2019 City Council Candidate Questionnaire: Their comments are below.
“The ten year tax abatement needs to be applied as it was intended to encourage preservation of the city’s old stock of historic buildings. There is a law suit presently before the State court demanding that the misuse of the law be sanctioned. It is my opinion that no new construction be allowed using this subsidy and that neighborhood and business corridor rehab be aggressively pursued instead, as was the original intent.”
— Greg Paulmier
“I agree with all of these policies, except handing the refinery to another polluter, but as presented here, many of the statements imply accepting the current system as it is and reacting to individual problems as they arise. I strongly prefer a systemic and proactive approach to change – considering how we want our city and world to be, thinking through all the possible ways of getting there, and building new systems on a foundation of justice and dignity for everyone. I support policies that move us toward being more green overall, reducing outputs that are harmful to the environment and to our health and safety. However, environmental issues do not exist in silos separate from things like poverty, homelessness, over- and underdevelopment, gentrification, and mismanagement of tax revenues, and we need to find solutions that are effective in addressing the entire system. ”
— Karla Cruel
“I have been active in the campaign against the proposed SEPTA natural gas plant in Nicetown since the beginning of the campaign, connecting the dots between neighborhood asthma rates and fossil fuel infrastructure. I believe we need a moratorium on fossil fuel infrastructure – both in Nicetown and across the city. This includes the PES refinery – where we must pressure Sunoco and the hedgefunds to pay their fair share to workers, frontline communities and remediation costs. I also support a Green New Deal for Philadelphia with large investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and jobs programs”
— Kendra Brooks
“I am fighting for a Green New Deal for Philadelphia, where we move Philadelphia to 100% renewable energy by 2030, with no further fossil fuel infrastructure, and a commitment to energy democracy — community control of our energy infrastructure, rooted in racial equity, energy affordability, and the centering of labor and impacted communities. I will demand community-driven planning processes that shift how energy, land use, housing, food, and transportation policy and regulations are shaped and planned.
I will fight for a labor and community-led just transition plan to transition PGW away from fossil fuels; a study that examines municipalization of PECO; and a plan to transition the Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery to restored public land and community-owned renewable energy projects. ”
— Sherrie Cohen
“As a bike messenger for over 7 and a half years, I have bared witness to the physical state of our roads here in Philadelphia. Our massive potholes, lack of protected bike lanes, limited access to public restrooms or trashcans, a hit and run rate of approximately 40-a-day, daily environmental challenges, and even anecdotally through my nonprofit PMA Bike Ride, I have also noticed a significant increase in our street citizen population. The state of our city streets has a rippling impact on all communities all over Philadelphia. If elected on Tuesday, November 5th, (1) I will work to strengthen our commitment to Vision Zero PHL by expanding our city’s protected bike lane network, increasing pedestrian-focused city planning and extreme traffic calming measures; (2) I will work to fund programs that clean our city streets and does not use gas-powered leaf blowers that contribute to our already poor air quality and ballooning city budget. Brooms, mobile industrial-sized trashcans, and people-power. We can replicate programs already established and successful in other major cities that would allow us to not only hire our street citizens while also giving them access to community resources, but also structure a program that has clear management oversight to strengthen the likelihood for success of the operation clean streets. Lastly, (3) I will work to create a public restroom initiative that creates standalone, safe and clean, 24-hour accessible public restrooms while also creating incentives for private businesses to participate. We have many opportunities for change. I am focused on the quality of life, maintenance, and sanitation issues, not glamorous but vital for both local neighborhoods and commercial corridors. I support every position and policy of the Neighbors Against the Gas Plants and believe we are on the right side of history.”
