Penn Democrats hosted three candidates running to represent University City in the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday to discuss their policies on issues facing Philadelphians.
The March 25 forum featured Penn professor Ala Stanford, 1999 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School graduate and state Sen. Sharif Street (D-3) and state Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-200), who graduated from Penn in 2006 with a master’s degree in Organizational Dynamics. Amid their ongoing bids to represent Pennsylvania’s third congressional district, the candidates discussed immigration, foreign relations, affordability, and community safety.
Cohosted by the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, the forum attracted an audience of around 70 people. College junior and Penn Dems President Aidan Carroll moderated the event alongside College sophomore and Penn Dems Vice President Tejas Bhatia.
“By hosting a panel like this, we’re really trying to drive up the excitement around this election and tell people that there’s something big that’s happening that they can get involved in,” Bhatia told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Carroll and Bhatia also told the DP that Penn Dems plans to endorse a candidate ahead of the May 19 primary election.
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Following opening statements, Carroll and Bhatia asked candidates about several policy issues relevant to the third congressional district, which represents Penn and University City in the House of Representatives.
When asked about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, all three candidates said they support abolishing the agency.
Street criticized ICE for “attacking international students,” while Stanford described the Trump administration’s recent decision to station ICE agents at airports as “truly unacceptable.”
Rabb emphasized that he had been committed to abolishing ICE “long before” the start of his congressional run.
Carroll then asked each candidate about possible reforms to the H-1B student visa process.
“The reality is that those folks who start up businesses, those folks who work in our hospitals, those folks who work in our tech sector, invariably have a positive economic impact that increases the number of jobs,” Street said.
Rabb said that while the H1-B system “has value,” the government should “invest in the great diversity of people who have been in this city for generations.”
Later in the discussion, each candidate was asked about their stance on the U.S. supplying foreign aid to Israel.
Stanford told the audience that she does not support giving aid to Israel, adding that she believes the money would be better spent on fighting food insecurity or funding education. Street reiterated a similar perspective, suggesting the money could be better used to “fix up schools” in Pennsylvania.
Rabb told the DP after the event that he was the only one who “mentioned genocide” in his response.
Last week, Stanford told the Philadelphia Inquirer that she believes Palestinians “deserve to have safety and freedom” but thinks it is inflammatory when Rabb describes Israel’s war in Gaza as a “genocide.”
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives voted to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.
When asked if they supported the policy, Rabb said that he introduced the “boldest” minimum wage bill in the U.S.
Stanford claimed that Rabb had just recently voted against a minimum wage increase in Pennsylvania, but “quickly changed” his vote, “because it was unpopular.”
Rabb told the DP that the vote was the result of a “miscommunication” — which he described as a “common” occurrence in legislatures — and said that the state minimum wage bill was “largely performative” and unlikely to pass in Pennsylvania’s Republican-majority Senate.
Moderators went on to ask Stanford how the candidates plan to make housing more affordable. Stanford linked access to housing to better education and health outcomes.
Street touted his experience as an affordable housing attorney and pushed for “reinvestment” in the Philadelphia community, referencing his support of a 2022 bill to establish Pennsylvania’s Whole-Home Repairs Program.
Rabb said that “home ownership is overrated,” but added that he supported guaranteed “social housing.”
In response to a question about what specific “federal actions,” candidates would take to address gun violence in Philadelphia, Stanford proposed a multi-pronged approach.
Her policy position included universal background checks, restricting gun ownership via legislation, and offering community violence prevention programs. She referenced her experience operating on children who were victims of gun violence as a physician and argued the prominence of gun violence reflects a lack of governmental support.
Street recounted his personal experiences with gun violence, mentioning how both of his kids have had friends murdered as a result. He said that he secured millions to address “the social determinants of gun violence” at the state level, adding that gun violence has dropped to “a 50-year low.”
Rabb said he would prioritize community safety and addressing the “structural issues” that surround gun violence as a congressperson.
The moderators then asked the candidates if they would vote in favor of legalizing marijuana and expunging low-level drug offenses. Street and Rabb both said they supported legalizing marijuana.
Stanford disagreed, saying that while she supports expunging low-level drug offenses, she does not support blatant legalization of marijuana because of the possibility it could be “laced with something.”
She suggested that she would consider legalizing marijuana with “guardrails” and “regulations,” but affirmed she wouldn’t “blatantly just stamp an approval of yes.”
Staff reporter Luke Petersen covers national politics and can be reached at petersen@thedp.com. At Penn, he studies philosophy, politics, and economics. Follow him on X @LukePetersen06.