley Institute. I’ve always believed the voice of the people should be the force that guides how legislators address critical issues.
My years of working at the intersection of small businesses and large corporate and government contracts, especially those focused on sustainability, have affirmed that “going green” and growing our workforce and economy need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, green jobs can be a catalyst for exponentially more union infrastructure and cleanup projects.
Natural gas, agriculture, and manufacturing are bedrocks of the Pennsylvania economy, and it’s time state government followed the lead of progressive corporations and enterprising municipalities that are investing heavily in cleaner production and pragmatic transitions to energy and waste alternatives. By acting now we can limit increases in the frequency and intensity of flooding, heatwaves, wildfires and other extreme weather events that cost PA taxpayers billions each year. Each step taken to curb emissions and rectify our impact in PA results in countless new private and public sector jobs– many of
them union.
Issues of environmental protection and conservation are deeply personal to me, as my husband and I returned to Philadelphia so he could become NBC10 Philadelphia’s climate and environmental policy specialist on their weather team. I’m also very proud to have the personal support and guidance on my campaign from my close friend and colleague, Shawn LaTourette, Commissioner of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.
Question 7: What would you do as a state legislator to address housing needs in the homeownership and rental markets?
As a Board of Directors member at a major national housing nonprofit, working to make owning, renting, and repairing homes for every community is a deeply personal commitment of mine.
Housing-related expenses including rents, mortgages, and repairs are by far the most burdensome to working families trying to make ends meet and improve outcomes for their children. I look forward to working with both public and private sector leaders to enact essential reforms to zoning, taxes, and subsidies so we can put people into safe, secure housing and help them start building a financially stable future. As in most social services, reaching those in most need of housing support can be the most difficult step. Just as we invested in Navigators for the Affordable Care Act, I hope to help develop mobile “street teams” across PA that bring housing resources, information, and sign-up forms to those in need on the most helpful physical/digital platforms and in the languages most needed.
Major PA corporations and development agencies have the largest role to play in helping fund affordable housing initiatives as they will see immediate increases in available workforce participants and loyal consumers with disposable income. Every step taken to ease the burden of paying for a home allows a PA resident to invest in their work, their child’s education, and in the economy of their community.
As my neighbors in the 2nd Ward will agree: we must invest in dealing with the root causes of homellessness and housing insecurity that keep folks on the street and not using city and state resources to get and stay safely housed.
Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of the nation’s 10 largest cities, and inaction locally or anywhere in the Commonwealth, is an active choice made to ignore the root causes: income inequality and lack of affordable housing. New development– both residential and industrial- is essential for PA’s competitiveness in the 21st century. However, ‘no strings attached’ credits and abatements further exacerbate the root causes of homelessness by robbing cities of essential funds to address the problem. I hope to see legislation introduced in PA that would require new development that receives taxpayer funded breaks to pay directly into community investment funds focused on homelessness and public safety. These funds will be utilized to build and repair essential shelters and vouchers for affordable housing alternatives, increase rapidly accessible physical and mental healthcare, ensure nutritious food reaches the homeless, and invest in educational programs that help the homeless reenter the workforce. This is a particularly timely moment to address homelessness with the post-pandemic glut of unused/empty commercial real estate; we must make rezoning easier and more efficient so cities across PA can responsibly utilize these buildings for the public good, including as homeless resource centers.
Question 8: What is the legislature’s role regarding reproductive healthcare?
A woman has a RIGHT to her own healthcare choices free of judgment or legal restrictions. Period, full stop. As Signe Espinoza, Interim Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates said, “Our state could be next. We must come together to protect access to safe and legal abortion.” Not on my watch. This fight is deeply personal to me.
The legislature should have been passed legislation that guarantees the rights in the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision into law years ago. But the urgency of the current war on women demands we get this done now. I am a proud volunteer and donor to both Planned Parenthood and NARAL, and it’s been an honor to advocate for womens’ healthcare protections in the many states where I actively work with legislators, including right here in PA. We must also drastically increase prenatal care funding and community healthcare resources to help mothers and families succeed at every step in their family planning journey.
Most Saturday mornings you’ll find me in a yellow vest serving as a patient escort volunteer at the Planned Parenthood in Center City Philadelphia. I grew up with two older sisters in a home run primarily by a Mom that instilled the importance of hearing, seeing, and respecting women and their right to choose — always. Since my earliest advocacy memories as a college student, standing in solidarity with women who deserve unfettered, unquestioned access to healthcare and medical privacy is a part of my DNA. The women of Philadelphia deserve someone who will fight with all they have to protect them and ensure their freedom of choice and right to privacy is always defended — and they’ll always have that in me.
Question 9: A small fraction of bills sponsored by Democrats move out of the House. What would be your strategy for getting things done in a highly partisan General Assembly?
My vast experience helping articulate the business case for legislation is one of the many reasons I’ll be such a success for our district. Budgets are a statement of principles for a government, and we cannot allow PA to continue shirking its responsibilities to deliver education, healthcare, infrastructure, and public safety – especially while we’re sitting on a massive ‘rainy day fund’ in our Commonwealth’s treasury.
We do not build “rich” and “poor” bridges; there aren’t “red” and “blue” sources of clean water; our firefighters do not use private roads to save lives in our cities. Every Pennsylvanian benefits from the expenditure of taxpayer dollars, but not every Pennsylvanian fairly contributes to the funds from which we draw. Closing budget and public investment deficits, especially those painful cuts to programs that support minority communities, without increasing taxes on working people and the middle class is not only possible– but already happening in several states. We must educate the public on the urgent need for an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution allowing us to finally enact a fair, graduated tax system.
One of the reasons for the ongoing partisanship is the growing distrust in our electoral process and voters back home feeling like their power to be heard in Harrisburg is greatly diminnished.
We urgently need uniformity in how elections are run and counted, as well as increased mechanisms for rectifying intentional disenfranchisement of voters. I firmly believe your voice is your power, and I will always defend it. That is why he helped found the PhillyVoting.org initiative in 2020, expanding voter registration and civic confidence in my city of Philadelphia during the toughest days of the pandemic. By hitting the streets with some extraordinary volunteers, I helped register and galvanize nearly a thousand new voters during the most important election of our lifetime in Pennsylvania, with an intentional focus on closing the registration gap for Black, Brown, and LGBTQ voters in PA.
I also believe healthcare should be – and can be – a bipartisan issue in Pennsylvania. During the pandemic I volunteered with several agencies across Philadelphia to help rectify healthcare inequities by bringing vaccinations directly to the most vulnerable – and often most difficult to engage – minority communities in Center City. By talking with so many neighbors from so many walks of life I heard first-hand about the urgency for accessible, affordable healthcare options for every Pennsylvanian. I have been a longtime proponent of a Medicare for All option alongside private options for every citizen who wants it. I hope to champion such policies in Harrisburg while also working to send essential funds to local, community-based health clinics. These facilities have the most intimate knowledge of the physical and mental healthcare needs of the neighbors they serve without the bureaucracy of major private institutions. I also want to invest heavily in telemedicine and remote care for those who need it most, while also ensuring we have sufficient technological and language support for the communities who will most benefit from these resources. A healthier Pennsylvania is a more successful Pennsylvania.