Dry run of voter ID law, get out the vote efforts

Candidates, their campaign staffs, and city officials, were bracing for a particularly difficult Election Day today as Pennsylvania voters head to the polls to cast their vote in the spring primary.

“It’s an unusually complex environment,” said City Commissioner Stephanie Singer. “I think there is going to be a lot of scrutiny of this election.”

In addition to the typical challenges voters face — which candidate to choose — voters in this primary also have to deal with the “soft roll out” of the state’s new voter ID law.

Though the law does not go into effect until the Nov. 6 election, poll workers will be asking voters for a photo ID this time in an effort to get a handle on how many lack the identification required for the fall.

“This is just a dry run,” Singer said. “You will do nothing differently.”

But, the change has everyone from candidates to volunteers paying a little more attention.

“You are going to make this happen,” Damon K. Roberts, a candidate for the state House, told volunteers at a training session for polling place volunteers Monday morning at his Dickinson Street office. “Victory needs to be on your face.”

It was crunch time and similar scenes were playing out all over the city and state. Every seat in the state House is up for grabs, as are half the seats in the state Senate.

In addition, Pennsylvania voters will choose their party’s candidates for president, U.S. senator and representative, state attorney general, treasurer and auditor general. In Philadelphia, which is overwhelmingly made up of Democratic voters, the primary often determines who ultimately wins in the general election.

Roberts is locked in a tough contest with former Youth Commissioner Jordan Harris for the 186th Legislative District, who is widely viewed as the favorite, and Timothy Hannah, a long-time community activist.

The race for the 186th is a prime example of the situation city voters face as they head to the polls. Though there is no incumbent in the race, Harris, who was endorsed by The Tribune Sunday, has the backing of the Democratic establishment — including city Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who held the 186th seat until January, and state Sen. Anthony Williams. Roberts has run for state representative and City Council before.

In addition, voters in the district will be asked to choose someone to fill the remainder of Johnson’s term in the state House. The Democrat there is Harold James, who held the seat for decades before retiring in 2008, paving the way for Johnson’s win.

The race in the 186th is just one of several hotly contested races across the city. In other races to watch include the 188th District, which pits incumbent state Rep. James Roebuck against newcomer Fatimah Muhammad. The campaign has taken on a negative tone with a political action committee attacking Roebuck, who has the support of the teachers’ union, for his stance on public education. Muhammad told The Tribune the attack had nothing to do with her campaign, adding that she supports vouchers in principle, but does not endorse the proposal now in the House.

In the 197th District, Jewel Williams, daughter of former state Rep., now Sheriff Jewell Williams is seeking her father’s seat in Harrisburg. She faces several contenders in the race: J. Miranda, Kenneth Walker and Jamil Ali. Opponents have accused to Williams of fostering confusion among voters in an effort to get them to vote for her thinking they are voting for her father. Voters here will also be asked to pick someone to fill the remainder of Jewell Williams’ seat. The choice there is between ward leader Gary Williams or perennial candidate T. Milton Street, brother of former Mayor John Street, who once served in the state House and has since served time for tax evasion.

Eighteen-year incumbent state Rep. Rosita Youngblood faces two challengers this primary season: Malik Boyd and Charisma Presley. The development at Chelten Plaza, which sparked a neighborhood controversy, had divided constituents. Youngblood opposed the project after the developer altered plans to build at Super Fresh there. Boyd backed the change, which brought a Sav-A-Lot to the plaza along with a dollar store, saying they were more in line with what the district needed.

Despite the hype, and the new voter ID law, voter turnout is expected to be low — perhaps lower than usual because of voter confusion about the state’s new voter ID law.

Voter turnout in primary elections in non-presidential years is typically low.

Singer said she’s not sure what this year’s turnout will look like.

“I have been surprised at how much anger there is over the voter ID law,” she said, adding that she hoped that anger would translate in votes. “The best way to beat this is for Philadelphians to come out and vote.”

Most expect the confusion that surrounds the new law and traditional voter apathy to reduce turn out.

“Voting here and around the country is embarrassingly low,” said Zack Stalberg, president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, an elections watchdog group.

