Neighborhood guy runs for community
J.P. Miranda seeks state rep seat in 197th district, where he was born and raised
The 197th state House District is up for grabs in an upcoming special election — a state Representative seat that was left vacant when Jewell Williams resigned and was elected to become Sheriff of Philadelphia.
There are several candidates who would like to hold that position, among them Jewel Williams, daughter of Philadelphia’s new sheriff, and the venerable T. Milton Street. But J.P. Miranda, a young Democrat who was born, raised and resides in the district, thinks he has what it takes to represent this densely populated and poor section of the city.
“I started at a young age, at 19; City Council President Darrell Clarke brought me onto his staff and he showed me the ropes. He put me to work and allowed me to be creative on some things I wanted to do and get out in the community,” Miranda said. “From there I made the transition to state Senator Shirley Kitchen’s staff. She was another mentor and supporter and taught me very valuable lessons — among them she showed me tough love when I needed it. She guided me and without her influence I don’t think I’d be in this position right now. For the last four to five years I’ve just been doing different events. I think you have to show that you can be a valuable resource to the community before you even consider yourself worthy to run for any elected office. I started with free hair cut events and free book bags. We did holiday food giveaways.”
Miranda served in Clarke’s office as lead community liaison. Under state Senator Shirley Kitchen, he served as community liaison specializing in economic development and education.
At age 26, Miranda is already something of a role model. He’s never been arrested and has never been to prison, although his father was absent from his life. He was born and raised in the North Philadelphia area he wants to represent in Harrisburg. He was raised by a single mother who had six other children and yet didn’t turn down a path of self-destruction that so many other young Black men his age have chosen.
“I don’t think any other candidate who wants this seat has the governmental experience I’ve had, or the mentorship that I’ve been blessed with. I’ve been a resource for the community. Recently I did another Day of Respect. It’s an event of police and community interaction day when we shut down Erie Avenue — I don’t know of any other candidate who’s done something like that. We all know that in some of our communities there’s a lot of tension between the younger residents and the police. This was an opportunity for residents of the neighborhoods in the District to build relationships. We shut down Erie Avenue and put a stage out there with free food. And the police weren’t there to just stand guard, no — they had to interact with the people. It’s the 4th year the event has been going on, and even if we’re able to just get kids to be cordial to police officers, it helps because it gets rid of that tension. That’s what I try to be about, changing mentalities. You have to start at the basic level.”
Miranda credits after school programs with helping to keep him off the streets. He attended William Penn High School and furthered his education at West Chester University, where he majored in political science.
“We need after school programs, and right now because of state budget cuts, many of them will disappear. Mentoring does have an impact; I’m proof of that, and after school programs keep young people from getting involved in criminal activity — and I’m proof of that,” he said. “They continue to cut funding for needed programs, but increase funding for prisons — which makes no sense to me. I was able to see that there are options, and a lot of our young men and women don’t think they have options. Now yes, many of them aren’t going to listen, but a good many of them will. It can make a tremendous difference.”
The special elections will be held along with the state’s April 24 primary election. Democrat Jewell Williams gave up his seat in the 197th House District to become Philadelphia Sheriff, and Democrat Kenyatta Johnson and Republican Dennis O’Brien also stepped down from their 186th and 169th District seats to serve on City Council. Miranda said he hopes he’ll be given the chance to fill the void left by Williams.
“This is my community. I need to help make a change. Some of these young people need mentorship and leadership to make them understand that running to the streets isn’t the answer. Holding a gun in your hand makes someone feel powerful. We need to change that and help them redirect that energy. Going to school beats going to prison any day, and that’s what I preach to my peers,” he said.
For more information about Jose Miranda’s views and political platform, visit www.josemiranda2012.com.
Crash course in Philly Politics 101
If, as the old saying goes, politics is a contact sport; then Philadelphia politics is a no-holds-barred, steel cage death match.
Every campaign season, we are inundated with candidates whose shameless win-at-all-costs philosophy embarrasses us into not voting for them, or not voting at all. Every Election Day, whether primary, general or special, we are treated to stories of dirty tricks, underhanded tactics, and outright sabotage in the name of winning a public office.
