Beth Finn
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Beth Finn (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Philadelphia City Council in Pennsylvania. Finn lost in the Democratic primary on May 21, 2019.
Finn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Finn studied for her bachelor's degree in biochemistry and computer and information science at the University of Delaware. Her professional experience includes working as a senior project manager at Elsevier. She is also the co-founder of Philly Women Rally and the Women’s March on Philadelphia as well as a co-chair for the Philadelphia Race for Hope supporting the National Brain Tumor Society.[1]
Elections
2019
See also: City council elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2019)
General election
General election for Philadelphia City Council At-large (7 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia City Council At-large on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Helen Gym (D) | 15.4 | 205,661 |
| ✔ |  | Isaiah Thomas (D) | 14.7 | 196,733 |
| ✔ |  | Derek Green (D) | 14.2 | 189,819 |
| ✔ |  | Katherine Richardson (D) | 14.2 | 189,813 |
| ✔ |  | Allan Domb (D)  | 13.9 | 186,665 |
| ✔ |  | Kendra Brooks (Working Families Party) | 4.5 | 60,256 |
| ✔ |  | David Oh (R) | 4.0 | 53,742 |
 | Al Taubenberger (R) | 3.6 | 47,547 | |
 | Nicolas O'Rourke (Working Families Party) | 3.5 | 46,560 | |
 | Daniel Tinney (R) | 3.5 | 46,270 | |
 | Bill Heeney (R) | 3.2 | 43,249 | |
 | Matt Wolfe (R) | 3.1 | 41,341 | |
 | Sherrie Cohen (A Better Council Party) | 0.7 | 9,116 | |
 | Joe Cox (Independent) | 0.7 | 8,880 | |
 | Maj Toure (L) | 0.5 | 6,179 | |
 | Steve Cherniavsky (Term Limits Philadelphia Party) | 0.3 | 3,480 | |
 | Clarc King (Independent) | 0.2 | 2,959 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 745 | ||
| Total votes: 1,339,015 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large (7 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Helen Gym | 15.6 | 107,153 |
| ✔ | | Allan Domb | 9.8 | 67,193 |
| ✔ | | Isaiah Thomas | 9.2 | 63,295 |
| ✔ | | Derek Green | 8.9 | 61,070 |
| ✔ | | Katherine Richardson | 6.6 | 45,470 |
| Justin DiBerardinis | 6.2 | 42,643 | |
| Adrian Reyes | 5.2 | 35,565 | |
| Eryn Santamoor | 5.1 | 35,026 | |
| Erika Almiron | 5.0 | 34,329 | |
 | Deja Alvarez | 3.9 | 26,617 | |
| Sandra Glenn | 2.6 | 18,105 | |
 | Willie Singletary | 2.6 | 17,858 | |
| Ethelind Baylor | 2.1 | 14,259 | |
 | Beth Finn | 2.0 | 14,015 | |
 | Ogbonna Hagins | 1.8 | 12,570 | |
| Fernando Trevino | 1.7 | 11,400 | |
 | Fareed Abdullah | 1.6 | 10,676 | |
| Asa Khalif | 1.4 | 9,779 | |
| Billy Thompson | 1.3 | 8,976 | |
 | Latrice Bryant | 1.3 | 8,966 | |
| Joseph Diorio | 1.1 | 7,803 | |
 | Hena Veit | 0.8 | 5,405 | |
| Edwin Santana | 0.8 | 5,154 | |
| Wayne Allen | 0.7 | 4,941 | |
| Vinny Blackwell | 0.7 | 4,516 | |
| Mark Ross | 0.6 | 4,255 | |
| Bobbie Curry | 0.6 | 3,920 | |
 | Devon Cade | 0.4 | 2,854 | |
| Wayne Dorsey | 0.4 | 2,780 | |
| Sherrie Cohen | 0.0 | 44 | |
| Total votes: 686,637 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Melissa Robbins (D)
- Mike Stack (D)
- Janice Tangradi (D)
- David Conroy (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large (7 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Philadelphia City Council At-large on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel Tinney | 21.0 | 13,611 |
| ✔ | | Al Taubenberger | 19.4 | 12,542 |
| ✔ | | Matt Wolfe | 19.1 | 12,362 |
| ✔ | | Bill Heeney | 18.5 | 11,976 |
| ✔ | | David Oh | 10.0 | 6,477 |
 | Drew Murray | 6.1 | 3,935 | |
 | Irina Goldstein | 5.9 | 3,790 | |
| Total votes: 64,693 | |||
| = 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
Campaign website
Finn's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Investing in Infrastructure I will fight to make sure the infrastructure of our city works for all Philadelphians. As a thriving city in the richest country in the world, we must be able to guarantee basic dignities like clean air and clean water to all residents. Investing in our infrastructure creates jobs, saves millions of dollars in the long run, and ensures these vital systems are safe and reliable for many years to come. Philadelphia's crumbling infrastructure was built decades ago and has not been properly maintained. Our water pipes burst frequently causing the loss of millions of gallons of water, safety issues, and service interruptions for miles. Our roads are filled with tire-busting potholes that hurt our economy. Reacting to these failing infrastructure disasters at the point of crisis comes with exorbitant costs and endangers public safety. We can do better. By responding to early warning signs and anticipating and prioritizing our infrastructure needs, we can fix small challenges before they become big ones. We all deserve access to the same opportunities. A strong infrastructure is at the core of how we make that happen. Economic Opportunity That Helps Everyone Economic inequality affects all of us. When residents struggle, neighborhoods struggle. 