Blackwell gears up for another term

Despite 1,000 housing units, four supermarkets and nearly 30 years of political experience to her name, councilwoman, majority leader and finance chairwoman for City Council, Jannie Blackwell, sits unassumingly in her office on the fourth floor of City Hall -- the same office she has occupied since January 3, 1976.

"There's no greater advocate for West Philadelphia than Councilwoman Blackwell," says Greg Salisbury, a Spruce Hill resident and owner of Rx, a restaurant at 44th and Spruce streets.

Blackwell is up for re-election -- a feat which shouldn't prove too challenging as she is running unopposed in November for her fourth four-year term.

It isn't difficult to see why.

"She keeps a bench outside her office," Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman says. "She works seven days a week and extraordinary hours."

Addressing both the people and businesses in her district, Blackwell promises that "if you make a commitment to come in our neighborhoods, then I make a commitment to be available.... I'll fight for you."

It's that drive that underscores the action she has taken to improve West Philadelphia.

For example, thanks to Blackwell, city schools now have an "Emergency Response Chart," an initiative she began following the death of a 7-year-old child at Morton McMichael School from meningitis.

Prior to the development of the chart, responsibility for every type of emergency within a school rested on the shoulders of that school's principal, which Blackwell calls "unconscionable."

"The greatest rewards [of the job] are when you see changes," Blackwell says. "Somebody's life could be changed because we cared enough to have hearings" and push this legislation.

In fact, education reform, neighborhood transformation and housing issues top Blackwell's list of priorities -- and with firm roots in Philadelphia, Blackwell is well-equipped to address these problems.

She was born in a public housing section of North Philadelphia, moved to West Philadelphia when she was 13 years old and attended local high schools, Cheyney State University -- where she earned her bachelor's degree in education -- and Saint Joseph's University -- where she earned her master's degree in education.

Blackwell began teaching in the Philadelphia school system while she earned her master's, then worked for former Governor Milton Shapp's administration in Harrisburg for two years.

In 1976, she left Harrisburg to work with her late husband at City Hall.

"Our philosophy has been to help people," she says.

"They literally were a team," says Walter Palmer, West Philadelphia resident, founder of the Palmer Foundation and adjunct professor at the School of Social Work.

They "knew what it was like to live amongst poor people," he continues. "And they fashioned their lives with that in mind.... When [Lucien Blackwell] eventually stepped down... she continued the legacy... fighting for the poor and the underclass."

Blackwell describes her corner of City Hall as much "like a doctor's office."

The people who come through it represent a "microcosm of... all the social problems of the city," she says.

And "nobody leaves here without a place to stay," she affirms.

Indeed, Blackwell says alleviating homelessness is a mission which God gave to her and her husband. And with over two billion dollars invested in housing projects since she took office, the city has seen 1,000 housing units built.

Blackwell has developed a "block-by-block revitalization project," she says. "I created a program for every street."

Additionally, last year, Blackwell launched the West Philadelphia Improvement Program with the support of Mayor John Street. The program's purpose is to improve the quality of life within the district.

"No [other] mayor has focused on neighborhoods and put his money where his mouth is" like Street has with his Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, Blackwell says.

In addition to forming allies throughout city government, Blackwell says she has learned to work within the system to accomplish her goals.

For example, Blackwell has made every effort to reach out to Penn and to leverage Penn's resources for the benefit of the community.

"Penn has been absolutely phenomenal" in its partnerships with West Philadelphia, Blackwell says, adding that she hopes these partnerships have been institutionalized, "so that we don't lose their involvement" when University President Judith Rodin's successor takes Penn's helm.

"She has been a strategic partner in helping the University invest in the West Philadelphia community in a way that addresses the needs of all her constituents," Rodin wrote about Blackwell in an e-mail.

Still, some feel Blackwell is too involved with Penn.

"I think she's too closely related to the University of Pennsylvania and their development schemes," West Philadelphia resident and Neighbors Against McPenntrification member Larry Falcon says.

"She must realize that a lot of people are being displaced and... distance herself from the [NTI] and listen to the indigenous peoples who have been here for years," he adds.

However, according to Blackwell, "Penn has to maintain an open... framework in tune with the neighborhood's needs as well as [the needs of] its students."

Most community members say that Blackwell is on the right path.

"She really takes care of her constituents," Salisbury says. "She just needs to keep on doing what she's doing."

Still, one point of contention in the neighborhood has been the recent movement to declare West Philadelphia a historic district.

"I don't agree with her position" to oppose the declaration, local resident Rich Kirk says, adding that he feels the decision should be out of the jurisdiction of the City Council.

However, "one of the things I like about her is she always tries to be there for celebrations and events," he says. She's "a presence in West Philadelphia."

And -- at least for now -- she plans to stay.

"My style is informal, but I'm dead serious about everything I do," Blackwell says. "I challenge anyone to do more than we do."

"I believe that people are good," she continues. "Life is an open-ended opportunity to improve the lives of others."

And to some extent, Blackwell's political future seems open-ended as well.

"I'd always like to move up," she says. "One needs a challenge... I'm ready. I've conquered this."

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