Today, in one of the most expensive elections in Pennsylvania State House history — in large part due to donations to the incumbent from billionaire and charter school advocate Jeffrey Yass — Cass Green is running to unseat Rep. Amen Brown in Philadelphia’s Tenth District, in a rematch from the 2022 election. Last election, Green came up 183 votes short against Brown, who represented the 190th District prior to redistricting. Since then, Brown ran an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Philadelphia and has been embroiled in scandal.

Backed by organizations like the Working Families Party and the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Green hopes to join a growing bench of progressive electeds in the state legislature, including DSA-backed state senator Nikil Saval and state representatives Elizabeth Fiedler and Rick Krajewski. Jacobin contributor Peter Lucas spoke with Green about her background in community organizing and working in Larry Krasner’s District Attorney’s Office, how she plans to support public education in Philadelphia, and some of the problems she hopes to address if elected.

---

PETER LUCAS

Your background is in community organizing. How has that experience shaped your approach to running for office?

CASS GREEN

“Community organizer” can mean a lot of different things. I’ve had a career of working to make a living, but also as a black woman and mother in America, I think that I tend to be a community organizer naturally. In that regard, we’re the organizers of our family, on our block, in the schools.

I have embraced that role in my life with my own biological children as well as a much larger group of youth that I call my “village children,” who I’ve mentored. I’m an art instructor, and I started a program where I taught children from the community about art and creative expression and worked with them through trauma. Even hosting day camps and sister circles in my home — all of that’s a part of being a community organizer to me. I don’t look at it as being benevolent — it’s about investing in my community to address my concerns for our children, for our neighborhoods, and our families, and making sure that people have access to resources.

PETER LUCAS

In 2022, you ran against incumbent Amen Brown and came up 183 votes short. Why did you decide to run again?

CASS GREEN

In 2022, we hit the ground running and campaigned hard for just seven weeks. So we felt coming up 183 votes short from taking the seat from an incumbent, with such little time on the doors, was still an incredible result. We also felt like that campaign laid the foundations and captured this grassroots, people-powered energy that is so desperately needed in politics. And even though we did not win the seat, we’ve continued to organize in the community.

In the two years since the 2022 election, I would see people out and about — run into them at the Aldi or on the playground or running art classes in the community — and they would ask, “Are we running again? We’re ready. Let’s get it this time.”

It affirmed my belief that in 2022, and the time since, we built a movement that goes deeper than one campaign, than one election vote. A central theme of that run was encountering people who had been frustrated with politics as usual and weren’t confident that their voice was being heard, but we were able to instill hope in them that it’s worth it to be engaged.

That’s what made me realize I still have these people who are supportive of the campaign directives and the vision that we see for the Tenth District. And even though we didn’t win, they remained hopeful.

I was concerned. I cared about how people had invested their time, energy, and money, and I didn’t want them to feel disappointed or disenchanted after we came up short. But those types of interactions that highlighted people’s buy-in made me feel like it was important to run again.

PETER LUCAS

One difference between your campaign in 2022 and this current one is that you have since joined and been endorsed by Philly DSA.

CASS GREEN

I didn’t know about DSA the first time around. I was referred to DSA by people around my campaign, and I found that their endorsement process was amazing. It was very thoughtful and comprehensive. I didn’t have a lot of experience or background with the socialist movement, but I have learned a lot about the organization through the endorsement process, which included extensive reading materials and several different interviews.

It gave me insight into all the important work they do and how I can be a part of it, including plugging in other people that I know who may not be aware of DSA. The importance of having an organization — the infrastructure, political education opportunities, community space — that we can come together around to collectively achieve our goals can’t be overstated.

PETER LUCAS

There’s a growing number of progressives and socialists holding office throughout Pennsylvania, in Philly in particular — some of whom have endorsed your campaign. If elected, what would your vision for being in office look like? How do you plan to work with organizations like DSA and the Working Families Party and other progressive electeds?

CASS GREEN

I am very committed to keeping together this coalition of supporters and endorsing groups once I’m in office, so that we can build out a plan for the Tenth District together. Because I don’t look at this campaign as just my campaign. I might have to be front and center, but I’m nothing without this community.

