Former Biden climate advisor enters crowded field for Philadelphia’s 3rd Congressional District

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A South Philly native and former climate advisor for the Biden administration is running to replace Dwight Evans as the representative for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. The crowded field now includes 10 Democratic candidates who will face off in the primary on May 19.

Pablo Iván McConnie-Saad said he’s focused on the connection between affordability and climate change.

“I think people don’t necessarily make that connection,” McConnie-Saad told WHYY News. “But, I think climate change is raising the cost of food, and obviously we’re experiencing increasing energy costs, and that’s also a result of climate change.”

McConnie-Saad pointed to the impact of high heat and floods on food production, which a recent study found is driving up prices.

The Bella Vista resident also said he’s about to be a father.

“It’s not just for myself, it’s also for the next generation,” McConnie-Saad said. “We have to focus on climate. It’s an existential crisis.”

McConnie-Saad worked for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, helping to increase the use of available funds through the Inflation Reduction Act, former President Joe Biden’s signature climate initiative that encouraged clean energy production and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through tax credits, rebates and incentives.

Since taking control of the White House, President Donald Trump has worked to dismantle the initiative and claw back much of the funding. Still, McConnie-Saad said Pennsylvania gained $700 million in investments from the Inflation Reduction Act.

“It was working at the individual level,” McConnie-Saad said. “At the household level, at the organizational level, so small businesses could benefit from it, and so could local governments and state governments. It was providing an opportunity for municipalities, nonprofit, tax-exempt, faith-based organizations to invest and make the transition to renewables, and that was gonna bring down the cost for everyone.”

While affordability is front and center for voters, climate change is not, said Democratic political consultant Neil Oxman.

“If Greenland melted tomorrow, climate would be the No. 1 issue,” Oxman said. “But Greenland’s not melting tomorrow. And so the number one issue is the economic strain that people have.”

McConnie-Saad has also taken aim at the current politicians in the race — state Sen. Sharif Street, state Rep. Chris Raab and state Rep. Morgan Cephas. The rest of the field includes two doctors, Ala Stanford and David Oxman, real estate developer Isaiah Martin, Temple University computer science professor Karl Morris, software engineer Cole Carter, and former city employee Robin Toldins.

But McConnie-Saad has the same problem that nine other candidates in the race have. Street, son of former Philadelphia mayor John Street, has a clear advantage through family name recognition, fundraising abilities and a strong base in a part of the city where voters have cast ballots for a candidate named Street for decades.

The 3rd Congressional District encompasses all of West and Southwest Philly, along with Center City, North and Northwest Philadelphia west of Broad Street. It also represents a section of South Philadelphia that includes McConnie-Saad’s Bella Vista neighborhood.

“It’s been a long time that people in there have voted for somebody named Street,” Oxman said.

While Oxman said it will be hard for anyone other than Sharif Street to gain traction in such a crowded field, it is possible, especially if several end up dropping out and putting their energy behind one of their current rivals.

McConnie-Saad, who grew up one of four boys in a Puerto Rican family, said he lived in six different South Philly houses by the time he was 17. McConnie-Saad got a Quaker education as a scholarship student at Germantown Friends School. He then earned a bachelor’s degree at Oberlin College, followed by a master’s and doctorate from the University of Delaware. He said he can distinguish himself through his Beltway experience.

“I’ve been in Washington. I have a Ph.D in urban affairs and public policy,” he said.

He also believes in standing strong against Trump and aligns himself with the Democratic Socialists of America, the ranks of which include the likes of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and mayor-elect of New York City, Zohran Mamdani.

“I’m very disappointed in the Senate Democrats that have caved on the shutdown,” McConnie-Saad said. “It’s tantamount to a union organization going on strike and then not gaining any concessions from management. This is an instance where I think we talk about standing up to the Trump administration. I’m arguing that we should be calling for general strikes.”

When asked, McConnie-Saad wasn’t sure what a general strike would look like.

Given the overwhelming majority of registered Democrats in the 3rd Congressional District, whoever wins the primary on May 19 is expected to win the general election in November.