Blackwell seeks third term on City Council

After eight years as a Philadelphia City Council member, Jannie Blackwell doesn't seem to be showing signs of slowing down. Last night, Blackwell -- running for a third term representing her West Philadelphia district -- debated her opponent in next month's Democratic primary in front of about 75 community members at the Cavalry Church at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The question-and-answer style debate was sponsored by the Spruce Hill Community Association. Blackwell and her opponent, local entrepreneur Prentice Cole, engaged in a heated debate about their goals and answered specific questions submitted by those in attendance through a moderator. Blackwell, who has served on City Council since 1992, discussed her past programs and legislation. "Anybody who walks through West Philadelphia has seen this community changed in terms of housing? in terms of job creation and certainly in terms of how our overall community district looks," Blackwell said. According to Blackwell, her list of goals --Eentitled "West Philadelphia on the Move" -- includes making streets safer and cleaner and encouraging investment in the area and is "the only one of its kind in the country." Cole, a Penn alumnus, cited a need for more partnerships with corporations to sponsor community development programs. "We need to create after-school programs, homework programs, arts programs, community programs, culture programs for kids that will raise the level of their interest and skills," Cole said. Addressing the issue of area crime, Cole said residents must be taught to better utilize '911' services by giving information in a "certain concise way" that will increase the efficiency of police response to an emergency. In response, Blackwell said that more enforcement of the curfew and punishment for cutting school through community service should be employed to reduce crime. When asked to address the issue of area homelessness, Blackwell cited current outreach programs and group homes, and the West Philadelphia-based Horizon House -- which provides support and services for individuals with substance abuse programs. Cole stressed the need for homeless prevention centers to help individuals before they hit the streets, criticizing current shelters as "warehousing" the city's homeless population. "We have to solve the problem with homeless prevention," Cole said. "And we have to address the homeless of tomorrow while were are serving the needs of the homeless today." Both candidates said that they were in favor of gun control legislation, stressing that only police officers should be permitted to carry weapons. "We believe that the police should be empowered to have hand guns and weapons but citizens should not have them," Blackwell said. Blackwell suffered a setback in her re-election campaign when her aide, Michael Youngblood, was convicted this month on 34 counts of extortion, bank fraud and tax evasion while working on a homeless shelter. It is still not clear whether the case will hurt her electoral prospects.

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