Family mourns loss of canvasser, as gun violence intersects with a common campaign practice

Eddie Brokenbough was struggling to make ends meet.

The 46-year-old, whom relatives described as a dedicated father of 10, experienced difficulties finding a good-paying job because, like many Philadelphians, he had a criminal record.

To supplement his income as a construction flagger, Brokenbough sometimes worked as a political canvasser, knocking on doors for organizations trying to get out the vote.

On Monday, Brokenbough was fatally shot while canvassing for the progressive group One PA by another canvasser from the same organization after the two men had an altercation.

His death has thrust the machinations of political canvassing — one of the most visible but least understood facets of campaigning — into the spotlight just a week before Philadelphia’s May 16 primary elections for mayor, City Council, and other municipal offices.

The shooting also underscored the relevance of the most important issue in the election: the city’s ongoing gun violence crisis. Both men involved were armed, police said, and the shooter, 22, told investigators he was acting in self-defense.

One PA is an independent expenditure committee that works to boost its slate of endorsed candidates but operates separately from their campaigns. The group aims to increase political involvement in underinvested neighborhoods and says it doesn’t ask about criminal records during the hiring process.

The group had paid Brokenbough, who lived in North Philadelphia, $555 three days earlier to canvass for mayoral candidate Helen Gym and City Council candidate Seth Anderson-Oberman ahead of the Democratic primary, according to campaign finance records.

One PA said its rules prohibit canvassers from carrying firearms on the job. It has suspended its canvassing operation as it grapples with the shooting death.

Lashawn Tomlin, one of Brokenbough’s sisters, said she’ll always remember her brother as a goofy family man who once danced in a tuxedo before a family wedding.

”He was really involved with the family,” Tomlin said. “Now he’s gone.”

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said it was still unclear Tuesday what led to the argument between the two men, but that they had “some kind of previous history,” and when they crossed paths on the street, an argument followed.

Brokenbough then brandished his gun, which he was not licensed to carry, Vanore said, and the younger man pulled out his legally registered firearm and shot Brokenbough once in the armpit.

Police said the 22-year-old, whom they did not identify, told them he acted in self-defense.

Vanore said police submitted all witness interviews and evidence to the District Attorney’s Office, which as of Tuesday afternoon had not filed charges. The shooter has since been released from police custody.

Jane Roh, spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, said the shooting remains under investigation.

A spokesperson for One PA said the group was “heartbroken” and offered its sympathy to Brokenbough’s family.

One PA said guns are not permitted in its offices or during canvassing, and it has temporarily suspended its canvassing efforts.

Brokenbough was prohibited from legally carrying a firearm because of an earlier conviction on charges of aggravated assault and illegal gun possession, after he shot a man in the arm for speaking to his girlfriend in 2012, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 ½ to 23 months in prison, plus five years’ probation. His conviction prohibits him from possessing a gun.

In 2022, Brokenbough’s lawyer submitted a request for his record to be partially expunged, citing that his criminal history was causing him trouble finding a job.

A spokesperson for the court could not immediately confirm the result of that request. Brokenbough’s family said those charges were expunged, but they still appeared in court records Tuesday.

Diamante Ortiz, One PA’s statewide communications director, said the group and Brokenbough’s family needed time to grieve his death. “We’re not going to dredge through the past of a man who has died while there is an active investigation underway,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz said Brokenbough had canvassed for One PA since 2021. Campaign finance records showing that he’d recently been paid by the group didn’t specify his hourly earnings or how many days he had worked.

With an hourly wage for its canvassers that’s nearly three times Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, the job had a lucrative appeal. According to One PA’s website, the political group pays its outreach workers $20 an hour, with higher rates for drivers.

Brokenbough canvassed during election seasons on and off for several years, according to his sister, Lashawn Tomlin of Hunting Park. She said her brother mainly canvassed as an extra income stream.

While canvassing was a side job for Brokenbough, Tomlin said he told her he’d planned to vote in the mayoral primary. For which candidate, he didn’t say.

Tomlin said she’d remember Brokenbough as a constant mediator of sibling squabbles between her and their three sisters. For that reason, she’s incredulous of police and media reports that the 22-year-old shooter said he was defending himself from Brokenbough.

Brokenbough also was devoted to his family. Frequently, Tomlin said, she came across photos of Brokenbough on social media posing with his children. Now, she said, they’re grasping with the reality that they’ve lost their father.

“He wasn’t a bad dude at all,” Tomlin said. “They need a father figure, and now they don’t have it.”

Although One PA is ceasing its door-knocking efforts, hundreds of other canvassers, some volunteer and some paid, will continue knocking on doors across the city this week for the mayoral and Council candidates competing in the primary.

The purpose of political canvassing varies depending on the election. In general elections, the name of the game is turnout: Canvassers focus on knocking on the doors of voters from their party to encourage them to vote or help them do so.

But in a competitive primaries like this year’s Democratic mayoral race, it’s a trickier task. Canvassers are often seeking to persuade residents to consider their candidates or to interview potential voters and assess whether they would be open to their slates.

“In a primary, especially in a multi-candidate field like this, you can’t just willy-nilly pull people” to the polls, said Neil Oxman, a veteran political consultant who has worked on numerous Philly mayoral campaigns but is not involved in the current race. “You talk to the person and you might try to ID the person on a 1-4 scale whether or not that person was friendly to your campaign.”

For voters who appear to be amedable, the group will follow up with another visit or phone call.

Volunteer canvassers are generally viewed as being more effective than paid door-knockers because they are seen as more dedicated to their candidates, Oxman said. But paid canvassers can also play a big role, especially if they are hired from or familiar with the neighborhoods where they are knocking on doors, he said.

In recent elections, Philadelphia’s progressive movement has prided itself on its extensive door-knocking operation, which involves several groups similar to One PA and is often aimed at engaging residents who previously felt left out of the political process.

For some groups, engaging with those communities includes hiring canvassers from underserved neighborhoods, including formerly incarcerated Philadelphians who may be experiencing difficulty finding employment.

Robert Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Abolitionist Law Center, posted on Twitter that Monday’s shooting “is a reminder organizations and coalitions are rooted in communities and are not immune from the trauma our communities suffer.”

Staff writer Chris Palmer contributed to this report.