Brian Sims launches congressional campaign
Pennsylvania's only openly gay state representative launches uphill bid for 2nd Congressional District seat
It’s official: Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims is setting his sights on Washington.
Sims, an attorney and civil rights advocate who represents Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood, announced on Tuesday that he would seek the seat of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, who was indicted on racketeering charges in July. Per CNN, the indictment against the congressman alleges that he and his associates concocted a series of schemes — including bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions, and theft of charitable and federal funds, as well as the falsification of documents — to repay a secret $1 million campaign loan from his 2007 run for mayor of Philadelphia while concealing how that money was borrowed and repaid.
Fattah has insisted he is innocent and plans to run for re-election next year. Nearly 81 percent of all voters in the 2nd Congressional District are Democrats, meaning that if Fattah can survive the primary, he will likely be re-elected.
By jumping into the political fray, Sims is taking a calculated risk: he must give up his seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in order to run for Congress. He also faces an uphill battle against a well-established incumbent, in a district he doesn’t live in, and that is majority African-American. Although the U.S. Constitution allows anybody who is a state resident to run in any congressional district, Sims told the Philadelphia Inquirer that about half of his constituents in his state representative district live in the 2nd, even though he resides in U.S. Rep. Bob Brady’s 1st District.
Additionally, two other candidates, 9th Ward leader Dan Muroff and Lower Merion Township Commissioner Brian Gordon, have also announced plans to challenge Fattah. As in most cases, when an embattled incumbent runs for re-election, their chances of retention increase as more candidates jump into the race, as they begin splitting the anti-incumbent vote.
“I’ve spent my life taking on big challenges in order to do what’s right,” Sims said in a statement announcing his run. “Whether tackling gender and pay equity as a civil rights attorney, or standing up for justice reform in Harrisburg, I’ve never backed down from the big fights. And I never will.
“We need a progressive Congressman who will stand up for opportunity and justice for everyone, not just those at the top,” Sims continued. “In Congress, I’ll fight to invest in our kids and our classrooms, create real economic fairness and opportunity, and stand up to the NRA to get the guns off our streets.”
Sims also released a video featuring a Web ad in which he touts his dedication to justice and equality for all people. The video features historical still photos from the Civil Rights and gay liberation movements, as well as photos from vigils held for those killed by gun violence, and takes shots at presidential candidate Donald Trump and Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis.
“We face blatant racism on the presidential stage, hatred spun as faith, discrimination in the workplace, and bloodshed in our streets,” Sims says in the video. “I haven’t walked in everyone’s shoes, but I’ve logged enough miles in my own to know I’ll never back down. It’s why I began studying as a teenager to become a civil rights lawyer. Why I’ve stood up for those in need. Why I ran for the legislature, beholden to none, so I would be bound to represent all. … No one will fight harder for justice in the eyes of the law, and respect in the minds of our leaders.”
Watch Sims’ Web video below:
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