Then the winners somehow expect the public to forget everything they’ve seen and heard for the past six months and trust them as honorable, fair-minded servants of the people.
This explains pretty much everything wrong with local politics: the feeling of voter apathy, the general distrust of elected officials, and the pathetic 15 to 18 percent voter turnout numbers we’re used to seeing.
We, the long-suffering public, are expected to wade through a knee-deep quagmire of lies, corruption, and stupidity to arrive upon a candidate who can move this city, and this country forward without succumbing to the temptation of greed and corruption themselves.
It’s not easy, and it’s not pretty, but once in a while, the good guys actually win.
There are several examples, but I’ll just cite a couple for now.
State Rep. Jim Roebuck, who has quietly led West Philly’s 188th District for more than 25 years, suddenly found himself in a dogfight for his seat with Fatimah Muhammad, a 27-year old neophyte with lots of youthful enthusiasm, and an equal amount of youthful naiveté.
Ms. Muhammad received about $25,000 for her campaign coffers from Students First PA, the pro-voucher group who spent a fortune bankrolling the campaigns of local politicians willing to sign on to the school voucher philosophy.
Strongly worded campaign literature floated around the district painting the incumbent Roebuck as an anti-child, anti-education dinosaur because of his opposition to school vouchers. While Muhammad denied any connection to the literature, and in fact stated in a Tribune editorial board meeting that she wouldn’t vote for the voucher bill as it is presently written, the association stuck.
Roebuck won his seat, and Muhammad has presumably been left to ponder the consequence of taking large sums of cash from single-issue contributors. That money isn’t free, folks, and you’re nuts if you think they don’t want something for it. Deviate from the script, and bad things happen.
Up in North Philly’s 197th District, Jewel Williams, the 27-year old daughter of newly elected Sheriff Jewell Williams, ran for the state rep seat he held for years. She didn’t campaign much, didn’t work to get her name out there much, and didn’t do much to quiet the increasing number of voices complaining that she was looking for a free ride by cashing in on her father’s familiar name.
It’s a cynical idea, and one both her and her father should have worked hard to quash. Philadelphians have voted for the offspring of famous politicians before: Goode, Rizzo, Williams, and Green come to mind, but it’s usually a fact that the offspring makes a special effort to be their own person, to prove that they are much more than just ‘whats-his-name’s kid.’
If I were to leave my job tomorrow, I would not attempt to install my 22-year old daughter as city editor of the Tribune. While I love her more than anyone on earth, I also recognize that she is completely unqualified to run a newsroom. To ignore that fact would be an insult to my colleagues, and to our readers.
To their credit, the voters of the 197th didn’t fall for the old okey doke. They elected J.P. Miranda, who is also very young, but brings with him a wealth of experience as a legislative aide and community organizer.
In my South Philly neighborhood, state House candidate Damon Roberts faced a much more dangerous opponent than Jordan Harris, who beat him out for the 186th seat vacated by Kenyatta Johnson – his own campaign staff.
Apparently, Roberts was attempting to pay his workers their promised $100 each by check - already a bad idea - when he then ran out of checks. As you can imagine, it got ugly. So ugly, in fact, that Roberts had to call the police to protect him from his own workers.
Let this week’s election serve as a cautionary tale for future office seekers: be careful whose money you take, have an actual platform to run on, and most importantly – make sure you have the cash on hand to pay up on Election Day.
Daryl Gale is the Philadelphia Tribune's city editor.
Turnout low in April 24 primary
There were few surprises on Tuesday, April 24 as voters chose their party’s candidates for the November election. Typically, in this overwhelmingly Democratic city, local Democratic primary winners typically go on to win office in November.
Though the primary included a number of high offices, ranging from president and U.S. senator to state representative and attorney general, the vast majority of registered voters stayed home.
Turnout was recorded at 17.3 percent — almost exactly where it was in last spring’s primary.
