Republican Joe Picozzi recently officially announced his campaign in the 5th Senatorial District.
Picozzi wanted to wait until he was officially on the ballot, as Democrats scrutinized his nominating petitions but did not challenge them. He was to announce on March 6, but pushed it back following the mass shooting of Northeast High School students that day.
In all, he submitted 1,541 petitions gathered by himself, family, friends and other supporters he picked up during the signature process.
Picozzi announced his campaign with a letter and a video on X. In the video, filmed at Mayfair Memorial Playground, the candidate addressed issues such as safety and noted the announcement that the Father Judge/Lincoln Thanksgiving football game was being ended due to safety reasons.
Picozzi will be unopposed in the April 23 primary and will challenge Democratic Sen. Jimmy Dillon in November.
The challenger said he is running to preserve the “Northeast Philly Dream.” He plans to address issues such as neighborhoods blighted with litter, the rising cost of living, absentee landlords, abandoned cars and a declining quality of life chasing people to the suburbs.
Crime is also atop his agenda, saying he wants kids to be able to play outside and not have parents worry about their safety.
“We’re seeing shoplifting, car racing, burglaries and violent crime make their way from the inner city to our homes, in a way they never did 10 years ago,” he said in his announcement letter.
Picozzi, the son of a firefighter and occupational therapist, was raised in Somerton and is a graduate of St. Christopher Elementary School and Holy Ghost Prep (Dillon is also an HGP grad).
The candidate is an Eagle Scout and was appointed by City Councilman Brian O’Neill to serve on the Philadelphia Youth Commission. He studied government at Georgetown. He’s worked on Capitol Hill and for the Manhattan Institute. ••
