Isaiah Thomas

As a Philadelphia native who has worked in education at various levels, as city employee, as well as organization leader I feel that I am extremely qualified to hold this position. I am a product of the Philadelphia School District and have witnessed first hand the disservice our current system has done to our students as I look at the struggles of many of my peers. Working as a teacher and mentor, I have worked everyday for the past 20 years with one of the most vulnerable demographics in the city, poor young people of color. Not only have I worked with this demographic, I have created initiatives to combat the many issues they face.

In addition to improving the lives of young people, I will work to reduce gun violence by introducing legislation to keep young people out of trouble and out of harm’s way. I will work to provide educational and training opportunities for responsible gun ownership, making sure deadly weapons stay out of the hands of criminals. I will also promote ways to enhance the community’s relationship with local police districts so victims and their families feel comfortable and empowered to work with law enforcement on preventative interventions.

Lastly, Philadelphia has several major colleges and universities that attract national talent – it’s our job to retain that talent through robust economic opportunity. I will enact policies that help the city attract and retain businesses and the local jobs they create. I will promote incentive programs for workforce readiness, such an internships, apprenticeships and vocational training, and will advocate to remove barriers to higher education and other pathways to family-sustaining careers.

Poverty is one of the greatest issues our city faces and we are not currently doing enough to fix this. We first and foremost need to increase the minimum to $15 an hour. There is no reason for a person with 2 jobs to still live in poverty. Second, we need to focus on changing the climate, culture, and curriculum of our schools so students are receiving an adequate educate that prepares them for the real world. I have watched so many of my peers suffer because they matriculated through the School District of Philadelphia with no skills to gain employment. Finally, the tax structure of our city currently works for no one. Businesses are being taxed out of the city and regressive taxes are drastically hurting poor and working class people. I am a “No-New Tax” candidate because I feel Philadelphia needs to break out of the cycle of taxing the city out of budget issues. We need an entire revamp our of tax system and if elected I will work with economist and professionals to help change the code as to not put the city in further financial straight and also be fairer to all citizens.

More over, if elected I will push for funding to come from the Mayor’s fund and other revenue generating initiatives like Made in America to invest more dollars into grassroots organization to do work on gun violence prevention and work directly with our most vulnerable communities.

As a lifelong resident I have witnessed the displacement of long-term residents due to current tax structure of our city. We need to implement programs that protect these residents and save them from loosing their homes. Moreover, LGBTQ youth are among the most vulnerable to homelessness in our city. We need to increase initiatives that support LGBTQ youth who were displaced from their home and ensure they are protected and provided the proper resources.

Additionally, we need to increase affordable housing opportunities and better wages. We have affectively created an environment that is anti-long term resident. By giving tax breaks to those who can afford $500,000 homes and over taxing those in poverty, while also leaving their wages the same. This is why if elected I will work to revamp our tax system to be fair for all residents.

Lastly we need update the infrastructure that currently exists for our homeless population. Shelters are extremely unsafe and this can be seen in the people who rather sleep on the streets than find a place at a local shelter. We should improve shelters with possibly lockers and better security because homeless people deserve to feel safe in the spaces provided for them.

As stated before, I am a “No-New Tax” candidate, and believe our city’s tax code needs to be totally revamped. Before we think about introducing new taxes we should address the city’s current issue of waste in our budget. I witnessed a great deal of this waste when I worked in City Controller’s office and know that if investigated and made more efficient the city could save millions of resources that can be used to address our current deficit. As for taxes that need to be revamped, I would look to phase out the tax abatement and immediately restore the 45% to the school district and responsibly fade out the rest; I would also look to revamp the Soda tax and look for additional ways to fund universal pre-k which does not charge the communities it plans to help.

My campaign released a “Youth Agenda” which outlines the various initiatives I would work to implement if elected that will improve the lives of young people. In this documents, I discuss improving capacity by increasing our youths’ abilities through additional education funding, a high-tech curriculum and leveraging charter schools. The greatest challenge facing our school district is lack of funding. Relying on property taxes and state funding is inequitable and inefficient. As City Councilman, I will explore innovative and more sustainable sources of funding, such as foundations, contributions from businesses and universities, and seeking fair contributions from developers.

Tomorrow’s employers need a workforce with skills beyond those taught in traditional educational settings. The definition of “literacy” has broadened to include computer, financial, civic and social literacy skills. My initiatives will address the deficits in our education system to make computer literacy a required part of the curriculum in all schools that receive public funding, including training in Microsoft Office, coding and networking. I will push for a financial literacy program to prepare students for credit, students loans and budgeting. Further, civic education about the governance of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, along with optional voter registration, is critical to a pipeline of concerned and engaged citizens who will contribute to the city. Finally, the increased social pressures youth people face, and the impact of domestic violence even in high school, mandate that our curricula adapt to offer more support to students.

Charter schools have been viewed in some circles as threats to our public school system, and I understand that concern. But charter schools also can serve as important laboratories for experimenting with different educational models, leading to new, innovative and efficient ways of educating our young people. I propose a Charter School Task Force to bridge the divide between our public and charter schools and to provide increased oversight that will limit fraud and double-spending – historical problems with Philadelphia’s charter schools.

Philadelphia needs to address and revamp our current policing model, as it is currently unsafe for not only officers but citizens, as well. I definitely believe we need to end Stop & Frisk, as an African American male living in this city I have felt firsthand the great inconvenience and fear males of color feel living their daily lives. If elected, I will promote ways to enhance the community’s relationship with local police districts so victims and their families feel comfortable and empowered to work with law enforcement on preventative interventions.

Public spaces should be open for all and if elected I will support any plans to increase access to open spaces without exclusion.

If elected, I will work with my colleagues and the mayor to ensure that Philadelphia remains a sanctuary city and helps to increase the ease of pathway to citizenship. I will also work to secure resources within the school district to support English as a second language students.

Lack of resources is the number one issue our city faces, as it is the underlying issue for all of our problems. If elected, I will work to find additional resources outside the city’s budget to address issues with infrastructure across the board. This will also allow us to dedicate resources to improving energy efficiency and promoting initiatives that advance environmental justice.