“People weren’t too much concerned about the races going on,” said political consultant Maurice Floyd, noting that the national seats got all the attention, but with Rick Santorum’s withdrawal, the contest took on less urgency. “It just didn’t measure up in terms of generating a turnout.”
In low turnout elections, the support of a core bloc of dedicated voters is what delivers.
“The winners organized and they had a solid base going for them,” said Floyd.
As an example, he pointed to a much watched race – the 197th District – where J.P. Miranda won over Jewel Williams, the daughter of Sheriff Jewell Williams.
Miranda won 40 percent of the vote with 2,977 votes. That compared to 38 percent for Jewel, which translated to 2,519 votes.
“The ward leaders and the street organizers, they were able to outmaneuver and out-organize her,” he said.
Jewel’s campaign in the North Philadelphia district raised eyebrows because she seemed to rely largely on possible voter confusion between her and her father, who held the seat until January when he resigned to assume the post of sheriff. Jewel campaigned little. Her campaign office was reportedly empty most days.
Miranda had a history of political involvement. He worked for Council President Darrell Clarke and state Sen. Shirley Kitchen. In addition, in 2004 he worked for the John Kerry campaign. He also worked with the administration of Mayor Michael Nutter as it worked to help federal officials with the U.S. Census.
“I’m ecstatic,” Miranda said Wednesday. “North Philadelphia united against a lot of disgraceful acts by my opposition. People were very disgusted with some of things they were seeing.”
Miranda will now run against Steve Crum, the Republican, in the Nov. 6 election. Miranda is confident he’ll win.
“I’ve stayed on the pulse of the community,” he said, noting that his real focus will be on getting out the vote in November for himself, and for President Barack Obama.
In addition to choosing in the primary, voters in the 197th District had to select someone to serve for the remainder of Jewell’s term and decided on Gary Williams over former state senator and perennial candidate for mayor T. Milton Street.
From a party stand-point, perhaps the biggest was an upset was in race for state House in the 182nd Legislative District, which covers much of Center City. State Rep. Babette Josephs, who has held the seat since 1985 lost to newcomer Brian Sims, who will be the first openly gay member of the general assembly.
The vote was close, with Sims netting about 52 percent of the ballots to Josephs’ 48 percent.
Josephs was co-vice president of the city’s delegation in Harrisburg. She faced frequent challenges in recent years but managed to hang onto her seat.
That changed Tuesday evening.
According to preliminary results, Sims won with 3,661 votes. Josephs had 3,428.
“We set out from the very beginning to run the largest, cleanest, most involved campaign that we could,” Sims said in published reports. “We reached out to all four corners of this district for volunteers, for support, for help, and we were blessed to get it.”
Barring a write-in challenge from a Republican, which is extremely unlikely, Sims should take the seat in the fall.
That too was largely due to the loyalty of a bloc, Floyd said, noting that gay voters flocked to Sims rather than Josephs.
“They were the group that would normally put her over the top,” he said. “But, they basically went with the gay candidate.”
Another widely watched race was the 186th District, which was wide open, with three contenders seeking to fill the seat vacated by City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson.
Former Youth Commission won in a landslide victory – the widest margin seen in the city – with 76 percent of the district’s voters behind him.
“It’s just starting to sink in,” Harris said early Wednesday morning. “We put in a lot of hard work to get our message out to the community. The community has spoken loud and clear on the direction they want to go in. I’m just humbled and honored my community has that faith in me.”
With no Republican in the 186th race, Harris should sail through on Nov. 6.
Like Miranda, he said he plans on making sure voters hit the polls in November pushing the button for himself and for Obama.
Attorney Damon K. Roberts came in second with roughly 20 percent of the vote. He sought the seat before, and lost to Johnson. A third candidate, community activist Timothy Hannah came in third with about 5 percent of the vote.
Roberts’ biggest surprise of the evening was not his loss, but an incident that happened at around 10 p.m. at his Dickinson and South Broad streets headquarters. Roberts was forced to call police after he tried to pay staffers with checks rather than cash. When he ran out of checks, the crowd got ugly, and a melee started, forcing him to call police for his own protection.
