Marwan Kreidie
Marwan Kreidie (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Philadelphia City Commission in Pennsylvania. Kreidie lost in the Democratic primary on May 21, 2019.
Kreidie completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Marwan Kreidie received an A.B. in political science and international relations from Drew University in 1983 and an M.A. in political science and public relations from Temple University in 1987. Kreidie's career experience includes founding and being the executive director for the Philadelphia Arab-American Community Development Corporation and teaching at Villanova and West Chester University as an adjunct professor. He has been associated with the Philadelphia Civil Service Commission, the Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission, and the National Network for Arab-American Communities.[1]
Elections
2019
See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2019)
General election
General election for Philadelphia City Commission (3 seats)
Incumbent Lisa Deeley, Omar Sabir, and incumbent Al Schmidt won election in the general election for Philadelphia City Commission on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lisa Deeley (D) | 45.1 | 219,073 | |
| ✔ | Omar Sabir (D) | 43.9 | 213,577 | |
| ✔ |  | Al Schmidt (R) | 10.9 | 52,896 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 523 | ||
| Total votes: 486,069 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Commission (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Commission on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Omar Sabir | 24.4 | 71,303 | |
| ✔ | Lisa Deeley | 20.9 | 61,278 | |
| Kahlil Williams | 16.7 | 48,884 | ||
 | Jen Devor | 8.1 | 23,752 | |
| Marwan Kreidie | 7.9 | 23,190 | ||
| Annette Thompson | 4.9 | 14,389 | ||
| Luigi Borda | 3.9 | 11,352 | ||
| Dennis Lee | 3.9 | 11,306 | ||
| Carla Cain | 3.3 | 9,613 | ||
| Moira Bohannon | 1.7 | 5,054 | ||
| Robin Trent | 1.7 | 4,949 | ||
| Warren Bloom | 1.3 | 3,808 | ||
| Lewis Harris Jr. | 1.3 | 3,793 | ||
| Total votes: 292,671 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Philadelphia City Commission (3 seats)
Incumbent Al Schmidt advanced from the Republican primary for Philadelphia City Commission on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Al Schmidt | 100.0 | 16,782 |
| Total votes: 16,782 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Marwan Kreidie completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kreidie's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
-Make voting registration easier by enacting Transit Voter, Library Voter, and GED Voter which would allow participants in those programs to register to vote at the same time -Provide a clear, easy-to-understand Voter's Guide for EVERY primary and election that can be mailed to every Philadelphia voter -Work with immigrant communities to provide translated materials for registration and election day voting
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
-Voting suppression in all forms -The political access (or lack thereof) afforded to new American citizens -Voter education -The disparity in voter access between Philadelphia's downtown area and the rest of the city
Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?
The office itself is one that many people do not understand. The City Commissioner is a group of three individuals (2 from the majority party, one from the minority party) elected to oversee elections and voter registration.
What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?
A real understanding of the hurdles that Philadelphia's underserved communities face and, where there isn't an innate understanding, the ability to listen. A passion for fair and equal representation. Energy to face obstacles head on and approach them with out-of-the-box solutions. We need someone who doesn't just want to "oversee" elections; we need someone who will LEAD Philadelphia's voter initiatives, go into communities with low voter turnout, and work with them to turn that around.
What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the local government?
This is THE office that controls voter access and voter registration. The office has been "keeping up" for many years, but we need to do more than just keep up. We need to go above and beyond and implement new initiatives to ensure that all citizens have access to their political power.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?
I believe that someone who holds this office should have at least the experience to know the ins and outs of how the office works. It's important to know what is and is not within the office's capacity to change, and how to successfully lobby Harrisburg to make our voter rights more fair. I do NOT, however, believe this is the position for a lifelong politician. Without proper supervision, it is a position that can be rife with abuse. This should not be the job for someone who wants to kick their heels up and relax on a government salary. The person elected needs to have energy, ideas, and a passion for civic engagement.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
I believe that voter suppression can come in many forms. While some is malicious, much of what we see in Philadelphia is due to incompetence or laziness. We should be ensuring that ALL Philadelphians have equal and easy access to voter registration, polling stations on election days, and language translators as needed. Moreover, we need to serve as an example to pressure PA to enact common-sense voter reform that would allow things such as: same-day voter registration, mail-in voting, and open primaries. Is there anything you would like to add? I have been a community activist and organizer in Philadelphia for over 30 years. I love and believe in this city, but we have to do better. We need to take ALL of our citizens (people of color, seniors, those with disabilities, immigrants, the working poor) into account when we make decisions about how people can register to vote, and how election days should work in Philadelphia.[2] |
” |
| —Marwan Kreidie[1] | ||
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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