The Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) endorsed 8th District City Council candidate, Cindy Bass, at their meeting last week.

“I am pleased to be endorsed by such an esteemed organization like NOW who has an unparallel history for serving as an advocate for women’s issues,” said Bass.

Bass is a community leader known for her advocacy work in health care and her leadership on issues affecting women. Bass currently serves as an elected Democratic Committee Person in the 22nd Ward in Philadelphia and is an elected member of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. She is founder and honorary board chair of The Northwest Fund a non-profit organization she established to help reduce crime in Northwest Philadelphia.

Bass is considered to be the frontrunner in the race and is viewed by many as the candidate most able to defeat the incumbent Donna Reed Miller.

7 th district gets a new candidate

Amid family, friends, residents of the 7th District and allies, Maria Quinones Sanchez kicked off her campaign Monday afternoon for Philadelphia City Council’s 7th District.

The kickoff took place at ASPIRA, a multi-million dollar youth leadership and education organization, where Quinones Sanchez, as its first female and youngest CEO, fixed a large structural deficit and founded and built Pennsylvania’s first bilingual charter school where she later served as acting principal.

“I’ve been an educator and an activist, an administrator and a facilitator,” Quinones Sanchez said. “The 7th district has been neglected for too long. It’s time for real leadership and real change. I believe my 20 years of public service have prepared me for this challenge.

Quinones Sanchez laid out her agenda for the neighborhoods of the 7th district and addressed why the district needed a strong leader that will work to connect and empower neighborhoods through leadership rather than have as its councilperson an inexperienced ward leader plucked from the back room.

“The 7th District needs a leader with integrity, leadership, vision and commitment,” said Quinones-Sanchez. “Last October 12 party insiders anointed one of their own, a son of a ward leader, with no demonstrated leadership or record. I challenge Danny Savage, who has been absent on issues, to come forward and debate the issues in each and every neighborhood of the 7th District. And then you—the voters—will be the final judge on May 15th.”

Stack calls for district audit

State Sen. Mike Stack recently called on state Auditor General Jack Wagner to conduct an audit of the Philadelphia School District’s finances.

“Clearly, the state of the School District of Philadelphia is suffering financially,” Stack said. “We need to get to the source of the problem, and an audit would shed some real light on the problem.”

Stack said an audit would determine if the district has mismanaged or misspent taxpayer money.

The senator’s suggestion comes as the school district, which is already in debt, could face a bigger shortfall next year. Last week’s Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that the district currently has a $73 million deficit that could nearly double to $140 million next year.

The district serves more than 210,000 students in its 300-plus HeadStart, preschool and elementary, middle, high, charter, vocational and special schools.

“Our children deserve every opportunity to succeed, and a deficit like this only hurts their education,” Stack said. “Parents, teachers and principals fight too hard to maintain positions, after-school programs, libraries and supplies. We owe it to the 200,000 school children who need and want to learn.”