He could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A police spokesperson said police arrived for a disturbance at 9:57 and remained on the scene until about 11 p.m. Poll volunteers were apparently promised $100 each, which Roberts was paying with the checks.
Voters in the 186th also participated in special election, choosing someone to fill out the remainder of Johnson’s term. They chose former state Rep. Harold James, who will return temporarily to his statehouse seat.
In most other races across the city, incumbents prevailed – including a contested three-person race in the Northwest section of the city where state Rep. Rosita Youngblood held on against Malik Boyd and Charisma Presley.
“People always underestimate Rosita,” Floyd said. “With her, there is not a lot of fanfare but she serves that district in a way that she’s entrenched.”
Youngblood got 47 percent of the vote compared to Presley’s 28 percent and Boyd’s 24 percent.
“Every time she’s run, she’s had a challenger or more - but ultimately she had been blessed again and again and again to come back and represent the people of the district,” said campaign spokeswoman Thera Martin-Milling.
In West Philadelphia, in a race that drew a lot of media attention and large political donations, challenger Fatimah Muhammad was still unable to beat incumbent Jim Roebuck.
“It didn’t matter,” Floyd said. “Roebuck has a solid core of supporters, and that’s what puts him over the top.”
Election results remain unofficial until the Pennsylvania State Department verifies them.
To comment, contact staff writer Eric Mayes at 215-893-5742 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Democratic primaries show prelude to election
There were a few surprises on Tuesday night, April 24 as voters chose their party’s candidates for the November election. With few exceptions, in this overwhelmingly Democratic city, local primary winners typically go on to win office in November.
In one closely watched race — the 197th District — J.P. Miranda won in over Jewel Williams, the daughter of Sheriff Jewell Williams.
Miranda won 40 percent of the vote with 2,977 votes. That compared to 38 percent for Jewel, which translated to 2,519 votes.
Miranda will now run against Steve Crum, the Republican, in the Nov. 6 election.
Jewel’s campaign in the North Philadelphia district raised eyebrows because she seemed to rely largely on possible voter confusion between her and her father, who held the seat until January when he resigned to assume the post of sheriff. Jewel campaigned little. Her campaign office was reportedly empty most days.
Miranda had a history of political involvement. He worked for Council President Darrell Clarke and state Sen. Shirley Kitchen. In addition, in 2004 he worked for the John Kerry campaign. He also worked with the administration of Mayor Michael Nutter as it worked to help federal officials with the U.S. Census.
Voters in the 197th District had to choose someone to serve for the remainder of Jewell’s term and decided on Gary Williams over former state senator and perennial candidate for mayor T. Milton Street.
From a party standpoint, perhaps the biggest was an upset was in race for state House in the 182nd Legislative District, which covers much of Center City. State Rep. Babette Josephs, who has held the seat since 1985, lost to newcomer Brian Sims.
The vote was close, with Sims netting about 52 percent of the ballots to Josephs’ 48 percent.
Josephs was co-vice president of the city’s delegation in Harrisburg. She faced frequent challenges in recent years, but managed to hang onto her seat.
That changed Tuesday evening.
According to preliminary results, Sims won with 3,661 votes. Josephs had 3,428.
Barring a write-in challenge from a Republican, Sims should take the seat in the fall as the first openly gay member of the state legislature.
Another widely watched race was the 186th District, which was wide open, with three contenders seeking to fill the seat vacated by City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson.
Former Youth Commission chair Jordan Harris won in a landslide victory – the widest margin seen in the city – with 76 percent of the district’s voters behind him.
Attorney Damon K. Roberts came in second with roughly 20 percent of the vote. He sought the seat before, and lost to Johnson. A third candidate, community activist Timothy Hannah, came in third with about 5 percent of the vote.
There was no Republican in the 186th race, which means Harris should sail through on Nov. 6.
Voters in the 186th also participated in special election, choosing someone to fill out the remainder of Johnson’s term. They chose former state Rep. Harold James, who will return temporarily to the seat he held for two decades.
