A grand affair
Having Pennsylvania politicians spend a weekend in New York City looking for money for their local elections adds a corrosive element to our elections. The $1,000-a-plate “money primary” that is the Pennsylvania Society dinner drowns out the voices of people who are running without the backing of corporate interests and party bosses. The entire point of the event is for the wealthy to influence things in the Keystone State. And it’s working. Both of the likely nominees in next year’s gubernatorial race appeared, along with several candidates for U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans’ 3rd Congressional District seat. And Sen. “Connecticut” Dave McCormick appeared. He won’t appear for an in-person town hall anywhere in his district, but he’ll go to New York, which shows how events like this reveal skewed priorities.
Pennsylvania’s political elite run to have a fancy dinner in Manhattan, taking crucial dollars and time away from the commonwealth. At this time, more than 300,000 Philadelphians still live below the poverty line. There is a 10% increase in homeless Philadelphians. An estimated 40% of households in Pennsylvania were below the asset limited, income constrained, employed (ALICE) line, which included folks who are already at or below the poverty line.
The focus is on fundraising, not generating the real political change people need. It’s really just moneyed people protecting their narrow self-interest, not building a movement that answers voters’ concerns, addresses crucial needs in the commonwealth, and creates a distinct branding in people’s minds. It’s insensitive and reeks of venality. Follow the money.
Jayson Massey, Philadelphia
Yorktown overlooked
Twenty neighborhoods across Philadelphia are being given painted, miniature replicas of the Liberty Bell as part of the America 250 celebration, but my community — Yorktown — isn’t one of them.
How could the history of North Philadelphia’s Yorktown be overlooked? Our neighborhood was named to commemorate the Battle of Yorktown. And it is historic because it was one of the city’s first urban renewal projects. It is also now on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, when Levittown development projects were being built in the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania suburbs — exclusively for white people — Philadelphia Mayor James Tate, City Planning Commissioner Edmund Bacon (Kevin’s dad), and the Rev. William H. Gray Jr. (U.S. Rep. Bill Gray’s father) put their heads together and began planning an urban renewal project for future Black homeowners in North Philadelphia.
It was named Yorktown to celebrate the 1781 Franco-American victory in Yorktown, Va., where George Washington’s forces — with French naval support — trapped the British, forcing their surrender.
Historians tell us the Battle of Yorktown and Washington’s victory directly led to serious peace negotiations resulting in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and American independence.
Designed by builder Norman Denny, the development featured suburban-style two- and three-story homes with front lawns and driveways. The sprawling area included cul-de-sacs named after significant historic figures, Betsy Ross, Patrick Henry, Marquis de Lafayette, etc.
An artificial intelligence program I consulted while writing this letter even agrees that my neighborhood is significant, calling it a “unique North Philly community inspired by the decisive Battle of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War that has created a lasting middle-class enclave known for its distinct style and strong identity despite early predictions it wouldn’t last.”
How much more history must Yorktown hold to get its own anniversary Liberty Bell?
Karen Warrington, Philadelphia
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