Questionnaire Responses by Malcolm Kenyatta — Candidate for State Rep in the 181st
1. What do you value most about the 181st district and why do you want to represent it in the state legislature?
What I value most about the 181st district is the resilience of its people. Stories about my neighborhood is almost always about it decay and decline, never about the toughness of its people. It’s a part of what drove me to be an activist for my neighborhood. Yet they have never given up the idea that progress, prosperity, educational opportunities, and a sound quality of life are things we should have and will have. Navigating solutions to these issues requires the policy experience, community track-record, coalition-building skills, determination and passion that I have and can apply to the job on Day 1. I want to represent this District to bring ideas to fruition that will honor the resilience of this community where my family has lived for the past three generations. I know our possibilities are limitless.
2. How do you plan to incorporate grassroots movements into your campaign, and long-term community organizing and participation into your governance if elected?
I will continue to maintain my strong and mutually respected relationships with my brothers and sisters who make up these movements — including the fight for a living wage, opposition to a Temple University football stadium and demanding criminal justice reform. My portfolio of work has been laser-focused on removing barriers to progress for struggling communities, including by speaking up at rallies, vigils and block clean-ups. These relationships and perspectives are necessary for informed decision-making and fair and inclusive policies. I have been recognized for my community work by the Bread and Roses Foundation, BME (Black Male Engagement) Community/Knight Foundation and the Urban Affairs Coalition.
3. If you have served as an elected official before, what services have you delivered to residents across your district? If you have never served as an elected official, what services do you want to deliver and how will you do so?
My first elected position came when I was 12 years old, when I won Junior Block Captain in my section of North Philadelphia. I led block clean-ups, block beautification and efforts to assist seniors in need. My most recent elected position was as a Delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. I won 82,000 votes, the second highest of any delegate in the state of Pennsylvania. While supporting constituents with assistance in navigating state forms, problems and concerns, in Harrisburg I will doggedly defend and advance policies that favor quality public education, affordable college, universal healthcare, equal pay for equal work, affordable housing, small business development, and a safety net for our most vulnerable populations. This will
require strong relationships with fellow policy makers, sound examination of issues and effective solutions, experience at making budgeting decisions, the ability to work with various people in various capacities and a political will to make change.
4. In recent years, Pennsylvania has had enormous trouble passing a budget. What are your budgetary priorities, what revenue sources would you seek, and how will you move these measures through the Republican-dominated legislature?
I believe we need to make the greatest investment in public education in Pennsylvania history. In 2012, Pennsylvania ranked 44th in the percentage share of education costs covered by the state. I believe that it’s time for Harrisburg to step up and provide the education funding our students deserve. A fair school funding formula carefully takes the needs of every school district into account. Localities across the Commonwealth have been saddled with raising money through property taxes to fund their district schools, which disproportionately burdens low-income communities in need.
I also believe we need to expand Medicare and Medicaid and support investment in small businesses. We need to rethink the way banks act with minorities of color, which wouldn’t require so much of a budget change as it would require regulatory reworking. While the Republican-controlled legislature will remain, I expect the Pennsylvania House to look differently than previously. But as with anything, we are going to have to work with Governor Wolf and the leadership to move forward on our priorities and as a party, to put out an alternate budget.
5. Philadelphia remains the most impoverished major city and about 75% of our residents lack bachelor’s degrees. What policies would you implement to ensure that decent, high-paying jobs created here are accessible to the majority of our population, not just the relatively well-educated and already well off?
We must implement a living wage for all workers. The $7.25 minimum wage is not sufficient for today’s adult worker. Nowhere is inequality more pronounced than in the city of Philadelphia and helped to perpetuate the poverty rate. The effects are most apparent in the 181st District. One priority is demanding a living wage for workers. According to the The All-In Cities initiative at PolicyLink, “Since the early 1990s, more than 120 cities and counties across the country have passed living-wage ordinances, which set wage standards for city employees, government contractors, and companies receiving public subsidies, to ensure that public spending creates good family-supporting jobs. Living-wage rates vary from city to city based on the local cost of living and political context; most range from about $9 to $16 per hour.”
Pennsylvania needs to be among these municipalities.
I also plan to focus on the inclusion and empowerment of small business owners through responsible public-private collaboration. This can be done through incentivizing the creation of Business Improvement Districts, which have show that clean streets draw customers, public
investment and positive attention to our communities. My campaign is devoted to promoting sustainable, inclusive neighborhood economic growth, something Philadelphia and Harrisburg must come to grips with. I also support maintaining and expanding programs like the Community Reinvestment Act at the state level. We should utilize programs like CRA to increase place-based community reinvestment in low- and moderate-income communities.