In most other races across the city, incumbents prevailed – including a contested three-person race in the Northwest section of the city, where state Rep. Rosita Youngblood held on against Malik Boyd and Charisma Presley. Youngblood got 47 percent of the vote, compared to Presley’s 28 percent and Boyd’s 24 percent.
State Rep. James Roebuck also held off a vigorous challenge from newcomer Fatimah Muhammad. The two sparred very publicly over the topic of school vouchers, but Roebuck held on with 56 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Muhammad.
Election results remain unofficial until the Pennsylvania State Department verifies them.
To comment, contact staff writer Eric Mayes at 215-893-5742 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Girard students meet ‘Women of Distinction’
Young students of Girard College had an opportunity to meet accomplished women who have made their mark in their chosen professions during the third Women of Distinction Career day held at the college on Wednesday.
According to materials released by the college, “the Career Day Workshop is held to expose 11th and 12th grade girls to women of various professions who shared their particular academic experience and offer to support to the girls on future career planning.”
This year, the girls were honored with a visit from Fox 29 News anchor Sheinelle Jones, attorney Zakiya T. Black and strategist Michelle P. Wilson, all of whom have made a name for themselves in their fields.
Asked about her involvement in the event, Jones credited Linnette Black, a close friend and coordinator of the event, who invited her to the event last year.
“I think the biggest thing is to get those wheels turning in their minds, and to start dreaming about what they want to do and to start dreaming big,” said Jones during an interview conducted at the event.
This, according to Jones, is the time for the students to start being proactive about their futures and suggested internships or getting jobs where they could be trained in their desired fields.
“I started out exactly where they are,” said Jones when asked how she began her career in broadcast journalism. “I was in 6th grade, a career day and someone came in and I said, ‘That would be cool.’”
Later, Jones began a series of internships, which she acknowledged as being key to her success.
“You hope that they leave here energized and recharged to get something started, if they haven’t already,” Jones said. “These girls are already so talented.”
Zakiya Black, an attorney at TE Connectivity was also a keynote speaker during the career day event, said that she wanted to help motivate the girls to reach for their dreams.
“It was a lot of fun, most importantly, and it was hard work - and I just had to have a lot of confidence in myself and a great support system,” said Black when asked about her career journey.
Black, who has a bachelor’s in communication and marketing from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, said she had plenty of help from people who believed in her.
“Listen to your inner voice and follow that voice and follow that dream,” she advised. “There might be setbacks and journeys on the road to reaching your goal, but as long as you are striving for your goal, you’ll get there.”
Michelle P. Wilson, a political communications strategist, is a senior advisor to newly elected state representative J.P. Miranda and is also an alumna of Girard College.
“When I started out, writing was always my dream; being an image consultant came later in college,” said Wilson who says that she became very involved in her community, eventually becoming a political consultant for elected officials.
“It’s amazing to see so many young ladies turn out here at Girard College,” Wilson said. “Girard College has a passion, and it goes straight to my heart as a graduate [of Girard College]. I’m just glad to be here.”
Ivory Ivuakn, 17, a senior at Girard College said she heard positive things about career day from other students who attended in the past.
Ivuakn, who wants to study neuroscience after graduation, said she was impressed by the event.
Dayzah Watkins, 17, also heard about the event from other students.
“I’m just looking for a great opportunity to meet role models, get internships and further my career,” she said.
The Women of Distinction event was sponsored by the Alpha Boule Mentoring Program as a part of their initiative to enhance the lives of young people and has hosted the program since 2007.
School district launches reading events
Reading remains a crucial discipline with the School District of Philadelphia, and it is that thought that compelled the district to partner with the National Education Association for a series of events in Philadelphia public schools, as the pro-education organization kicked off “Read Across America Week” on Friday with a series of events and read-alongs. The events will continue on Monday, March 3.
The events are gearing toward raising interest in reading and discovery in young students. Friday, students at Rhawnhurst Elementary joined District Superintendent Dr. William Hite Jr. for a pair of celebrations commemorating Dr. Suess’ birthday; CBS3 reporter Nicole Brewer read to students during the afternoon celebration at the school.
