Michael Nutter at the Vote for Homes mayoral forum

The following report on the Vote4Homes mayoral forum was sent to me from a friend who has a long history as a fighter for social justice as an activist, as a policy analyst,and as a human services worker. She went to the forum leaning Fattah and came away leaning Nutter.

Vote4Homes – a coalition of over 50 organizations serving the poor and homeless - held a Mayoral Candidates Forum on Thursday night at the Arch Street United Methodist Church, at Broad Arch.

Inspiring speeches from Sister Mary Scullion (Project H.O.M.E.), Church Pastor, Reverend Robin M. Hynicka, and Leeroy Jordan, of Ready, Willing & Able were met with cheers and applause.

The coalition has registered over 1,000 new voters, and they’re making sure that people experiencing homelessness, parolees, and probationers know their rights as voters. Their question: Will the next Mayor work to end homelessness and poverty?

And…..the response? Only Michael Nutter, and the Republican candidate Al Taubenberger (way out of his league, trying to answer questions from the crowd) showed for the whole event. Chaka Fattah arrived an hour late and left after only about 15 minutes. Disappointing, big time, considering he is running on a platform to fight poverty and we could use some leadership on this issue. That this is the major problem facing our city is undeniable, as the crowd of service providers filled the Church to overflowing. Kudos to Nutter for showing up and staying.

This crowd - people who live in poverty and the folks who work to provide services and advocate on their behalf – deserve the utmost respect, and he delivered. One question from the director of Homeless Advocacy services was about how Philadelphia was able, in only a few days, to pull together a seamless “one-stop shop” array of services for the victims of Katrina – and yet somehow can’t seem to do the same for the victims of poverty in our own berg. Nutter had to admit he had been puzzled about that one (Fattah used this opportunity to point out that Nutter hadn’t thought to raise these doubts when he was councilman). But the question remains --- will the next mayor work to address this problem – as the numbers of homeless continue to climb (listen to NPR’s recent piece Philadelphia’s homeless rate rises anew)?

Let’s hope last night’s poor showing doesn’t point towards four years of abject neglect…and let’s hope that Nutter’s showing at the event means that, if elected, he will address the problem of homelessness by putting accessible housing at the forefront of his reforms.