Philadelphia lawmakers again select Dawkins to lead their House delegation in 2021-22 legislative session
Kenyatta re-elected vice chairman; Fiedler re-elected secretary/treasurer
Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, Rep. Jason Dawkins, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta November 13, 2020 | 3:13 PM
HARRISBURG, Nov. 13 -- State Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Phila., will again serve as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus’ 25-member Philadelphia County Delegation for the 2021-22 legislative session.
Democratic lawmakers of the delegation selected Dawkins during leadership elections on Thursday. Dawkins said delegation members also re-selected Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta as vice chairman and Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler as treasurer and secretary.
“I am honored by my colleagues’ trust in my ideas and abilities and look forward to continuing my role in helping to move Philadelphia and our agenda forward,” Dawkins said. “By working together toward our shared goals, we can make certain that Philadelphia remains an economic powerhouse for Pennsylvania while ensuring equality and justice for all people in our economy, in our society and in our response to crisis, from police reform to getting guns off our streets and ensuring justice, equality and science in our pandemic response.”
In the current legislative session Dawkins and the House Philadelphia Delegation laid out an agenda that focuses on investing in schools and educational opportunity, reforming a criminal justice system that continues to be rife with injustice, affordable and accessible health care for all, strengthening commercial corridors in the city, reducing gun violence and investing in clean energy sources that would produce thousands of jobs, while addressing climate change and environmental stewardship. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Philadelphia, the delegation also laid out a plan to focus on a just recovery for marginalized communities hit hardest by the pandemic and amid civil unrest caused by police use of lethal force against Black and brown Americans.
“Working families deserve leadership that fights for them and that’s what this team will do,” Kenyatta said. “I’m deeply honored by the trust of my colleagues and am ready to get back to work on issues important to people, including COVID-19, housing, wages, climate — the list goes on. I’m lucky to be on a team committed to advancing policy that addresses them.”
The Philadelphia delegation also has been successful this legislative session in obtaining more money for education, including funding to clean up toxic schools and for school safety, and more state funding for gun violence reduction, business development and transportation. The delegation continues to call for better wages and job conditions for working people.
“Our communities need us to be their voice in demanding healthy, fully funded public schools; stable housing; and strong worker protections,” said Fiedler, who spearheaded efforts this session to remove lead and asbestos from Philadelphia schools and has formed a working group dedicated to keeping people in their homes amid the pandemic and beyond. “We will keep fighting until every student, teacher and staff have safe, toxic-free public school buildings to learn and work in, and until every household has access to the family-sustaining wages we all deserve. We won’t settle for things as they are, in which a child’s education, health, and well-being are determined by their ZIP code, and in which too many of our neighbors are forced to work two or three jobs just to put food on their table. I am dedicated to continuing our delegation’s work to put the needs of working people first, in how we respond to COVID, and in our longer-term pursuit of economic and racial justice.”
Dawkins said the Philadelphia House Delegation’s agenda mirrors the House Democrats’ Plan4PA, an agenda designed to put people and families first, not corporations and special interests. The Philadelphia Delegation’s web page can be found at https://pahouse.com/PCD.
The 2019-20 session ends Nov. 30.
