Philadelphia Democratic mayoral candidates discuss plans to fight crime
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's primary election for mayor will take place on Tuesday, May 16.
On Monday night, candidates addressed voters during a mayoral forum about their plans to fight crime and heal its emotional toll.
All 11 Democratic candidates were invited to attend.
The goal is to learn how the next nominee for mayor will fight gun violence and its impact on families and communities.
"It's the number one concern here in the city of Philadelphia," Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight, the founder of Mothers In Charge, a violence prevention, education and intervention based organization, said.
Organizers from anti-violence groups across Philadelphia, including Mothers In Charge and Stop Killing Us, along with city councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, joined together Monday night in Grays Ferry to host a mayoral forum focused on the trauma of gun violence.
Representatives from participating groups asked the candidates targeted questions about safety.
Each candidate was given 90 seconds to answer how their experience and action plans would promote change.
"Put more ambassadors out on the street, so they can connect with the community," Democrat candidate Delscia Gray said.
"I'm going to put a department together in the police department that's going to specifically work with every single family to make sure you know what's going on in the case," James DeLeon, a former judge running for mayor as a Democrat, said.
"Yes, I will support stronger victim services," State Rep. Amen Brown said.
"Will I have people in my cabinet as mayor who will be able to reach out to each and every one of you? Absolutely," former city councilmember Allan Domb said.
"Why do you think we have pushed so hard to make sure schools stay open until 6 p.m.?" former city councilmember Helen Gym said.
Johnson-Speight says in addition to prevention, she's seeking more resources for victims and their families, especially in cases that remain unsolved.
"There need to be more homicide detectives No. 1 I believe, because there are so many murders," Johnson-Speight said.
Chantay Love, president of Every Murder Is Real, hopes conversations like this will help shape the policies of the next administration and ultimately save lives.
"I'm looking for a real plan that includes all of us at the table, where we're all looking at how do we fix this together," Love said.
The next mayoral forum is scheduled for April 14.
