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Every Voice, Every Vote

What would you ask Parker, Oh and City Council candidates ahead of the 2023 general election?

Technical.ly will again ask Philadelphia's would-be local officials to share their tech and economic plans for the city. Join our Every Voice, Every Vote Slack chat on Aug. 30 to shape the questionnaire.

Cherelle Parker (left) and David Oh. (Parker photo via Philadelphia City Council's public Flickr account, Oh photo courtesy of his campaign; graphic by Technical.ly)
As the general election approaches, what do you want to hear from your would-be local officials?

As part of Technical.ly’s participation in the Every Voice, Every Vote coalition of Philadelphia community and media organizations aiming to center voter voices in this election, we will again survey candidates on issues important to technology and entrepreneurship community stakeholders — this time ahead of the general election on Nov. 7. And we want your help.

Join Technical.ly for a community Slack chat from 1 to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, to help us form our questions for updated questionnaires for both mayoral and City Council candidates.

In the spring, we asked the mayoral candidates the below five questions, and City Council candidates a version of the same:

  • What is a lesson on leadership that you’ll follow as chief executive of a workforce of more than 25,000 city employees?
  • How will your administration use technology to make city government more effective, efficient and accessible?
  • What will you do to attract new talent to Philadelphia and retain remote workers?
  • What role does city government have in workforce development for fast-growing industries such as technology, life sciences and healthcare?
  • What specific changes would you make to support the start and growth of new
    businesses in Philadelphia?

Find Republican nominee David Oh’s responses here. Democratic nominee Cherelle Parker did not respond to the survey.

We formed these questions based on the issues our community said — via public survey, a lively February Slack chat and one-on-one interviews — mattered most to them then. Half a year later, things have changed. We know who the top candidates are, for one. But Philadelphians also are having more discussions about artificial intelligence (does Philly gov need to hire an AI advisor, like Maryland just did?), and the economy looks different.

What do the candidates think about these topics? What do you want to ask them? Join us on Aug. 30 in the #philly channel to share your ideas:

Join the Technical.ly Slack

This content is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute, Peter and Judy Leone, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Harriet and Larry Weiss, and the Wyncote Foundation, among others. To learn more about the project and view a full list of supporters, visit everyvoice-everyvote.org. Editorial content is created independently of the project’s donors.

Companies: City of Philadelphia

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