26% of people in our city live below the poverty line. The minimum wage is supposed to meet our basic cost of living. I will fight for a $15 minimum wage for Philadelphia. We can lessen the divide between the haves and have-nots by supporting businesses that support our residents. There is no quick fix but there are common-sense steps we must take now. Affordable Housing and Thriving Neighborhoods Philadelphia is a city on the rise. We must be smart and manage that growth by protecting the incredible history and rich culture that make our city so special. I will fight to protect our residents to make sure they’re not priced out of the neighborhoods they have lived in for generations. We have a shortage of housing in general in Philadelphia, and all the new units we are building are very expensive. We need to use programs like inclusionary zoning to make sure people at all income levels can afford to live in our great city. Tax abatements and other incentive programs are also very effective and helpful when done responsibly. Mixed-income neighborhoods are more economically stable and offer rich cultural diversity, unique shops, and exciting restaurants. Together, we can ensure that all of us can afford to live and thrive in Philadelphia. Supporting Our Schools We must support our schools, teachers, and students. 75% of our public schools don't have air conditioning. At the start of the 2018 school year, five out of the first seven days of school had early dismissals because of the unbearable heatwave. There’s also lead paint still covering the walls of our schools, posing a health risk to everyone inside. We must provide an environment conducive to our students learning and our teachers teaching. Smart Public Transportation Excellent public transportation enhances our quality of life and grows our economy by providing access to more job opportunities and reducing our road congestion. I will work to update our public transportation for the 21st century with smart technology to make it reliable, safe, convenient, and responsive to the needs of our communities and city. With smart investments in technology and infrastructure, we can build a world-class public transportation system.[2] |
” |
| —Beth Finn's campaign website (2019)[3] | ||
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Beth Finn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Finn's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
The three key issues of my campaign are as follows: 1. Establish a public bank for Philadelphia to invest in ourselves. We will create economic opportunity by opening a public bank vital for our city’s long-term fiscal health. Currently, we lose hundreds of millions of dollars in bank fees and interest payments every year to big banks that also use that money to invest in ventures that go directly against my values. A public bank maximizes our limited investment funds by recapturing that money and loaning it to ourselves. A public bank is for the public good. Once established, our public bank could offer basic checking account services to low-income residents. 2. Good paying jobs for all. We need jobs and we need to make it easy for small businesses to operate in the city. I support smart entrepreneurship programs that support community needs. We also must add new entrepreneurship programs to schools that offer internship opportunities to students. We can make our city the next incubator for homegrown entrepreneurship. 3. Good government through process improvement. I will fight for excellent city services and democratic reforms. The city’s systems are broken. We’ve had the same challenges for two or three generations: our schools are still underfunded; our poor residents are still poor; our public land is still being mismanaged. These are systems problems. I have a 20 year career in process improvement, IT, and streamlining systems. I will push for transparency and oversight, and provide exceptional city services including street cleaning and smooth roads.