350 Philly’s steering committee is thrilled to endorse two Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania’s state legislature, both running against incumbents in the June 2nd primary election:
- Rick Krajewski—188th Assembly District in West Philadelphia
- Nikil Saval—1st Senate District, encompassing neighborhoods in South Philly, Center City, and the River Wards
In a time of enormous health and economic crises and an accelerating climate emergency, we need elected officials who will fight for bold, transformative solutions. We have endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President. Now we’re getting involved with the effort to change our PA legislature.
Rick and Nikil are champions for a Green New Deal, universal health care, healthy housing for all, and other policies that we urgently need. They are skilled, creative organizers with strong records of leadership and service, wide networks of support, and vibrant campaigns.
Electing Nikil and Rick will move us closer to building a just, sustainable, fossil-free Pennsylvania. Our state’s primary election has been postponed to Tuesday, June 2. Let’s do all we can in the next two months to help them win the nomination!
Do you live in Rick’s or Nikil’s district? We encourage you to vote for them and talk with your neighbors. Not sure which General Assembly or State Senate district you live in? Click here to find out.
Wherever you live, consider donating and phonebanking for their campaigns, or getting involved in other ways. Read below to learn more about the candidates about how you can involved.
Rick Krajewski
Rick is running to represent the 188th district in the PA General Assembly (which includes parts of University City, Cedar Park, Spruce Hill, Cobbs Creek, and Kingsessing).
Rick and his staff are coordinating a Coronavirus Response Effort, calling high-risk residents and helping them obtain food and other resources. Sign up to participate.
Rick is a West Philadelphia neighbor, criminal justice organizer, educator and artist. He is running to champion West Philly values in Harrisburg by putting people before profit and fighting for the future we all deserve. As a working class multi-racial Black man raised by a single mother, Rick knows courage and community are fundamental for us to thrive. As an organizer, he knows it takes people power to transform systems for the better. Learn more about Rick’s history and work.
He will fight for a Green New Deal for Pennsylvania that addresses the triple crisis of economic inequality, ecological devastation and climate change, and public disinvestment. He sees a Green New Deal as the path to realizing our basic human rights: to clean air, clean water, clean infrastructure, healthy food, renewable natural resources, and a stable and livable climate. He’s proposing policies that would:
- Expand access to public transit by increasing frequency of service, lowering the price to $1 per ride, and investing in a transition to electric vehicles for all public transit by 2030.
- Propose a clean energy plan that transitions Pennsylvania to 100% clean renewable energy from primarily wind and solar by 2035 or as soon as possible, with benchmarks for emissions reductions, job growth, and equity.
- Demand we clean up every toxic site in Philadelphia left by fossil fuels, and increase funding for community green space to return toxic industrial spaces to community controlled public lands.
- Call for a complete ban on fracking in Pennsylvania and keep fossil fuels in the ground.
- Support a just transition for workers by investing funds in training for renewable energy industries and ensuring those jobs are good union jobs, as well as creating a pension fund for workers who are transitioning out of the fossil fuel industry and will not pursue training.
- Support urban agriculture and expanding community gardens and farms which can be centers of community resilience where Philadelphians care for each other and the natural world.
Endorsements: Rick has been endorsed by Reclaim Philadelphia, Sunrise Movement, Philly DSA, Lilac, Free the Ballot, Food and Water Action, BMWED-IBT, and other groups. Click here for a full list.
Nikil Saval
Nikil is running to represent the 1st Senate District, which includes neighborhoods across Philly: Rittenhouse Square, Graduate Hospital, Society Hill, Old City, Fairmount, Fishtown, Kensington, Port Richmond, South Philly east of Broad, Packer Park, and Girard Estates.
He is a father, writer and community organizer, and the first Asian American to be elected ward leader in Philadelphia. In 2009, he organized boycotts with UNITE HERE against luxury hotel developers to fight for the rights of housekeepers. In 2013, he won back jobs for 1,000 cafeteria workers and noontime aides who had been laid off because of Corbett’s budget cuts to the Philadelphia School District. In 2016 he was a leader in the Bernie Sanders campaign and he co-founded Reclaim Philadelphia. In 2018, he organized campaigns to fight for change in the Democratic Party and was elected ward leader of the Second Ward in South Philly. Nikil is committed to justice for working people, whether white, black or brown. He will fight for a Philadelphia and Pennsylvania that works for the many and not the few.
He will champion a Green New Deal for Pennsylvanians, with specific proposals that include:
- Setting swift and responsible targets, including eliminating coal-generated electricity by 2025, and achieving 100% clean electricity by 2030
- A climate equity fund by which 40% of benefits and investment during the transition are directed to frontline and vulnerable communities, including communities of color, the poor, and deindustrialized communities
- Reducing SEPTA fares to $1 per ride, with a path to free service (dependent on federal funding) in place.
- Working with PennDOT to increase service, offering a bus every eight minutes and a train every five minutes in Philadelphia
- Cleaning up every single brownfield and toxic site in Philadelphia with union labor
- A Green New Deal for schools, libraries, and recreation centers
Endorsements: Nikil has been endorsed by Reclaim Philadelphia, Sunrise Movement, Philly DSA, Lilac, BMWED-IBT, Free the Ballot, Food and Water Action, Unite HERE Philly, TAUP, Philly 1st Ward Democrats, Philly 2nd Ward Democrats, and Second Generation.
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