Jeff Brown supporters see zero political experience as strength
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- One week from Tuesday, Democrats will pick their candidate in the Philadelphia mayoral primary.
A recent poll suggests it's a tight race.
We're continuing our series – sitting down with supporters of the top five candidates -- to see why they think their pick is the right choice.
RELATED READING: Philadelphia mayoral race: Helen Gym wants to bring big changes to the city
On Tuesday, we sat down with a Jeff Brown supporter.
"Jeff can bring it back. Jeff can do what it takes to get this city turned around," Aminah Perez said.
Perez has worked with Brown for more than a decade.
"My experience has always been knowing Jeff from a place of giving, well before he had any aspirations of being Philadelphia's next mayor," Perez said.
So when Brown announced a run for mayor, the local business owner knew who she was backing.
Brown is the owner of a dozen ShopRite and Fresh Grocer supermarkets across the Philly area. He has served on various boards, including as a former chairman of the Philadelphia youth network.
He's also the lone candidate with no political experience.
it's something critics have attacked, while Brown and his supporters see it as a strength.
"I like the fact that he has no political experience because we need fresh ideas. We need something different. What we're doing is not working," Perez said.
"What you're hearing at the table are ideas that they never did when they had power," Brown said. "It's great to hear it now, why didn't they do it when they were city council people? Our plans are the plans that make sense."
Brown has campaigned on putting 1,500 more police officers on the street and supporting minority entrepreneurs.
But the top issue on his website is addressing poverty.
"We need to have avenues available. We need to have real jobs where a person can make a real wage and be able to take care of their family, and feel good about what they're doing," Perez said.
Brown has received endorsements from several police unions, including Philadelphia's Fraternal Order of Police and the Temple University Police association. He also has support from three chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Brown's also faced some controversy. The Philadelphia Board of Ethics filed a lawsuit against "For a Better Philadelphia," a Political Action Committee that supports the candidate, accusing it of violating city campaign finance rules by coordinating with Brown and members of his campaign staff to circumvent the city's annual contribution limits.
Brown, his campaign and the super PAC denied any wrongdoing.