Both declined to give estimates.

There were slightly more than 1 million registered voters in the 2011 primary — 797,762 Democrats and 127,165 Republicans with 90,000 others. But, only 17.6 percent of the registered voters turned out in the 2011 primary.

Roberts was well aware of the statistics and told his volunteers the contest is likely to be close — urging them to get their friends and neighbors to vote.

“This might come down to five or 10 votes,” he said.

Stirring voters’ passions can be difficult.

Roberts portrays himself as a community crusader battling the city’s political machine.

“Some people just go along with the agenda,” he said, getting his volunteers fired up.

But, he also made sure they knew he was a Democrat, telling the group that the Republicans who control Harrisburg have a “radical right agenda.”

He used education as an example — honing in on vouchers — a hot button issue in this election cycle, in part because the political action committee Students First has poured tens of thousands of dollars into several races in south, southwest and west Philadelphia.

“If they destroy our public schools, where are our kids going to go?” asked Roberts.

In one corner, Kevin Parks had been listening as he inserted flyers into packets that would go to every polling place volunteer in the district.

As Roberts talked, Parks had difficulty containing himself.

“The private schools can turn out the kids,” he said loudly, shaking his head.

With every seat in the state House up for grabs and voter turnout expected to be low, candidates rely on grassroots enthusiasm.

“You are going to make it happen,” Roberts told his people.

He hopes to have between 160 and 200 volunteers at polling places across the district. Some of those will be the volunteers that stand outside the polling places. Some will be poll watchers, who must be certified to stand inside the polling place.

City officials will be watching closely this year.

“We understand that there may be some confusion this year with the new voter ID law that is now in place,” said District Attorney Seth Williams. “We want to make sure that no one is discouraged about going to the polls … because of that confusion.”

He promised that his office would “go after any criminal activity and prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Looking poised and confident, Pedro Martinez, who hopes to be Philadelphia’s next school superintendent, met concerned residents, educators and parents at the School District of Philadelphia 440 N. Broad Street on Monday evening.

During the event moderated by broadcaster E. Steven Collins, Martinez had the opportunity to answer questions from the audience about his history, educational philosophy and vision for the Philadelphia school district.

A line of people gathered at the microphone placed in the center of the auditorium for their chance to ask the would-be superintendent pointed questions about his ideas to reform a school district plagued by high dropout rates, insufficient funding and political divisiveness.

“What is your process or plan to engage parents, youth and community and how does it differ from the current plan?” asked Fred Ginyard of Youth United for Change. “How do we reform education in Philadelphia?”

“I feel the direction is clear, but there is a vacuum in details,” answered Martinez, who went on to recall his experiences reforming educational systems as deputy superintendent of the Clark County School District in Nevada.

“How can you be sure that families and children are effectively engaged?” asked Sylvia P. Simms, founder and president of the group Parent Power.

“It’s not negotiable that families be a part of the process,” answered Martinez, who said that such engagement starts with conversations with both teachers and students and said that during his career he visited hundreds of schools and spoke with thousands of teachers, school principals and students.

It is through such ongoing dialogue, said Martinez, that we can get an idea of what needs to be done.

“You are walking into a dysfunctional situation,” said Timothy Hannah. Hannah went on to describe what he considers some of the problems faced by the beleaguered school district, which Martinez would inherit if he was to become the new superintendent.

Martinez pointed to his history in both Washoe County School District as well as Chicago Public School districts where he said he increased graduation rates from 56 percent to 76 percent in a two year period in Washoe County and increased student proficiency rates from 40 to 70 percent in Chicago.

One woman, who identified herself as a retired school teacher, said she attended several of the meetings leading to the public interview and, despite differences among those in attendance, one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that the new superintendent should be an educator.

“Your training is as an accountant and a fiscal manager,” said the retired teacher, who said that she did not question Martinez’s passion or commitment, merely the fact that his educational background was in finance, not education. “How are you qualified to serve the school district when you have no degree in education?”

Martinez, who has a bachelor degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and a Masters from DePaul University in business management, assured that that the question was valid and that he was suitable for the position.

