Several unions and elected officials sponsored an April 24 town hall at Calvary Christian Church, 6000-38 Roosevelt Blvd.
AFSCME DC 47, the Federal Unionists Network and the American Federation of Government Employees Local 62 were the union sponsors.
State Sen. Tina Tartaglione and state Reps. Jared Solomon, Joe Hohenstein and Sean Dougherty also sponsored, and were joined at the event by state Rep. Anthony Bellmon. U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle was unable to attend, as he had a routine medical procedure in Washington, D.C. that had been planned prior to scheduling of the town hall. Aide Sean Tobin was in attendance.
Activist Linh Nguyen emceed the town hall, which featured comments from elected officials and people who say they are affected by Trump administration policies, along with a question-and-answer session.
The event was bipartisan, though the only elected officials on hand were Democrats and the crowd was generally made up of people on the far left politically.
Hohenstein, though, did fault both parties for the broken immigration system.
“Democrats had chances to fix this and didn’t. Republicans had chances to fix this and didn’t,” he said.
Hohenstein also recognized constituent Lisa Aquila, who urged him to pass a bill requiring disability-inclusive curriculum for students in grades K-12. The bill became law in 2022, Hohenstein said, due to Aquila’s advocacy and his bipartisan work with Republican Rep. Jason Ortitay.
Solomon blamed Elon Musk and “22-year-old tech bros” for dismantling the system. Specifically, he noted the potential for the Department of Veterans Affairs to lay off more than 80,000 workers.
Tartaglione focused on the minimum wage.
“It’s been 19 years since we raised the minimum wage,” she said.
Tartaglione called Pennsylvania’s $7.25 hourly minimum wage a “disgrace” that contributes to poverty. She is sponsoring a bill that would raise the wage to $15. States bordering Pennsylvania, she noted, have a higher wage.
Bellmon worries about cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said people protesting is fine, but suggested it would be more effective if they all voted in primary and general elections.
Dougherty said unions built the middle class, and he is concerned about the possible privatization of the U.S. Postal Service and the loss of good jobs.
Castor Gardens resident Marlyn Bradshaw said she has received good care at Health Center 10, 2230 Cottman Ave., and is happy that the city will be building other heath centers at Friends Hospital and across from the Frankford Transportation Center. Bradshaw, though, worries that any cuts to Medicaid will lead to long lines in emergency rooms and hospital closures.
A Social Security Administration employee said staffing is at a 50-year low and any cuts will lead to longer wait times for decisions on benefits. The White House has said it will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, and that Elon Musk is targeting waste and fraud in entitlement spending.
“We did not elect Elon Musk,” a woman said.
A Fels teacher claimed that, by September, there might not be any food in schools for students if there are cuts to the Departments of Education and Agriculture.
A woman from the left-wing Indivisible Philadelphia said she regularly calls Republican state Sen. Joe Picozzi’s office to demand more funding for SEPTA.
Hohenstein said a key to more SEPTA funding in the next state budget will be support from Picozzi and other Republican senators whose districts are in the transit agency’s coverage area. Tartaglione said she’s invited Picozzi to be part of the Senate Philadelphia delegation with the other Democrats, adding that Republican Senate leaders could approve more SEPTA funding to give Picozzi a boost toward his re-election.
People at the town hall debated ways to get their message across.
A Feast of Justice representative encouraged people to volunteer for all kinds of groups. A woman mentioned joining Bluesky, the liberal alternative to X. Another woman told the crowd to vote to retain the three Democratic state Supreme Court justices on the ballot in November.
Former City Controller Alan Butkovitz brought up Sen. John Fetterman, whom he said has given some aid and comfort to Donald Trump and has been “dancing through the raindrops” on some issues. Butkovitz would like Fetterman to come to Philadelphia to answer questions.
Bob Dellavella, a ward leader and CEO of Self Help Movement, said people should target Sen. Dave McCormick and the 10 Republican U.S. House members from Pennsylvania to preserve Medicaid.“That’s the people we have to push,” said Dellavella, predicting there will be cracks in the Republican armor to Trump’s policies. ••
