Friday's party, Young Philly Politics is proud to announce its first official endorsement: Anne Dicker, for State Representative.

Anne is a progressive, hard working, smart, tough minded woman with a grasp of what it means to be a community leader. As most on this site know, Anne founded Philly for Change. Philly for Change grew out of the Howard Dean movement. When Dean flamed out in the primaries, it would have been easy for those in the group to move on, or at least bide their time until the next Presidential election. Instead, under Anne’s leadership, they did something that far too many Philly progressives have been unwilling to do: they regrouped, and shifted their focus inward, on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania politics.

As someone who only went to Philly for Change meetings after the 2004 election, I was incredibly impressed with Anne, and the direction she was taking PfC. She could at once give a speech on the national effort to gut social security, while also talking about the coalition that was forming to push for a higher state minimum wage. She combined that with an understanding that the way for liberals to really deliver voters was to talk to them, face to face. And that is what her campaign is doing: Going up against two wealthy factions of the party, by taking her message directly to her neighbors. Anne’s campaign is the first shot in the battle to reform a Democratic party that desperately needs new blood.

I will not run through the litany of the issues that Anne stands for. I will just say that she is a true progressive, through and through. And she combines that with an understanding how progressives can win, and what kind of change we need on the local, state, and federal level.

It is with great pleasure that we endorse Anne. Come meet her this Friday, and find out how you can help her win.