“I been in public education all of my life,” said Martinez, who said that all parts of the educational system, finance, educational standards and performance, go hand in hand.

“There is not a day that goes by where I’m not talking to a principal, or talking to a teacher about the issues.”

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. .

The special election to fill the vacant seat in the state’s 186th Legislative District, formerly held by Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, seems to be shaping up into a contest between two front-runners — former Youth Commissioner Jordan Harris and former state Rep. Harold James, who held the seat for nearly 20 years.

Six candidates — Fawwaz Beyha, Tim Hannah, Harris, James, Ed Nesmith and Damon Roberts — will appear on the April 24 ballot. But, James and Harris appear to have important backers within the Democratic Party that make them the candidates to watch.

Two well established lawmakers are backing Harris — Johnson and his political patron Sen. Anthony Williams. Harris has a long history with Williams. The two met when Harris was still in high school, he said. Harris also worked with Johnson for several years, most notably on Johnson’s Peace Not Guns initiative.

In addition, Harris has secured endorsements from several labor organizations that will be able to mobilize voters.

Over the weekend, Harris announced that he had secured endorsements from the AFL-CIO, Transportation Workers Union Local 234, the Laborers Local 332 and the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 5.

Harris characterized his campaign as a community based “movement.”

“We are in the process of building a movement to engage a community that is often left out. We are building a movement of citizens who won’t sit quietly on the sidelines as they watch opportunity pass them by,” he said, noting the endorsements. “This is much bigger than an election and the community is an important part of this movement building.”

Backing from labor, Williams and Johnson would appear to give Harris, a political newcomer, a powerful boost in the contest for the seat.

But, according to one party official from South Philadelphia, who asked not to be named, the majority of ward leaders were expected to support James. It’s too early to tell if that will happen, or just how it might affect the race, but in Philadelphia ward leaders are political forces to be reckoned with. Many elected officials start out as ward leaders and retain the post after winning higher office.

James represented voters from the 186th District from 1989 to 2008.

According to the Tribune’s source, most ward leaders in the 186th would rather stick with a candidate they are familiar with and worked with for nearly two decades.

“They know Harold,” said the source.

James has been running a very low-key campaign. He has a campaign office at 20th and Federal streets, directly across the street from Harris’, but does not appear to have a website or Facebook page, two touchstones of modern campaigning.

He did not return the Tribune’s phone calls Monday afternoon.

In other special election news, Milton Street, brother for former Mayor John F. Street and perennial candidate for office, has reportedly withdrawn from the Democratic race in the 197th District to replace former state representative, now Sheriff, Jewell Williams.

Street reportedly plans to form his own party — the Milton Street Party — and run

Philly Clout reported that Street had withdrawn from the race where he faced a legal challenge to his nominating petitions but declined to say why.

“Now you’re looking for trade secrets,” Street told reporter Chris Brennan.

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No election is over until the last ballot is counted, notes Tim Hannah, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the state House in the 186th District.

Hannah is one of three men left in the primary race that started with a field of six contenders. He hasn’t let the politics of the contest distract him.

“I’m going to keep working hard and stay focused,” Hannah said, a longtime community activist.

It is the second time that Hannah, 51, has run for the seat. He also sought the office in 2010.

The primary is April 24.

At this point, the race is largely seen as a contest between former Youth Commissioner Jordan Harris and attorney Damon K. Roberts. Harris has the backing of the party and Roberts, who sought the seat in 2010 and ran for City Council last year, is very visible in the district. Recent vandalism at Roberts’ South Philadelphia campaign office has given the race a new dynamic.

That doesn’t deter Hannah.

“It’s up to the vote,” he said. “It’s up to the people. They decide.”

He pointed to the 2008 presidential election to bolster his reasoning.

“I can remember when people where pro-Hillary Clinton,” he said. “And, Barack [Obama] just kept gaining momentum, tearing her machine apart.”

Hannah hopes his years in the neighborhood, years he spent working as a community activist, will turn voters to him on Election Day.

“I’ve been an activist since 1987. I’ve worked in South Philadelphia, have my own structure and my own neighborhood association — the United Neighborhood Association,” he said. “That’s what’s important.”

