East Falls’ George Matysik drops out of race for City Council

East Falls resident and cofounder of the Friends of Mifflin School George Matysik has dropped out of the City Council at-large race.

Here’s his statement: 

After several weeks of reflection, prayer, and conversation with friends and family, I’ve decided not to pursue an at-large seat on Philadelphia City Council. Those who know me well, know that public service is in my blood, and that this was clearly a difficult decision. But to me, public service was always about more than seeing my name on a ballot, and at this point I believe the greatest contributions I can make to my city and region won’t be as an elected official.  But that doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere.

I always intended to do this campaign to start a conversation, and I believe with the current crop of candidates, both for Mayor and City Council, we may well have that opportunity.  To that end, I intend to help some of those candidates in grappling with the complex issues facing our city—and hopefully help a few of the good candidates win.  But my current goal is also to identify the next challenge—and the next opportunity—both for myself and my region. As someone who spent the last seven years working to reduce poverty in our city, state, and country I know the significant challenges are still there. With that, I leave a little parting gift, my White Paper on Poverty, with a few ideas that I think could contribute to public discourse on this critical issue.

I want to close by thanking everyone who contributed time or money to this race, especially my wife, Alix.  From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of your support along this personal journey. Now on to the next one!

All the best,

George

 

Speaking with NewsWorks in November, Matysik emphasized the need to innovate within City Hall, adding that he would start with economic development and education. Since announcing his candidacy, he has released two papers with plans for reducing the city’s poverty level and improving education.

No fewer than 11 candidates remain in the race for the seat.