To fight for education, vote for Helen Gym

TOMORROW we will head to the polls to vote in an election in which, for the first time in recent memory, education is seen as the most important issue in the city. Because of the growing importance of public education, over the course of the election season almost every candidate has laid out a vision for the future of our schools.

What must not be overlooked, however, is why education is in the stump speech of every candidate running for office right now. The truth is that education is at the top of voters' concerns and on the tip of politicians' lips due to the tireless work of advocates in this city who have fought to change the narrative about our city's schools and demand a public-education system that works for all of our children. Leading that charge for the last 20 years is City Council at-large candidate Helen Gym.

Helen has been at the forefront of the battle for fair funding for our schools for years. When the patronage-dense Philadelphia Parking Authority was cooking its books to show zero profits every year - profits that were mandated to go into our schools - Helen Gym organized parents and didn't back down. Today, the PPA pays millions of dollars into our schools every year.

When the School Reform Commission threatened to close Steel Elementary, the last public school in the Nicetown neighborhood, and convert it to a more expensive charter school, it was parents, and advocates like Helen Gym, who organized to stop them.

These are only a couple of examples of the work Helen has done for our communities over the years, and she'd be the first to tell you that she hasn't accomplished anything on her own, but with the support and teamwork of parents and activists from every neighborhood throughout our city. Helen was one of many Philadelphians who helped co-found the advocacy organization Parents United for Public Education, as well as the Public School Notebook, an independent newspaper that has reported on the conditions of our public schools for the last 20 years.

Tomorrow is a big day for the future of education in our city. Whatever happens in the mayoral election, we will need a champion for education in City Council to ensure that the No. 1 issue voters care about on May 19 becomes the No. 1 priority of our city government on May 20. Helen Gym is the one candidate running for City Council at-large who is uniquely qualified to be that champion for our schools. Helen Gym deserves your vote tomorrow, because Philadelphia deserves to have Helen Gym fighting for our schools, our children and the future of our neighborhoods.