Why We Need To Research Candidates Before We Vote!! #VoteMay21

Your Vote is important, please don’t let someone tell you something different.

Why does your vote matter?

1.Your vote is your voice on so many levels. When you vote you let the legislator know where you stand on various issues in our community.

2.When you vote you help allocate resources our government diveys out in your name.  When you don’t vote corruption grows out of control and our resources are stolen because we are not paying attention.

3.Civic engagement is a right we should all take pride in. Understandable the trauma so many of are going through to keep us from civic engagement. We should try to connect on some level to what is going on in our city. Being involved helps me learn about concerns, resources and who is doing what. I learn about the candidates and the buzz often floating around them. For me civic engagement is relationship building that allows us to weave our concerns into our realities. I Love Civic Duty!!

4. We may not agree on all the politics but should be able to see the big picture in how, if we put our emotions aside we can build the transparent government we would like to see one vote at a time!!

May 21, 2019 Please have a plan to vote!! Are you an early bird? Polls open at 8am and aren’t as crowded as in the evening when voters are getting off of work. Are you familiar with your polling location? Do you have an idea of the candidates you would like to vote for? At www.pavotercourtwatch.com you can learn about judicial and other candidates running in all of Pennsylvania’s races.

I’m waiting for the November election to make my decision for Mayor of Philadelphia, Cindy Bass my wonderful City Councilwoman has my support because we are mature enough to talk and disagree, yet still make the right things happen in our community, Derek Green and Erika Almorz Democrats and David Oh Republican, for City Council At Large have my support, and Joe Cox in November. We have to vote out City Councilwoman At Large Helen Gym she has a history of privatizing our public resources and pretending she is helping vulnerable members of our society. See more on this following my picks for candidates. 

Jacque Whambush Button 48 for Register of Wills. The register of wills is a very corrupt office right now, i'm told for every child dhs takes through family court an allocation of $60,000 is dispersed between dhs and the family courts via the register of wills. How is this? More investigation coming.....

For Judge of Superior Court I''m voting Beth Tarasi and Amanda Green Hawkins because they speak to my concerns of open minded in the court room, leaving their bias in check. I also like Republican Megan McCarthy King. Had the pleasure of hearing both Beth and Megan during #PMC candidates forum. Researched Amanda Green Hawkins because so many of our families challenge corrupt Philadelphia Family Court and we need judges who will hear all the evidence and not continue the cover up.

For Court of Common Pleas i'm voting Gregory Weyer button #28 because he is intelligent and shares our justice reform concerns. Gregory is active in our communities in so many ways and is looking to make a difference as Judge of Court of Common Pleas. Gregory experienced the horrors of Philadelphia Family Court as many attorney's have. i'm sure with him real justice will be served. My other votes go to the judicial candidates who were at #CloseTheCreek Candidates forum. Justice Reform is a big concern for me and was important for me to connect with candidates who share the same concern. Jennifer Schultz Button #4, Henry Sias Button #21, Sherman Toppin Button #26, Kendra McCrae Button #16, James Berardineli Button #25.

For Municipal Court Theresa Brunson Button #30, i met Ms. Brunson during a #BlackLivesMatterWeekofActions and shared with her our fight with family court and he would like to see more restorative justice in the court rooms. 

I'm very proud to be supporting Dennis Lee for City Commissioner Button #38. i had the honor of watching Mr. Lee work as Chief Deputy City Commissioner and heard our concerns about the pollution Septa's Nicetown gas plant would cause. 

I have been hearing stories about Helen Gym for some time now. The first was when she went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and toured the devastated schools which were all experimented on as charter schools after the hurricane. Then i'm getting bits and pieces about not being able to trust her. We need to keep our eyes on her and follow the money. The following is from a very reliable source:

So, I received an email today about a Social Innovations webinar hosted by a local social entrepreneur Nate Bronstein who worked in Philadelphia with Teach for America. He is now in healthcare and school district procurement. See the event link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/block-chain-ai-big-data-you-take-control-of-tech-for-social-good-tickets-60147667292?mc_cid=f0e5ac3401&mc_eid=c36bf829c8

Which led me to revisit the Social Innovations page. Nicholas Torres founded it, and it is central to the impact investing agenda in Philadelphia. Their background / history page outlines multiple event launches across nine different social service sectors over the past five years, each attended by hundreds of people (according to their write ups). https://socialinnovationsjournal.org/about-sij/background

The one on "innovative" education is at the bottom-2014. 

New School Designs and Innovative Educational Models was launched in February 2014 in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, Bravo Group and Public Health Fund. This edition featured 22 articles that took a closer look at new school designs in education along with programmatic, philosophical and policy challenges and opportunities that come along with innovations in education. The launch event took place at WHYY, Philadelphia’s leading public radio provider, where national and regional education and social sector innovators, leaders and policymakers talked about the regional and national landscape of, and appetite for, new school design and innovative educational models to improve academic outcomes for Pennsylvania children and beyond. Close to 300 people attended the launch event.

