Penn's Rep. hints at mayoral aims

At age 21, Chaka Fattah decided to run for city commissioner.

He lost the election, but his perspective changed, he said.

"I was still energized by the whole process," he said. "I couldn't wait to run again."

Fattah, now a six-term Democratic member of Congress and potential candidate for Philadelphia mayor, discussed the impact of political participation on the Philadelphia community last night.

The congressman, whose district includes Penn, encouraged students to increase turnout among younger voters.

"If you want to have an impact on politics, you have to get involved and vote because politics is not a spectator sport," he said. "Every opportunity you get to exercise your voice, you should do so because governmental decisions impact you anyway."

Fattah, who has a degree from Penn's Fels Institute of Government, also briefly discussed the recent controversy surrounding a joke made by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) about the war in Iraq.

"It seems the press are more eager to talk about Kerry's botched joke than Bush's botched war," he said. "The people will give their opinion next week, and I think the country's going to vote for a new direction."

Fattah also criticized Bush's foreign and domestic policies.

"We've invested a lot of money in a war I'm not sure anybody thinks we're winning," he said. "The president is also passing huge tax cuts which are going to the wealthiest 1 percent."

Fattah also talked about his goals for the city if he decides to officially declare his candidacy for the mayoral election next year.

"The No. 1 issue for me will always be education," he said.

When asked how to encourage student political participation, Fattah provided some advice.

"You have to address people's interests to get at people's apathy," he said. "You need to talk to people. A lot of politics is more basic, like the pothole on the street that needs fixing, or the broken streetlight."

The event was sponsored by the Black Student League and was held in front of about 20 people in College Hall 200.

College sophomore Akpo Omene said he attended the event to get better informed about the city.

"Fattah's a major player in the black community, and I wanted to find out what his goals are for this region," Omene said.

According to College junior and Black Student League president Elizabeth Dawes, both Fattah and the league have put an emphasis on education programs.

"One of our focuses this year is addressing education through community service," she said. "Education is a big thing for the black community, and we are working on programs to reach out and help Philadelphia students."

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