The Great Expectation Project is a civic engagement project jointly organized by the Philadelphia Inquirer and the University of Pennsylvania with funding from the Lenfest and Knight Foundations. The project has organized candidates debates, deliberative forums, interviews with candidates, space for citizen’s to dialogue on its website and the publications of these views in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The newspaper had engaged all the mayoral candidates on the concerns raised by the residents and published their responses as well as their agenda for the city if elected.

Ten election forums were held earlier this month to discuss the mayoral candidates and question city council candidates. All these processes culminated this week in the nomination of candidates in the primaries for the mayoral position and city council elections in the fall. I was privileged to participate in three of the 10 elections~forums. I was surprised when I found out that even though the elections were only primaries, it’s was equally important for the Democratic candidate who got nominated for mayor. Philadelphia traditionally has voted for Democrats for the past 50 years, so any Democrat nominated in the primary, almost automatically became the mayor or a city councilor.

At these forums, citizens came prepared to talk about concerns in their neighborhoods with city council candidates and to discuss how the mayoral candidates were planning to tackle those issues. Most people who came for these forums had registered online, indicating that they had dialogued within themselves and envisaged that the forum could offer them space to talk about their concerns.

The forum participants discussed the mayoral candidates’ positions. They defined the leadership qualities expected in the next mayor the most intensive and engaging deliberation. In all three forums that I attended, the residents identified key leadership qualities as important for the next mayor. They wanted strong leadership portrayed in being independent minded, fair, and a broad appeal with ideas and substance. I had never been to Philadelphia and didn’t understand the local issues very well, so sitting at the table the first night was a real eye opener. The citizens with whom I shared a table were very poised for change in the city, they knew what the issues were, what had to be done and what the citizens had to let go of if they wanted to see real change in Philadelphia.

One major issue that came up was the proposal to construct two casinos on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The project is intended to beautify the waterfront and create jobs but most people are against it. The Great Expectation team chronicled the pros and cons of going with that proposal and presented that to kick start the discussion. Some citizens at my table started out arguing vehemently against the proposal, but softened their stance when the issue of an alternative venue in the city was proposed.

Many questions were also generated through the deliberations; they were compiled and forwarded to the moderators of the city council candidates’ debate. The deliberations generated questions that were forwarded to the moderator. They were used to guide the discussion during the candidate’s debate in each of the council districts. These questions are also part of a larger poll of the civic agenda compiled by the Great Expectations project for whoever wins the mayoral elections.

Participants at the forum were invited to write short essays in response to three questions:
1. For whom will you plan to vote for mayor of Philadelphia?
2. At earlier Great Expectations forums, many citizens told us their hopes and fears for this mayoral race. As the spring campaign winds down, in your view has it lived up to your hopes and/or spiraled to your fears?
3. How has taking part in Great Expectations affected your thinking or your behavior as a citizen during this campaign?

I leave you with a random sample of these essays as published on The Great Expectations website and in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“After participating in many of the Great Expectations events throughout Philadelphia, I have decided who will emerge as the winner in November. It will be the citizens of this great city. The notion that Philadelphians are numb to “politics as usual” and don’t have the heart to do all the things necessary to bring control of the government back to the people has been put to rest, hopefully forever. We are engaged, we are paying attention, and we are going to the polls in what I believe will be record numbers. We have been given the opportunity to let our voice be heard and that alone will ensure Philadelphia truly does become the Next Great City.
Joe Eastmen
Chinatown

“Forums throughout the community have given Philadelphia residents the opportunity to talk about their concerns and get feedback from mayoral candidates. With so many choices, these readers have plenty to say about the candidates, the answers, the lack of answers, and the political process.”
Patricia Berrian Marrujo_
East Oak Lane

“I have been pleased to be a part of this community-based series of forums. Great Expectations has allowed us to meet and discuss our concerns about our great city. I hope this effort will not stop. It should link up with existing community organizations. In my area, this might be the Greater Bustleton Civic League and Somerton Civic League, and the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. I am trying to convince all I see that they must read up on the issues and the candidates (especially for judges), and VOTE.
Ruth K. Horwitz_
Bustleton