Here is the event link via PHENND. http://phennd.org/update/new-school-designs-and-innovative-educational-models/

Also the eventbrite (click the link on the right "details" to access): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psij-winter-launch-new-school-designs-and-innovative-educational-models-tickets-9910594856#

Many key players were in attendance and sponsoring including Susan Patrick of iNACOL and Michael Horn of the Clayton Christensen / Innosight Institute (blended learning) who gave keynote addresses. 

I will admit to feeling pretty devastated as I read down the agenda and got to the panel on "Policy and Public Innovation Approaches to Education." Both Helen Gym and David Lapp participated in that panel.

I am going to be continuing my research into the tentacles of impact investing in Philadelphia. It will take me awhile to map it all, but I thought this information was very important to share. If any of you are in a position to ask Helen or David about this event, I would be very interested in know more about what transpired. In particular it seems there was a publication that emerged from it. I would like to get my hands on a copy of it. 

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Policy and/or Public Engagement Approaches to Innovation
David Lapp, Education Law Center
Helen Gym, Parents United for Public Education
Feather Houstoun, School Reform Commission
Jeanne Allen, The Center for Educational Reform 

Tine Hansen-Turton, PSIJ – Commentary

#EndCPSFraud Not With Councilwoman Helen Gym

Thursday May 16^th, Families fighting the corruption-taking place at Philadelphia Department of Human Services was in room 400 for the vote on resolution #190346. The resolution proposed by Councilman At Large David Oh and co-sponsored by my City Councilwoman Cindy Bass. Councilwoman Cindy Bass joined our #TableTalk in Nov, 2018. One of our concerns addressed with her was the need for oversight of the various family services in Philadelphia. Councilman David Oh Resolution #190346 sponsored by Councilwoman Bass would hold DHS accountable under their so-called new reform of themselves. I submitted testimony for this resolution sharing my experience advocating with DHS and how the various agencies ignore DHS. There is no protocol on how families are evaluated, nor are families giving family or youth handbooks explaining their rights when dealing with DHS. I was so excited walking through the front doors of city hall on Thursday. Had my camera capturing the families and supporters ready to hold DHS accountable.

https://www.facebook.com/1RedHen/videos/vb.610379438/10157324214009439/?type=3

Take the elevator to the fourth floor only to be halted by confusion on who can get in and who cannot. I see my comrade Lynn Robinson there advocating for clean air with the request that our city stop destroying our air quality with the construction of fossil fuel and other bad plants. Lynn is a bit upset because she is told that room 400 is full and everyone has to go to the balcony. That was the first lie of the day. Our families with their signs were sent to the balcony in efforts to silence our voice. Crazy how rules change when politicians want their way and refuse to hear the voice of the advocate’s aka families aka constituents.  Our families were allowed to come downstairs but told that signs could only be held up in the back row.

this is the hearing that the secret task force came out of

#GoFigure

I make my way to the press booth because when in room 400 with a camera and tripod, you are sent to the press booth.  I meet Rick Ross a freelance journalist who records #CityHallThursday to keep us informed. He shared our story and we thank him!! WURD live feeds city council every Thursday with Vincent Thompson. You can hear the rebuttal of our resolution. What you won’t see is Councilwoman Helen Gym working the floor against the resolution.  Her reason for denying our resolution is because she created a DHS task force in June and didn’t see the need for another one.  What she didn’t mention is that we were at her Hearings on DHS and she silenced us. She did not reach out to us about our concerns once her hearing was over and never informed us of her task force. I have emails from her office discussing the hearing and me submitting testimony about my family and Glenn Mills. The hearing was stretched out all day so that we would be discouraged from speaking. Many of us had to leave to care for other responsibilities. One of our mother’s, Nessa Leary spoke I believe as the last speaker of that hearing.

Councilman Heion starts with a vote against Resolution #190346 reciting the lines Councilwoman at Large Gym has giving him and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown. They sighted that Philadelphia has several departments that are suppose to oversee DHS and there was no need for the city to further hold DHS accountable. They totally ignored the testimonies of these mothers, fathers and foster parents who feel threatened working with DHS.

My ears can’t take the selfish tricks of the politician anymore. I snatch my phone charger out of the wall, throw my phone in my bag and as soon as Councilwoman Gym finished with her rebuttal, I stood demanding she be voted out of office. Didn’t mean to disturb the press box, I believe they understand my passion for justice and how I use my camera to tell our stories. President Council Darrell Clarke ordered me out of room. I told him I was leaving when I stood up and he didn’t have to do that, so glad the guard didn’t touch me.

Helen Gym trying to silence families