Hannah has been active as an educator and community organizer in South and West Philadelphia for almost 30 years. It’s given him a perspective that he hopes voters will want him to take to Harrisburg.

Among his accomplishments, Hannah lists his Children’s Festival, which he has organized for 14 years and a series of four conferences he’s hosted called the Conference on Education and Discourse.

Education is perhaps Hannah’s top priority.

He advocates returning governance of the city’s public schools to a locally elected school board.

If officials can get a handle on education, Hannah said, solutions to other problems — crime, jobs and better social services — will follow.

“My purpose of running is to bring back a type of structure where people will think twice about crime, weapons, making sure that the elderly are okay, better schools, businesses and job creation, and of course safety,” he said.

In the meantime, he’s a proponent of tax credits to bring industry to the district and more community involvement in dealing with local crime, and helping seniors and the needy.

A native of South Philadelphia, Hannah is a 1983 graduate of Lincoln University, where he graduated with a degree in therapeutic recreation. He is now pursuing a master’s degree in English education from Arcadia University, Glenside. He previously served as a Democratic committeeman for the 34th Ward.

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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 186^th 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 186^th race, which means Harris should sail through on Nov. 6.

Voters in the 186^th 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. .

Sparks flew when candidates running for the state’s 186th seat clashed during a candidate’s forum in Southwest Philadelphia on Friday, April 13.

The forum, hosted by the Southwest District Services, was filled to capacity as residents gathered to hear office seekers address key issues facing South, Southwest and West Philadelphia.

The event was divided into two segments.

The first consisted of candidates for the 186th Legislative district, which covers parts of South and Southwest portions of the city. Those candidates included Timothy Hannah, Jordan Harris and Damon Roberts.

The second segment consisted of candidates vying for the 188th district position of state representative where Fatimah Muhammad and incumbent state Rep. James Roebuck made their pitches to the public.

It was Harris and Roberts who went head to head in a no-holds-barred debate during the forum.

Discussing crime and violence in the city, Roberts told the crowd about a shooting, which occurred outside his home that left his son devastated and traumatized.

“It was as if nothing happened,” said Roberts about the community’s reaction to the shooting.

He argued the community has become desensitized to violence and has begun to tolerate its existence.

“I think it’s very disingenuous for anybody to stand up and say that the community is getting used to violence,” countered Harris who pointed to the work of the Southwest District Services as evidence of community groups trying to stop crime. “The community has been standing up time, after time, against violence.

“I’m not going to politicize the violence in our community, because the shooting victim he [Roberts] is referring to was my aunt’s godson, so this is personal to us,” he added.

Both Harris and Roberts challenged one another’s experience and connection to the community they hope to serve if elected.

“Long before some of my competitors were even adults, I have been working on it [community issues]” Roberts said.

Harris lashed back.

“About my age, my opponent might not know this, but ten years ago, before he was even in this community, I was out in 70th and Buist fighting to keep Bartram Motivation open.”

The issue of gentrification became a key topic among the campaigners. Hannah pointed to the community.

“We have to look at ourselves as a group of people and ask what we are doing to let this happen,” he said. “Are we handing down real estate? Are we letting drugs flourish in our communities? Are we letting guns and violence come in our communities?”

Hannah also said leaders should ensure developers have the best interest of the community in mind when they introduce projects for consideration.

Roberts, a land use attorney, reminded those gathered about the rights of all citizens to live freely, wherever they desired, and the limitations on hindering others from moving into the community.

“With respect to gentrification, we can talk a lot of rhetoric but you can’t legislate who buys houses in a community,” he said. “You can’t legislate it, but what you can do is educate the people.”

Roberts said people were selling their houses because they could no longer afford utilities and mortgages.

For this reason, Roberts said, the issue of gentrification could only be resolved when the problem of employment is solved first.

The candidates’ debate among the West Philadelphia office seekers for the 188th district was no less competitive.

Muhammad and Roebuck challenged one another’s experience — time spent in the community and qualifications.

While Roebuck pointed to his 25 years in service and life-long residency in West Philadelphia, Muhammad told of her time spent homeless as a young child and her success as a college graduate and efforts to organize the community.