With an aggressive campaign and fresh ideas, Penn Law student Jonathan Goldstein hopes to become the next District 182 -- Center City -- representative to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
To do so, Goldstein will have to defeat Babette Josephs, a Democrat who has held her seat for 16 years.
According to Penn Law School Dean of Students Gary Clinton, Goldstein's candidacy marks the first time that a current law student has run for office.
"There have been one or two people over the years that have already been in office -- town councils and that sort of thing," Clinton said. But "this is the first time someone has actually run."
That, Clinton added, is "kind of exciting."
Goldstein first decided to become actively involved in politics after the 1996 election, in which Josephs ran unopposed.
"Her politics were not my politics, and I felt that incumbency that went unchallenged ultimately led to a crass sense of entitlement," Goldstein said. "So I decided if no one would run against her, I would."
His dissatisfaction thus prompted Goldstein to add his name to the ballot as the Republican challenger to Josephs in the 1998 election.
"It was purely nominal," he said of his 1998 candidacy. Though he basically had no campaign, Goldstein said, the fact that he garnered roughly five percent of the vote (1,000 out of 20,000 votes cast), "showed that there were enough people out there that didn't like her that they voted for me even though I literally did nothing but put my name on the ballot."
Professional reasons kept him from running in 2000, but this year, Goldstein says, "We have run a very professional campaign."
Joseph had a tight primary race against Andrew Hohns, a Penn alumnus, who garnered roughly 42 percent of the vote. Now, Goldstein says he hopes to fuel some more pressure.
"We have between 50 and 100 volunteers; we've put up over 3,000 posters and handed out thousands of handbills. I've been on TV, I've been on radio, I've been interviewed by several newspapers," he said of his campaign.
According to Goldstein, who considers himself a moderate Republican, the theme of his campaign is "quality of life."
"Crime, taxes and schools are the elements that compose the notion of quality of life," he said. "Center City is plagued by massive gentrification, the schools are awful and the taxes are high."
For Goldstein, "taxation is the issue," and he advocates the implementation of a "uniform system of state-wide taxation that accurately reflects the economy of the state."
In terms of crime, Goldstein, who currently serves on the board of the Center City Residents Association, would encourage more town watches, greater collaboration among local law enforcement agencies and stricter laws to take repeat offenders off the street.
Finally, Goldstein hopes to work toward greater funding for schools. In his mind, the underfunding of education has created disparity with the Pennsylvania constitution, which says that the state must offer a thorough system of public education.
"The reason I'm running is because the current occupant of the seat I wish to hold doesn't get these things," Goldstein stated. "Even if she does get these things, she has placed herself so far at the margin -- she's widely known as the most liberal member of the legislature -- that the moderate Republicans who control the legislature won't work with her."
In Goldstein's mind, a moderate Republican such as himself would be able to have greater dialogue up in Harrisburg and thus get more accomplished.
Daniel Hoffman, emeritus professor of English at Penn and a former U.S. poet laureate who has known Goldstein for about 10 years, had high praise to offer.
"He's a splendid fellow. Very intelligent and very talented," Hoffman said of Goldstein, adding that "from what I know of his character and ability, I think he'd be an excellent candidate."
Originally from New Jersey, Goldstein attended Penn as an undergraduate, earning a degree in Humanistic Philosophy with a concentration in Religious Studies and English in 1993. After graduating, Goldstein held several positions in technology consulting. In 1997, he started his own consulting company: Urban Technology Group. The company won an award from the Philadelphia Business Journal as the fastest growing service company in the region from 1998 to 2000.
Goldstein's involvement is now only tangential -- he matriculated at Penn Law this year to "go in a new direction," and is leaving his company under the management of his partner. When he graduates in 2005, Goldstein hopes to help rehabilitate struggling companies or work in mergers and acquisitions -- primarily focusing on how to make Philadelphia companies competitive.
For now, though, Goldstein is devoted to his campaign.
According to Goldstein, the key to winning as a Republican in Philadelphia -- which has a 5-to-2 Democrat-to-Republican voter registration -- will be to reach across party lines.
"I've talked to Democrats in this district. They see that my issues are their issues," he said. "I am pro-choice, pro-urban, pro-transit."
"To paint me as some Christian-fundamentalist wacko living in the woods is totally inaccurate," he added. "You can't just say 'I'm pro-choice, he's Newt Gingrich' and expect that I'm going to go away."
Nevertheless, Philadelphia has overwhelming support for gubernatorial candidate Ed Rendell. Thus, if Democrats adhere to voting along party lines, the outlook, Goldstein fears, would not bode well for him.
However, Goldstein said that he hopes that people will listen to his message, and hopefully Democrats that support Rendell "will split the ticket and vote for me as well."
"We could do quite well this election," he said. "We're working hard, and we'll see." He'll run again in 2004, he added, regardless of whether he is the incumbent or the challenger.
