Philadelphia’s mayoral candidates address gun violence at WHYY News and Billy Penn forum

This story is a part of the Every Voice, Every Vote series.

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Eight of Philadelphia’s Democratic mayoral candidates participated in 100th Mayor: Restoring Safety Forum Wednesday hosted by WHYY News, Billy Penn, and the CeasefirePA Education Fund.

The forum focused on Philadelphia’s rising gun violence crisis, and asked candidates how they plan to tackle the issue, if elected.

It comes as the city is reeling from a year in which more than 500 homicides occurred, and residents identified crime and safety as the top issue impacting their neighborhoods. Candidates answered questions on city programs, defining community policing, and if leadership at the Philadelphia Police Department should change. Questions were sourced from members of the community ahead of time.

The forum was moderated by: Sam Searles, Report for America corps member covering gun violence and prevention for WHYY News; Chantay Love, the cofounder and president of EMIR Healing Center; and Dr. Elinore Kaufman, trauma surgeon and medical director of the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program.

The candidates who participated in Wednesday’s forum were: Jimmy DeLeon, Allan Domb, Derek Green, Helen Gym, Cherelle Parker, Maria Quiñones Sánchez, and Rebecca Rhynhart. Warren Bloom, Amen Brown, and Jeff Brown did not participate.

The winner of May’s Democratic primary is likely to become Philadelphia’s 100th mayor. Given past turnout numbers for an odd-year primary, a lead of 10,000 to 15,000 votes could boost a candidate to a de facto overall victory.

100th Mayor: Restoring Safety Forum was held as part of the Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, with lead support provided by the William Penn Foundation.

If you missed it, you can watch the 100th Mayor: Restoring Safety Forum online.

This story is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute, Peter and Judy Leone, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Harriet and Larry Weiss, and the Wyncote Foundation, among others. Learn more about the project and view a full list of supporters here.