— Joe Cox
“ As one of the foremost advocates for environmental causes and addressing climate change on City Council, I have worked diligently throughout my term to make a healthier, greener, more sustainable Philadelphia. My first legislative act was hearings investigating the deadly boiler explosion at F.S. Edmonds Elementary School. Following these hearings, I became a founding member of the Philadelphia Healthy Schools Initiative and have pushed to improve the toxic nature of our school buildings. As a member of this Initiative, I have introduced legislation mandating regular asbestos and other vector testing and remediation and a transfer ordinance for $10 million to remediate asbestos in District buildings. Further, I have advocated for the District’s work with the Philadelphia Energy Authority (“PEA”) regarding energy retrofits and solar pilots (which began as another early hearing, organized with PennEnvironment). During this initial term, I have been a leading champion of PEA’s work. I have passed legislation that enabled the City to join the state-authorized Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (“C-PACE”) program to finance energy efficiency and solar projects. Additionally, I have introduced related bills that reduce fees for solar project permits and allow setback solar canopies for roofs that would otherwise not support them. Also and following my advocacy, the City has recently launched a pilot that holds the promise of establishing a citywide composting program. Finally and through my hearing last spring, I have been at the forefront of efforts to diversity PGW from a pure natural gas utility into a green heating and cooking one. To achieve this goal, the City was awarded a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ American Cities Climate Change Challenge to engage a consultant to support this work. With all that in mind, I appreciate the spirit and the ends sought by these questions – but many of them have faulty premises, that leave me unable to answer. For example and regarding the Philadelphia Energy Solutions facility, the City does not own it and therefore cannot sell it. Moreover, the City has extremely limited authority, if any, to ensure that Sunoco do more than comply with the terms of their federal order to clean the land. I look forward to the results of the Mayor’s task force regarding potential uses of the property and Council’s own upcoming hearing regarding the path forward from the private plant closure. I am also considering related legislation regarding citywide policies. Many of the other proposals here offer their own challenges: Ignoring the cost of replacing the entire distribution network of the City, electric energy is a more expensive heating source for users, including the 25% of our City living in poverty, than natural gas. Cancelling contracts is costly directly (penalties and court fees) and indirectly (future partners will charge a penalty rate) and leaves the City with an unmet need until whenever said contract might be replaced. Solar might be financed privately at any particular location, but is not viable at every location (such as north-sloped roofs or those in the shadow of larger buildings) whereas green roofs are incredibly expensive relative to the cost of housing construction, which is desperately needed by low-income and residents with disabilities. Nonprofits are exempt from property taxation under the state constitution, which Council has nearly no power to change. The City needs climate leadership: to transition PGW, restore District buildings to good repair, reduce private emissions, and enhance green energy. To accomplish these things requires an understanding of the legal, financial, regulatory, and other challenges that come with each, a willingness to do as much as we can with the resources available to us, and a desire to find creative solutions where none seem at hand. Accordingly and with your support, I hope to return to Council to continue this important work.
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— Derek Green
“I don’t believe that answering the questions are in my interests or the interests of the Philadelphia citizenry and the metropolitan area. I could not answer them, since the questions are organized to drive one to a planned conclusion. The hysteria around the Refinery has to be tamped down.
In the name of the national security, the Philadelphia Refinery cannot be closed; Rebuilt yes, Transitioned yes, Cleaned up yes, and more. Oil and gas were components in the energy mix that built the American Industrial economy and that is not going to change soon. I believe the public is being played in shutting down the Refinery, facilitating the eventual rise in gas prices since gas production will be drastically reduced serving the interests of the Oligarchical and International Financier powers. Philadelphia’s gas Refinery is a national security asset, located in the middle of the third largest economy in the world, that is the region between Boston and Washington DC.
We are now in the same position as the ancient farmer who, upon seeing this black mud ozzing out of the ground, thought that he was ruined, that his farm had to be abandoned. Because of the lack of brainpower in that Ancient era, Oil was considered a pollutant not the naturally provided energy source that it is. Believe me, we have not scratched the surface as far as the many uses of oil and gas. Great strides are being made in turning pollutants into treasure. Nuclear ‘waste’ can be converted into nuclear fuel now, able to power the national economy for the next 1,000 years.
I do not believe in population reduction policies no matter its’ origin and intention. Brainpower must be increased dramatically and that can only happen by increasing the population’s standard of living, through increasing the productive powers of Labor, and of course increasing the energy flux density capacity is crucial to that outcome.
I do think the City of Philadelphia has to fund and launch the construction of ‘worker housing’ for most workers stuck in the minimum wage strata. Philadelphia’s history is built around the Row House that provided affordable housing for workers for over 100 years. Real Estate speculation has taken hold and some of these houses are irrationally. I’d like to see more political activity that confronts the Oligarchical ‘Keep Them Poor’ policy. I can’t understand how the ‘activists’ are not asking the Fed and the Congress ‘Where’s Our Money? What did you do with the Money?’. A poorly paid worker cannot purchase a decent standard of living which in its turn causes economic depression, which is what we’re walking into now. Be Alert, to the immediate danger. We should gain instruction from Henry Ford and demand a reorganization of banking, finance, and the productive economy.
My final comment on Philadelphia’s Gas Refinery is, ‘don’t do anything rash’. ”