I would also support “Ban the Box” policies. Many job applicants are asked to indicate whether they have a criminal record by checking a box. As is noted by All-Cities, prohibiting this practice would allow to examine a candidate’s qualifications first, and inquire about criminal history later in the hiring process. “Holding a steady job reduces recidivism and makes it easier for formerly incarcerated people to successfully return to society and make positive contributions to their communities,” All-Cities notes.
6. Pennsylvania has the highest average student loan debt of any state, at $35,185. Would you support legislation to make the PASSHE system and Commonwealth colleges tuition and fee free and provide cost of living stipends to low-income students?
Yes.
7. What policies would you promote to reduce or eliminate Pennsylvania residents’ student loan debt burden?
I believe that we must make public universities free for low-income students. I also support making it easier for students to consolidate their debt and increasing funding for debt forgiveness programs. As a graduate of Temple University, I know first-hand how crippling student loan debt can be.
8. Philadelphia’s school district has been under partial state control since 2001. Do you support maintaining the School Reform Commission? Why or why not?
The SRC has rightly voted to dissolve itself, paving the way to return control of the School District of Philadelphia to local control. This was important because it places the base for decision-making closer to the people most affected by those decisions. While dissolving the SRC was a necessary step to setting our schools on a better course, we have a lot of work to do to unleash educational policies geared toward the jobs of the future. We must open opportunities to work with the city to create a new model for a locally controlled school board.
9. Approximately 33% of Philadelphia students are enrolled in charter schools. What is your position on the expansion of charter schools? Should they be given public money via vouchers or similar programs (like ESAs)? What role do you think public schools play in our city?
More than anything I want a good school for every single one of our kids. Charter schools have and will play a role. However, I do not support vouchers and no further expansion should take place until charter school reimbursements are re-enacted. Further expansion must be more thoughtful and deliberate about the economic costs and operational impact on the overall system.
Our public-school system is the most important institution in our city. It must be adequately funded and supported by every member of this city and by the commonwealth, which must be held accountable for the constitutional mandate to provide for the public education of all students.
10. What policies would you advocate to expand and strengthen the labor movement in Pennsylvania? How would you fortify existing unions in the event of a state or nationwide right-to-work law? How would you expand worker representation and power in sectors with low union density?
We must protect the right to organize. This is a fundamental American right. The GOP in Harrisburg constantly attacks unions through Right-To-Work legislation, which effectively weakens the power of unions. I am opposed to pay-check protection. We must not let right-to-work legislation happen at a national level. American workers are the back-bone of our nation and or our state. They darn sure haven’t been treated like, but workers they are. I’ll fight every day to change that.
11. Will you commit to fighting for funding to expand Medically-Assisted Treatment, mental health, and community-based programs to support people struggling with addictions and their families in Philadelphia? How will you hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for its role in the spread of the opioid crisis?
Yes. For North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and every part of our Commonwealth. An expansion of Medicaid will help individuals struggling with drug addiction access the rehabilitative care they deserve. We most also stop the criminalization of addiction, period. For all those suffering from the illness of addiction. Members of the pharmaceutical industry who have participated in abuse, fraud and overprescribing should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We treat this like the public health crisis that it truly is and not as another tool of mass incarceration.
12. Philadelphia’s immigrant and minority communities are threatened by increased ICE deportation efforts, police brutality and misconduct, and discriminatory treatment by our criminal justice system. At the same time, crime has been a significant problem in some parts of the district. What will you do to ensure that Philadelphia is safe and welcoming for all, from all types of violence?
When Trump first signed the travel ban I joined activist from around the city who went to PHL
Airport to demand the freedom of those illegally held. I’ve listened and plan to continue to listen to those most effected and to be an ally in this struggle. Instances of abuse of such policies should be dealt with swiftly and with transparency. I also believe that gun violence is a serious threat to public health in my District and other parts of the commonwealth. Gun violence must be stemmed through supporting laws that give more control to local municipalities on issues of gun control. For too long we’ve told kids from neighborhoods like mine in North Philly that they don’t matter. I’ll fight for them in Harrisburg.
13. Do you agree or disagree that “tough on crime” policies have overcrowded our prisons, and if so, what steps would you take to reduce our prison population?