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Most of the issues that Philadelphians are talking about can be solved by increasing the city's budget. A public bank is a good way to do this. By implementing a public bank in Philadelphia, the city will save hundreds of millions of dollars that are lost in bank fees and interest paid to Wall Street banks. Our money should be invested in Philadelphia. A public bank is how we get our money back. The city has an annual budget of around $5 billion and it can’t stuff that money under a mattress. Philadelphia deposits that money in accounts of corporate Wall Street banks. These are the same banks that were responsible for the financial collapse in 2008 that caused Philadelphians to lose their jobs and their homes. A public bank is a real world solution to the problems Philadelphian wants to see fixed. As a project manager, I know how to look at problems and find solutions to eradicate the problem. A public bank is the solution Philadelphia needs.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
On a local level, State Representative Joanna McClinton is my political role model. She’s broken ground as the first woman and African-American to hold her leadership position in the State House. Joanna’s passion to serve the people and her leadership are things I have admired since I met her. She cares deeply for each resident of her district and her focus is on making sure she is fighting for their well-being every day. On the national stage, I admire Senator Elizabeth Warren. Her deep understanding of policy and how it affects people’s day-to-day lives is what we should expect from all of our elected officials. She is fighting to make all Americans’ lives better and she is doing it with integrity and passion.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
The movie “The American President”
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Elected officials must be ready to serve the people they are elected to represent. They must be willing to listen and learn. They must have compassion for their fellow human beings.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
We have a serious problem in Philadelphia: City Hall is broken. For decades, our politicians have been trying to solve things like poverty, homelessness, and educating our children. They have been failing. We need fresh perspectives on how we tackle those problems. In my day job as an IT Project Manager, I find root causes and make sure we are solving the right problems every single day. City Hall needs evidence-based thinking techniques used by scientists like me to address our city’s problems. I often tell people I am the Elizabeth Warren of this election: I am an unapologetic bold and proud progressive who knows how to build coalitions, rally support, and do the work to advance truly progressive policies that expand economic opportunity, strong neighborhoods, and good government.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
Philosophically, my campaign is a job interview. My bosses are all the 1.5 million people in Philadelphia. My responsibility is to be a public servant. I am a true believer in our representative democracy. I’ve seen firsthand how politicians can support policies that change people’s lives for the better, that make their day-to-day easier, a little bit (or sometimes a lot) more fair. The core responsibilities of a City Council at Large member is to see the forest through the trees. Representing the entire city instead of a single district, frees me to advocate for the greater good of what’s best for the city as a whole and forward policies promoting equality and equity. City Council must work with community groups, local businesses, and our institutions (medical, educational, cultural, etc.) to understand the issues facing our city, prioritize them, and put programs into place to solve them. Council must do this while ensuring the financial health of the city is maintained.
What legacy would you like to leave?
I would like to ensure that we establish a Public Bank for Philadelphia.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
I remember seeing the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on TV. I was 9 years old. My classmates and I, like so many other students on that day, were excited to watch that historic mission get started. We were cheering for Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, who seemed like someone we could have known. Though that day was so full of tragedy, it is also the first time I remember knowing that we couldn’t give up in the face of adversity. I still had dreams of being an astronaut at that time and I knew the space program had to go on.
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.
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on March 17, 2019.
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Beth Finn's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed March 19, 2019
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