Here’s what Philly voters who elected Biden want from his first 100 days | Opinion

Pennsylvania delivered the presidency for Biden. It was Philadelphia and its suburbs that clinched the win—particularly the multiracial grassroots coalition of working class voters who we represent and champion that proved critical to both mobilizing votes and protecting the integrity of the results after election day.

So now, in Biden’s first 100 days, we expect him to deliver on his promises.

Here are four areas where we expect Biden to offer concrete action for our constituencies.

1. Reform democracy

It was not the “principled” Republicans too often praised by pundits who saved our democracy, but, as recently chronicled in the New York Times, the thousands of pro-democracy organizers and union members who put in uncountable hours of work the past year.

Pennsylvania’s community, faith, and labor leaders launched an effort to monitor the vote count in all 67 counties and beat back Trump’s unfounded legal challenges in the courts. And as an angry minority harassed our election officials in Philadelphia, it was our movement, led by the Working Families Party, who countered with a deliberately joyful celebration to defend our democracy.

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It’s not a stable system that relies on this kind of massive volunteer organizing to save our democracy from collapsing.

We expect Biden to quickly advance an ambitious reform agenda that protects the right to vote and champions new federal protections for voting rights. He must fight for legislation that restores and enhances the protections of the Civil Rights era, fights back against decades of Republican efforts to silence voters of color, combats gerrymandering, and reduces the influence of money in politics.

2. Tackle systemic racism

This past year has revealed to many what was already clear to the Black community: systemic racism remains an insidiously powerful force in our society. It’s a heavy weight dragging down Philadelphia and its people, most of whom are people of color.

The summer uprisings and the protests to the murder of Walter Wallace Jr. in October were the reaction to generations of disinvestment, discrimination and violence toward Black people. The work to transform the institution of policing will primarily be fought in city councils and statehouses. Biden’s responsibility is to invest in our communities.

That means providing tangible investments to Black, working-class communities in the President’s economic stimulus efforts--investments in our schools, housing and rental assistance, and job creation. It means canceling student debt.

We also expect Biden to support Black leaders’ ongoing work to push the nation to finally begin confronting, reconciling, and repairing the centuries of injustice that have been perpetrated on the Black community.

3. Fund people, not corporations

As PA Stands Up volunteers said in their post-election message to Biden: This isn’t a time to go back to normal--normal left millions of us behind. The lack of income, child care and, most crucially, affordable health care experienced by millions of working families over the past year has been literally deadly.

As America’s poorest big city, Philadelphia has been hit hard, with unemployment last June soaring over 18%, higher than ever recorded in government data and far higher than the national average.

Biden must put the needs of working people first by pushing Congress for new, recurring stimulus payments, reinforcement for our frayed and failing unemployment system, and an eviction moratorium that will prevent hard-working people shut out from their jobs from sliding into homelessness.

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Going forward, we expect the president to work to roll back Trump’s tax giveaway to billionaires and do more to expand access to affordable, public health care.

4. Pursue climate justice

The climate crisis cannot wait for the pandemic to be over, as the residents of Philadelphia’s flooded Eastwick neighborhood know all too well. While rejoining the Paris accord is welcome news, Biden must recognize that the accelerating pace of the climate crisis has already rendered the Paris targets insufficient.

Any upcoming plans for investment in America’s infrastructure must mirror the proposals championed in the Green New Deal. Long-stalled rules for clean power and transportation need to go forward quickly. And new investments are needed in climate justice that steer the benefits of the green economy towards those communities who have been hit hardest by climate devastation.

The working people of Philadelphia organized for this win for years. It belongs to us as much as it belongs to any campaign or candidate. Starting now, we are working to hold President Biden accountable to his promises. And we expect results.

Kendra Brooks is an at-large member of the Philadelphia City Council. Hannah Laurison is the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Stands Up.