“Tough on crime” is dog whistle politics and I’ll continue to call it out. These policy approaches have led to an overcrowding of prisons mainly the poor and its wrong. Mass incarceration has had a massive effect on Philadelphia. Mass incarceration is equally and health and accountability issue, and solutions should target both these areas. We should end mandatory-minimum sentences and completely disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline that sets.
The All-In Cities initiative cites a number of reforms for creating a more equitable court system. They include “eliminating court-access fees, prohibiting juvenile fines, capping the allowable share of revenue from fines and fees, ensuring access to free public defender services (including for administrative debt hearings), and ending warrants and jail time for unpaid fees.” I favor each of these reforms and I also like that website.
14. The statewide average annual cost for childcare services is $10,640, while the median assisted living facility and nursing home cost $43,200 and $116,800 per year, respectively. Would you support or oppose legislation to provide universal child and elder care for Pennsylvanians?
I would support legislation to provide universal child and elder care for Pennsylvanians. Quality and universal child care in particular can be viewed as an investment in Pennsylvania’s
future. All-In Cities notes that such care helps children from low-income families “build academic and social skills, (promote) their cognitive development and mental health, and (prepare) them to succeed in school.”
Children from low-income families, “typically have access to fewer resources and opportunities to be prepared for and succeed in school, compared to their high-income peers, and they
face persistent gaps in key indicators of long-term educational success, such as kindergarten readiness and early math and reading scores,” according to All-In Cities.
15. Would you support legislation for universal single-payer healthcare with no co-pays that covers all individuals regardless of documentation status?
Yes. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. All Pennsylvanians should have access to quality care. I’d want to thoroughly review the specifics of any bill, but in general I support quality and affordable healthcare regardless of documentation status.
16. Do you support the Keystone Opportunity Zone program? Would you introduce legislation to eliminate it, or to limit the number of times a parcel’s KOZ designation can be renewed or extended? More generally, do you support tax breaks to lure or retain businesses?
I believe the Keystone Opportunity Zone program has spurred some valuable investment.
However, its use should be limited to economically disadvantaged areas, not already successfully commercialized areas. I would favor introducing legislation to limit its use.
17. What is your opinion on privatized infrastructure or public-private partnerships for development or maintenance of public infrastructure like roads or water works?
P3s can make sense. And there are ways to make them work, and we should certainly examine that. The issue becomes — and what I oppose is — the private ownership of public roads, which are part of ideas being discussed in President Trump’s infrastructure proposal. What we don’t need is to sell off public works, parcel by parcel, especially for the maintenance of roads and bridges.
18. What, in your view, are the causes, threats, and opportunities of climate change? How would you address climate change as a Pennsylvania state representative?
Climate change is real. Period. It also has disparate effects on low-income communities, unprotected from pollution and various environmental abuses. I support the incorporation of greater environment regulation to protect our communities.
19. The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce advocates converting Philadelphia into an “energy hub” for oil and natural gas, or the “Houston of the East Coast.” Do you agree or disagree with this vision? If you or your employer are a member of the Chamber, have you used your influence to advocate in any way on this proposal?
For almost three years, I’ve worked at the Chamber of Commerce managing its Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, and I’m proud of that work. I resigned to run for office. As an
activist, I’ve spoken out forcefully about protecting our environment, and I’ll continue to do that. I’m also happy to say that not once was I internally called to task for vocally opposing public policy positions that they’ve taken, and I’ll continue to do so.
20. Do you regard basic needs of Pennsylvanians, including food, housing, healthcare, and education, as human rights or as commodities most efficiently distributed by economic markets?
Yes. The basic needs of Pennsylvanians, including food, housing, healthcare and education, as human rights. Significant attention must be given to Philadelphians who are displaced from their homes because of skyrocketing rental rates in gentrifying neighborhoods. This campaign is devoted to promoting sustainable, inclusive neighborhood economic growth, something Philadelphia and Harrisburg must come to grips with.
I support using blighted factories and property across Philadelphia as “innovation hubs” for apprenticeship programs, specifically for people of color in emergent industries such as cyber-security, coding and high-tech manufacturing.
21. How do you define democracy, and does Pennsylvania meet your definition? Why or why not? What actions if any would you take to alter who makes the most important decisions in our state and society, and whose needs are prioritized?
I think more than anything our democracy is fragile. I believe our democratic republic requires that we elect public officials who believe in public policy that helps the majority, not just a connected few. With gerrymandered districts, Citizens United and voter suppression it can feel like our democracy is passing saving. I think it is and it’s why I’m running. Because I believe a system dedicated to helping the many can and must happen — that’s why we’re fighting.
