david's record
Promoting Public Safety and Combatting the Opioid Epidemic
- Secured $500,000 from the FY’23 budget to safely relocate witnesses and their families threatened by
criminal activities - Introduced bill to prevent a supervised heroin injection site from opening in a residential neighborhood
without community approval - Voted against the fiscal year 2021 city budget that cut funding for the police department
- Fought for hiring more transit police officers and ensuring salary increases for Transit Police Officers
during the FY 2023 budget negotiations. - Served on the Mayor’s Task Force to Combat the Opioid Epidemic; authored a report of findings and
recommendations to address the opioid epidemic which was adopted by Council. - Introduced legislation to hold hearings on drones and other cutting-edge technology being used in solving
and preventing crimes
Working to Improve Educational Outcomes
- Fought to restore local control over the Philadelphia Parking Authority and use the money to help
Philadelphia, not Harrisburg - Introducing a bill to establish a majority-elected school board in place of the current all-appointed body to
give voice to parents and students - Fought for more vocational education and training in public schools
- Found excess money in the City’s General Fund that could fully pay for PHL Pre-K without a soda tax
- Introduced a budget amendment to fund school district costs without property tax increases
- Introduced a bill to create The Philadelphia School Teachers Reimbursement Fund, a City-run nonprofit
that would reimburse personal money spent by teachers of the Philadelphia School District for the
purchase of supplies, materials, and equipment for classroom - Successfully fought to restore local control of the School District of Philadelphia from the
Commonwealth and introduced bill to establish reforms based on global best practices
Spurring Economic Development
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Created America’s first veterans hiring tax credit, giving $15,000 in business tax credits over 3 years to
any employer who hires a returning veteran in Philadelphia -
Passed bill to increase minority and women participation in City-funded projects by strengthening the
enforcement of city contracting law -
Introduced bill to cut wage and net profit taxes on Philadelphia residents by $100 million over 11 years
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Introduced bill to create a tax credit of up to $7,500 over five years to help recent graduates living in
Philadelphia -
Formed Philly Neighborhood Small Business Coalition
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Created the Film Industry Task Force, the Music Industry Taskforce, and the Fashion and Garment
Industry Task Force -
Created the annual PHL live Center Stage Music Initiative
Working to Attract International Employers and Investors to Philadelphia
- Founded and Chaired City Council’s Committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative
Economy - Introduced bill to create an International Trade and Investment Fund to focus on creating businesses
opportunities and jobs through promoting Philadelphia-based trade and encouraging foreign investment in Philadelphia - Brought labor representatives and foreign investors together to identify opportunities for economic
development in the Philadelphia area - Traveled to South Kore in 2012, 2014, and 2016 to develop investment, trade and tourism between
Philadelphia and Korea - Working with private and public stakeholders, introduced legislation to increase the availability of
laboratory space and incubation facilities in Philadelphia for startup biotechnology and pharmaceutical
companies - Held joint hearing with City Council and the Pennsylvania State Senate International Trade and
Commerce Caucus and issued a report which was adopted by Council: Findings and Recommendations
on Improving the Global Competitiveness of Philadelphia - Represented City Council on Philadelphia’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Task Force and introduced a bill to
increase access to public EV charging stations
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Passed a bill to establish new sick leave benefits for all front-line healthcare workers in Philadelphia that contracted COVID-19
- Introduced a bill to requiring Council approval for extending the Mayor’s emergency order after 60 days
- Introduced a bill to create a tax credit for businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions
- Fought to create a $45 million COVID recovery fund for the creative arts industries using a portion of the $1.4 billion awarded to the City through the American Rescue Plan
Standing Up for Vulnerable Populations
- Passed bill to protect a nursing mothers from being fired or harassed for pumping breast milk at work and
requiring that they be provided a reasonable accommodation - Held hearings in City Council about the problems of unjustified family separations by the City’s
Department of Human Services; Co-Chaired a Committee to address the problems and issued a report
with findings and recommendations. - Stood with Chinese restaurant owners being discriminated against through a targeted 11 pm closing
ordinance, leading to a legal settlement in which the City paid over $250,000 to impacted victims - Defended Asian business owners from having to remove bulletproof glass
- Introduced bill to increase access to voting by mandating local voting machines be programmed to
include the maximum number of languages available