Chaka Fattah
Chaka Fattah's grassroots beginnings drive his passion for creating real opportunity for all Philadelphians. As a teenager, he and his family led the way in changing the lives of thousands of young men at the House of Umoja - an urban boystown that became an award-winning international model for community-based violence prevention. Soon after his experience there, Fattah ran for public office because he believed that he and every Philadelphian must take responsibility for making this city great.
At just 23, Fattah began learning the intricacies of city government in the housing office before going to work in the managing director's office. At 25, Fattah was elected the youngest person ever to serve in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives.
As a state legislator, Fattah saved Philadelphia from bankruptcy by working with the business community to raise $30 million dollars in just one week. Fattah has continued to exhibit that kind of leadership throughout his 25-year public service career. He funded cameras in Philadelphia's most crime-ridden commercial corridors, a tactic that has drastically reduced crime in cities like Chicago. He led the fight to tear down Philadelphia's dangerous housing projects, reducing crime and spurring development by bringing new housing to economically depressed neighborhoods. He funded the Philadelphia Reverse Commute program, a ground-breaking partnership that takes Philadelphia workers to suburban jobs. But his passion has been education. And during his career in the State House, State Senate and the U.S. Congress, where he is serving his seventh term representing over half a million Philadelphians, Fattah has done more for education than any elected official in America.
Fattah recognizes that helping Philadelphians to access higher education not only improves the economic future of the city by creating real opportunity. Education fights crime by helping Philadelphians to reach their full potential. Fattah created GEAR UP, the nation's largest early college awareness initiative. The program has moved over 2 million students toward college. Through CORE Philly, another Fattah initiative, every Philadelphia high school graduate can receive a city-funded college scholarship. Over 8,000 have benefited so far, and Fattah is working to create an endowment so that the program can continue in perpetuity. Through the Fattah Higher Education Conference - a Philadelphia institution for over twenty years - Fattah has provided millions in scholarships and helped more than 10,000 students go on to graduate school.
Fattah, a dedicated husband and father of four, is committed to providing the kind of leadership that creates real opportunity for all Philadelphians. With your help, he will do so as Mayor, making Philadelphia a city of real opportunity, of shared responsibility, and of continued progress and limitless promise for all of us.