(The following are profiles of Michael McGeehan, State Representative from the 173rd District, and his challenger in November's election, Reynolds Baldwin. The profiles ran in the Sept. 27 edition of the Northeast News Gleaner)

McGeehan, Baldwin do battle in 173rd district
By William Rice

State Rep. Mike McGeehan (D-173) is man who prides himself on action—on developing hopeful solutions to the different challenges that arise in his district, whether it be violent crime or absentee landlords.
“There are a lot of times when people will focus on the problems and take a cynical approach to the whole situation,” McGeehan said. “People just sit back and criticize, but aren’t proactive. But what good does doing nothing do? What does that accomplish?”
McGeehan, in his 9th term as a state representative, first began his work in politics in 1977 at the age of 17 when he began work on his first campaign—Ed Rendell’s primary run for Philadelphia district attorney against incumbent Emmett Fitzpatrick. A year later McGeehan ran for committeeperson and won against two incumbent committee people.
“I was one of those geeks in high school who wrote letters to my Congressman,” McGeehan said.
“It’s not as fun anymore,” McGeehan said. “Being in the minority party since 1994, it’s hard to get things done. It’s really hampered my ability to do the kind of things that I really want to do.”
Despite the partisan barriers, McGeehan still has his list of proud legislative accomplishments, most recently including the revitalization of the Liddonfield Homes.
“That’s a great example of cynicism versus action,” McGeehan said. “Many people are understandably cynical about the project. They’re used to be lied to. I understand that. They have a lot of frustrations to let out about government debacles in the past. People tell me about the crime and drug dealing in the area. But again, what good is doing nothing? We’re doing something. Not only are we selling 60 percent of the land to private developers, we’re having tenets who wish to return to the new public homes pass a list of requirements, such as a background and credit check.”
McGeehan sees his district’s two biggest concerns as violence and absentee/neglectful landlords.
“Violence is everywhere unfortunately,” McGeehan said. “This is not unique to Philadelphia. A lot of violence, the social and psychological aspects, we can’t do much about. But I think that if someone calls 9-11, a cop should show up in a timely manner. That’s a basic right.”
“It’s also very hard to keep up our police presence when we’re losing federal money,” he added. “When federal money, $106 million in one year, is being taken away from us by the federal government, it’s hard to fund our police presence.”
Yet McGeehan remains hopeful the issue can be addressed, through a holistic approach.
“When we go into the Committee of the Whole this week, I don’t have my mind made up about what I’m going to do,” McGeehan said. “It’s best to go into these things with a healthy, open mind.”
“I’m not sure if limiting the rights of firearm owners is the best way to tackle this issue,” McGeehan said. “But there are some basic measures we can take, like requiring people to take safety classes when they buy a firearm or requiring them to report a lost or stolen gun. These types of measures will add to public safety and law enforcement’s ability to tackle crime.”

On the issue of absentee landlords and abusive property owners, McGeehan believes in a “carrot and stick” approach. McGeehan’s carrot is the Multi-Unit Conversion Demonstration Pilot Program which allows homeowners and landlords the ability to convert a multi-unit property that was originally intended as a single-family residence back to its original state.
“We have two sticks in this case,” McGeehan said. “First, I want to make it a requirement that when people request the installation of additional meters from PECO, that they have the appropriate zoning. Right now PECO doesn’t care how many meters you want or what the zoning is—they’ll install it. I also want to tackle those individuals who lie about using a home as their primary residence for the financial benefits. I want to make those found lying about using a home as their primary residence to be forced to start paying their mortgage immediately.”
Another less publicized point of concern from his district, according to McGeehan, is the environment. McGeehan believes
“When people ask me why they should care about the environment my answer is simple,” said McGeehan, who sits on the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. “Every time you turn on that faucet and get a drink, where do you think that water is coming from? It’s coming from the Delaware. No one can live without clean water and clean air. Our health is closely entwined with the vitality of the Delaware River.”
“And thanks to our efforts, [the Delaware] is cleaner than it’s been for a long time,” he added. “We’re restoring a natural balance.”
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Reynolds Baldwin is man with experiences in a variety of disciplines—whether it be as a professor at Bucks County Community College, a civic leader in Fishtown or a minister at Siloam Methodist Church.
“Through my work as a teacher, a civic leader and a minister, I’ve learned that all people want a quality of life,” Baldwin said. “They want to be left alone to raise their families, to go to work and feel safe.”
Baldwin, as well as his family, has deep ties and involvement with Northeast Philadelphia. His family owns the Baldwin Frankford Dairies. At one time he sold real estate in Tacony and Frankford. He’s also the co-founder of the Aramingo Development Co.
“While working as a civic leader in Fishtown, I developed a plan for our local schools that not only increased attendance by 70 percent but helped ease racial tensions,” said Baldwin, co-founder of Fishtown Concerned Citizens.
According to Baldwin, a Frankford native who currently lives on the 6600 block of Tulip St., the local government is failing miserably at providing the people of the 173rd district with these basic needs.
“The neighborhood is clearly in decline,” Baldwin said. “It doesn’t have to be this way. There’s clearly a leadership gap.”
It is because of this “decline,” that Baldwin is challenging state Rep. Michael McGeehan (D) for the 173rd legislative district seat. As a Republican, the adjunct professor of American History faces a difficult task in unseating the nine-term democratic incumbent who presides over a predominately democratic district.
“I have the background to provide the leadership that the 173rd district totally lacks now,” Baldwin said. “The mayor doesn’t care and when the mayor doesn’t care, the state representative has to step forward.”
“People need hope,” he added. “People have the right to believe that their neighbor is going to mow his lawn. They have the right to believe that their neighbors’ kids will behave, and that the playgrounds are going to be maintained. They have a right to believe that they will be safe. This is a basic duty of government.”
In order to address crime and public safety, Baldwin proposes both the strengthening of the district’s police force and the empowering of its civic groups.
“Over 400 police retired over the summer,” Baldwin said. “Less than 100 graduated from the police academy. This is unacceptable. I have a plan that would earmark $35 million to hire 1500 more police.”
Police aren’t the only answer, Baldwin adds. He believes that stronger civic associations will allow for citizens to stand up and take care of their communities themselves.
“I want to bring to main things—morale to the police force and morale to the community,” said Baldwin, a great admirer of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s work to tackle crime. “Giuliani, with New York, he didn’t just try to tackle violent crimes or gun crimes. He took a strong stance against all crime. We need to take care of the little things first. This will let criminals know that no crime is tolerated in the area.”
Baldwin also wishes to address the issue of absentee landlords, especially prominent, he says, with the number of vacant houses along Torresdale Ave.
“People don’t want much,” Baldwin said. “It surprises me how little people want. It’s so basic. And as a state representative I would have the power to address these needs.”
Baldwin does not believe that everything is dire, however. There are many successes for the area. One such success is with education.
“Our schools have made tremendous strides,” Baldwin said. “That needs to continue on. As a representative I can make a real effort to secure more school funds.”
Yet Baldwin still believes there is much to be done.
“I really believe that the 173rd district is at a crossroads,” Baldwin said. “Stability doesn’t just happen in an area because there’s development on the move or the city puts money into it. Stability comes from within the community itself.”

It is hypocritical that Mike McGeehan talks about mortgage payments when he DOES NOT HAVE ANY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS in his district!
Is he kidding? He must be!