State Sen. J.P. Miranda read to first-grade students at Gen. George C. Meade Elementary, while at Bridesburg Elementary, students were allowed to dress as their favorite literary character.
Representatives of City Councilwoman Marion Tasco read to the second-grade students at Edmonds Elementary, and over at Lowell Elementary, students and staff were dressed as Dr. Suess characters while Principal David Lugo read to several classes.
Outside of the national “Read Across America” celebrations, the NEA also facilities a myriad of other programs and initiatives, including minority community outreach and anti-bullying measures.
“This Read Across America Day, we want students to sink their teeth into a good book,” said National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel. “When students are absent from class due to oral health problems, they’re missing out on critical instruction time. Everyone from Horton to the Grinch can benefit from developing good oral health and reading habits.”
University of Pennsylvania professors, faculty and students dressed as their favorite book characters when they read to the students at Jackson Elementary, and older Mitchell Elementary students read to their younger peers during that school’s celebration on Friday. Other schools that participated in Friday’s events were Mitchell Elementary, Nebinger Elementary and Reynolds Elementary.
On Monday, CBS3 anchor Ukee Washington will read to students at Moore Elementary, while on Thursday, March 7, Expert Technology Associates will celebrate Suess’ birthday at Dobson Elementary.
State Rep. Ed Neilson will close out the Philadelphia festivities on Friday, March 8, when he reads Suess’ “Green Eggs and Ham” to Hancock Demonstration Elementary School first-graders – and then will help serve them a meal of actual green eggs and ham.
Celebrities have also donated their time to the national effort, with actress Uma Thurman and actor Jake T. Austin participating in the New York-area launch of the week of reading.
“As a mother of three, with one now a teenager, I’ve seen the benefits of reading to and with my children throughout the span of childhood,” Thurman said in a statement released by the NEA. “Reading has helped develop my children and our family. Spending that time together means so much.”
Contact staff writer Damon C. Williams at (215) 893-5745 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Local leaders feted at Women’s Month event
On Tuesday, State Rep. J.P. Miranda hosted a salute to local women in celebration of National Women’s Month. The inaugural affair “Women of Roxanne Jones” breakfast honored 15 local women recognized as leaders in the North Philadelphia community.
The event’s Master of Ceremonies and keynote speaker was Mike Joynes, former Chief of Staff to Roxanne Jones. Rev. Pauline Moore, First Lady of Tenth Memorial Baptist Church also spoke at the event which w as held at The View, at 800 North Broad Street. Honorees included City Councilwoman Cindy Bass, State Sen. Shirley M. Kitchen, Denise Gauss of Denise Delicacies, Rev. Cathy Johnson, Rev. Pauline Moore, Zenobia Harris from City Councilman Darrel Clarke's office, Sylvia Simms of the School Reform Commission, Rose Cooper of the Ridge Allegheny and Hunting Park Community organization, State Representative Michelle Brownlee, Katherine Lakins of Mothers in Charge, and Verna Tyler from City Councilman Bill Greenlee's office.
“The legacy of Roxanne Jones is one which we in Philadelphia will never forget,” Miranda said. “Many of us believe she died fighting for the less fortunate. These women being honored have also been dedicating their lives to bettering their communities, North Philadelphia and the 197th legislative district.”
Jones was the first African-American woman elected to the Pennsylvania Senate and a former welfare recipient. She represented the 3rd Senatorial District of Philadelphia from 1986 until she died in office in 1996. Her death, from a heart attack, came just days after vehemently arguing against a plan to reduce the number of Pennsylvanians covered by medical assistance.
“I thank you in advance for continuing the dialogue and advocacy of the late senator for those in need, for those that are vulnerable, for those who need assistance, for those -- dare I say -- ‘poor’ for North Philadelphia and for the 197th District,” Miranda said. “You can see it, feel it and not forget it. I know those in this room have and together we will continue to get things done for our home; the great city of Philadelphia."