We are a coalition that wasn’t just campaign-centered. This idea of peace, progress, and power is a real thing, not just a sound bite. I’ve talked about how the various legislators already have things in the works, so getting in office, figuring out how we can support them, and then looking at the gaps and expanding on that work in the Tenth District is the number-one priority.

PETER LUCAS

You’re running against incumbent Amen Brown, who has spent the past few years embroiled in scandals. From your perspective, what has his term in office looked like?

CASS GREEN

If Rep. Brown had been the type of representative and leader in our community that I felt confident in, then I wouldn’t be running. But I am really concerned about how we are setting things up for the future. I feel like some of the legislation he’s supported is not only detrimental today, but it can be detrimental for decades to come.

One of those things is his mandatory minimum sentencing legislation, which disproportionately harms impoverished and black and brown communities. It doesn’t address the root causes [of crime]. It’s a path to criminalization without prevention, diversion, or restorative justice practices.

PETER LUCAS

You worked for Larry Krasner’s District Attorney Office, which has been an ambitious experiment for progressives who are aiming to reform the criminal justice system in Philadelphia — and which has also drawn the ire of many conservatives who insist that the Left is soft on crime. What was your experience working in that office?

CASS GREEN

I know that we do have serious issues with crime. In my experience at the DA’s office, there is not a belief that we can just have anarchy and no accountability in terms of crime and safety; gun violence is down in Philadelphia.

I learned a lot from working with the District Attorney’s Transparency Analytics Lab and the 57+ Blocks Coalition, which is all about ensuring that the data in these cases is accessible to the community. That’s just one of the innovative components coming out of our DA office and Philadelphia, and it’s pretty unique. In the past, some of the work around criminal justice reform was based on systems that have not traditionally worked to reduce crime but instead created more paths to criminalization and poverty. [Krasner’s office’s approach] is a more holistic approach that foregrounds community engagement.

PETER LUCAS

Rep. Brown is being supported by billionaire Jeffrey Yass, who has a history of donating to stop progressive candidates in Pennsylvania. What does his opposition to your campaign signal to you?

CASS GREEN

My opponent is not just taking money from him, but from other billionaire Republican donors as well. One reason is that they are committed to expanding the presence of charter schools instead of investing in public education, which has been an issue in Philadelphia for decades.

Another issue in the Tenth District is the development of luxury housing without subsidizing actually affordable housing.  Rep. Brown also has not championed the Whole-Home Repairs Program that Senator Saval introduced [a program to provide state funding to help Pennsylvanians make critical repairs to their homes].

My opponent was one of three House Democrats to vote in favor of passing Act 40 [a law that gives a special prosecutor jurisdiction over crimes committed on property of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority], which essentially erases the votes of 155,000 people who voted for DA Krasner — not just once but twice. We have an elected DA that can now be superseded by an appointed prosecutor, which undermines the democratic process.

PETER LUCAS

You mentioned vouchers. Last year, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro unsuccessfully tried to pass a $100 million, state-funded private-school voucher program. And despite being a Democrat himself, he received the backing of the Republican legislators. Philadelphia has a rich history of union and community organizers fighting against the proliferation of charters and voucher programs. Where do you stand on this issue?

CASS GREEN

I believe that there should be a moratorium on charter schools, and I oppose vouchers. Also, Pennsylvania’s school funding system has been deemed unconstitutional [because of economic inequities]. There is a history of financial mismanagement in our schools.

Another issue that I haven’t seen addressed enough is early childhood education. At the People’s Emergency Center, I worked on a project that focused on that, and I would love to see that prioritized because it all starts there. It also encompasses public funding and public education.

It’s not just the school day of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s about how you build and reinvigorate the community, and I believe that can be through public schools. Because you have parents, teachers, staff, and children all in an environment that builds out community, and you have opportunities to organize from that perspective. Flourishing public schools are not only about literacy; they’re also about the community building that happens within a well-funded public school system.

PETER LUCAS

Philadelphia is known for its strong union presence. You’ve secured endorsements from six different unions. What do you think it might look like working with the union movement to secure a better future for the working class in Philly?

CASS GREEN

Unions are on the forefront of fighting for a more just and equitable Philadelphia, and it’s because of their collective power that the whole city benefits from their gains. We need to do a better job acknowledging that. Many union employees were classified as “essential workers” during COVID, but what does that mean if their pay and benefits don’t reflect that? They were essential before, and they are essential now.

---

---