Helen Gym battles in tight race for Philadelphia mayor
For Helen Gym, the race to be Philadelphia’s 100th mayor is in some ways the culmination of her years of work advocating for residents, first as a community advocate and then as an at-large City Council member. But in other ways, being one of the leading candidates in a crowded and diverse mayoral field is just the latest platform for a woman committed to continuing her public service career for years to come.
And with just a couple of days to go before Tuesday May 16th hotly contested primary election, Gym’s initially grassroots-focused platform got a national boost with endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and NY Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — both of whom are scheduled to join the mom of three on the Mother’s Day before Election Day for a Get Out The Vote rally in Philly’s Callowhill neighborhood, just blocks away from the Chinatown school where Gym first began her advocacy career.
“Our campaign has always been about bringing people together to reshape political systems so that they meet the needs of the people, not the powerful — from quality public education and affordable housing to workers’ rights and environmental justice,” Gym said. “This rally is all about joy, possibility, and people power, and that’s the energy we’re bringing with us going into election day.
It is yet to be known whether Sanders and AOC’s support will help or hurt Gym’s candidacy, but she has racked up support from health and education unions, the region’s leading Asian American civic organizations, gun violence advocates, and other leading figures in politics and business.
https://asamnews.com/2023/05/14/asian-american-mayoral-candidate-philadelphia-close-primary/
