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REPRINTED FROM THENEXTMAYOR.COMMarch 6, 2007 press release, (submitted via e-mail) |
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Maurice Daniel
DATE: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 OFFICE: 215-253-4957
CELL: 215-704-8977
maurice@evansformayor.com
PHILADELPHIA --- Mayoral candidate Dwight Evans today released a major policy paper detailing his plans to revitalize Philadelphia neighborhoods, just hours before accepting the endorsement of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, one of the key endorsements in the 2007 Mayoral race.
The release of the policy paper and the backing of the Black Ministers of Philadelphia and Vicinity came on the last day for Mayoral candidates to file petitions for the May 15th primary. Although candidates need only 1,000 signatures, Evans’ campaign filed papers with more than 16,000 signatures of voters who support his bid for mayor. Evans announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination on December 11th before a crowd of more than 1,200 people; his campaign slogan is “A Safer Philadelphia – Block by Block.”
“I am humbled that so many people have shown their faith in me by standing with me in this campaign,” said Evans, a longtime state representative and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “This endorsement underscores the fact that my message about building a safer Philadelphia resonates in every corner of the city and it starts in our neighborhoods, in our schools and in our churches.”
Throughout the campaign, Evans has said that for Philadelphia to be a city where education, culture and commerce can thrive, four key elements must be in place: well-trained and well-supported law enforcement, an effective criminal justice system; education and economic opportunities; and community partnerships and involvement.
In his paper for promoting economic development in the neighborhoods, Evans plan has seven key strategies including: tapping the city’s rich filmmaking and music scene to make Philadelphia second only to Hollywood for movie-making; promoting small businesses and entrepreneurship; strengthening or building neighborhood organizations; developing the infrastructure and the workforce to support economies of the future; making Philadelphia a leader in healthcare and bioscience; increasing Philadelphia’s role in the global economy; and building a better transportation system.
Evans’s chose to release the paper on the day of the ministers’ endorsement because they understand the complexities of building strong neighborhoods within the context of a major city.
“Our churches are more than just houses of worship,” Evans said. “In many neighborhoods, they are the anchor, the safe haven where people can nurture their minds and bodies, not just their souls.”
Evans’ accepted the ministers’ endorsement at the First District Plaza.
Central to his message about economic development is the success of his own legislative district. Many of Evans’ theories about rebuilding communities have been tested in the last 26 years in West Oak Lane, a once declining neighborhood that now thrives because of his efforts.
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Dwight Evans for Mayor •1500 Walnut St., Suite 501, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Paid for by Friends for Dwight Evans. B. Callands, Treasurer