Why Philly youth are turning out for the PA Supreme Court election this Nov 3
ATTN: Philly, the most important Pennsylvania election of the century is at our doorstep.
According to CBS Philly, it’s been over 300 years since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has had three open seats. That’s a long time, but that’s not all — the issues at stake in this landmark race are of particular importance to progressive Philadelphians, especially the youth.
This November 3rd, three Democrats, three Republicans, and one independent candidate will compete for your votes. This race could dramatically shift the balance of partisan power in Pennsylvania in favor of Republicans or Democrats. Two Republican and two Democratic judges currently sit on the court, meaning that the outcome of this election could be as extreme as a Supreme Court whose partisan make up is 5–2 Republican or 5–2 Democratic.
This puts a number of important issues at stake — from funding Philly’s struggling schools to Black Lives Matter. Here’s why:
For over 22 years, social changemakers and progressives in Philadelphia have struggled under the shadow of a Right-Wing Legislature in Harrisburg, PA. Important issues such as getting more funding for Philly’s divested school system; increasing the minimum wage; and stopping or reducing fracking have made their way from the grassroots to local city government, only to be blocked in Harrisburg.
As we all know, the School District of Philadelphia closed 24 of Philly’s public schools in 2013, nearly 10% of the city’s total, while facing a $304 million budget deficit. Countless protests have ensued and thousands of teachers, students, parents, and community leaders have since mobilized to demand funding from both the state and local government. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, who was elected largely on promises to secure funding for education, is currently pushing his new budget against a 127 day stalemate in Harrisburg. Appropriating a $159 million increase in education funding for Philadelphia, the new budget is welcomed by many on the frontlines of the education struggle. However, the negotiation drags on despite at least two lawsuits filed against both the Legislature and the governor for withholding the needed funds. The counsel of the plaintiffs, who include members of the public; school districts; and nonprofits and private entities serving at-risk youth and families, expect to eventually take the cases to the PA Supreme Court in 2016.
The case for minimum wage follows a similar path. Public support for Philadelphia’s $15 minimum wage movement is growing as thousands of working youth and families have banded together on the streets to demand survivable wages. Earlier this year, a bill was introduced into City Council to put the issue before Philadelphia voters in November. However advocates for the movement are already gearing up for a PA Supreme Court battle down the road. Despite growing mainstream support for the issue, they expect that Philadelphia will need to challenge a state legal preemption that dictates that only the state can set a minimum wage.
The PA Supreme Court has a large role to play in the fracking issue as well. In December 2013, it struck down provisions of a state law that threatened to give oil and gas companies drilling access to local municipalities, even without these municipalities approval. The Court deemed these provisions unconstitutional and later refused to rescind the decision when pressured in 2014 by then-governor Tom Corbett. This highlights the PA Supreme Court’s important power to supersede state rulings when they do not align with the will of the people.
Finally, in the same year that Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, the PA Supreme Court ruled that Pennsylvania police don’t need a warrant to search your car. Philadelphia is a city where officers open fire on mostly black subjects roughly once a week — or 390 times over the past 8 years. As you can expect, many members of the public, let alone Black Lives Matter activists, were less than pleased by this decision. In all the ways that the PA Supreme Court is able to grant power to local movements, it is also evidently capable of taking it away.
Granted, it is difficult to tell how judges will vote on specific issues, regardless of their party affiliation. But one thing remains clear, the PA Supreme Court is a powerful institution that cannot be ignored by those who seek solutions to many of Philadelphia’s issues, or who are affected by them.
Education, fracking, and police brutality are but a few of the issues that face Philadelphia voters this Nov 3. This holds true especially for progressives and the youth, who are most vocal about these ongoing struggles. The urgency is palpable, and Philadelphia is a key voting city from which 25% of all the state’s Democratic votes are cast.
However, only 10–15% of these voters actually participate in municipal elections such as this one.
Now, in the days leading up to this landmark race, many youth are mobilizing their peers in an effort to give Philadelphia the best chance it has at winning a progressive PA Supreme Court for decades to follow.
References:
http://215pa.com/theres-no-staying-home-for-the-most-important-pa-election-of-the-century/
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-wolf-budget-lawsuit-20150915-story.html
http://www.pilcop.org/what-wolfs-budget-means-for-education/#sthash.9694Rf3J.dpbs
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/Who_Patrols_the__Patrolmen_-258186441.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/02/us-pennsylvania-fracking-idUSBREA010YV20140102
