Reclaim Philadelphia
Reclaim Philadelphia is a fiscally sponsored project of Pennsylvania Stands Up and focuses on left-of-center criminal justice and prison administration. Reclaim Philadelphia advocates for a society with “no need” for police and prisons. 1 The organization was founded by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after he suspended his 2016 presidential campaign. 2 The organization specifically recognizes that it donates to “Democratic candidates and policies.” 3
Contents
Background and Policy Positions
Reclaim Philadelphia by several Philadelphia-based activists disappointed with Sen. Bernie Sanders’s loss in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries decided to form an activist group in order to continue to advocate for his proposed policies. 2
The organization claims that the “criminal legal system has perpetuated conditions of class domination, racism, gender oppression, and poverty.” 1
Reclaim Philadelphia has advocated against additional funding for the Philadelphia Police Department and called for higher taxes. 4 The group has criticized Philadelphia’s mayor for failing to “re-imagine other ways we can keep our community safe beyond police.” 1 Reclaim Philadelphia claims that Philadelphia should work toward cutting “the police budget to reinvest in under-funded community programs and services.” 1 It has also spoken against the Philadelphia mayor’s planned tax cuts to business income and the city’s wage tax. 1 The nonprofit also directs a “Mass Liberation Taskforce” with the goal of abolishing police and prisons. 1
The group states that its vision includes “universal automatic voter registration,” “reparations to ethnic communities,” and “housing guaranteed to all as a right.” Reclaim Philadelphia offers positions in various “subcommittees” that aim to elect left-wing candidates to political office in Philadelphia. 5
The organization gives to “Democratic candidates and policies,” specifically ones that “ensure everyone’s right to quality education, health care, a livable environment, housing, safety and justice, regardless of economic background, immigration status, gender or ethnicity.” 3
The group runs a “H.E.A.R.T. Series” that serves as “digital storytelling” to advance the group’s goals of the abolition of police and prison. 6 The nonprofit’s lead organizer, Kelly Morton, helped lead a campaign in Philadelphia promoting divestment from Wells Fargo Bank. 7
Parent Group
Reclaim Philadelphia’s parent group is a nonprofit called Pennsylvania Stands Up, which advocates for many left-of-center criminal justice policies. The group collected petition signatures to force a vote on a ballot measure that abolishes solitary confinement in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. 8 The group trains “community leaders” to become local Democratic Party Precinct Committee Persons (PCPs). The PCPs that PA Stands Up trains are tasked with “registering, educating and mobilizing Democratic voters.” 9
The group blames “racially-discriminatory housing policies,” and “a deepening climate crisis” for Pennsylvania’s housing problems. 10
In 2020, the group fought for a “People’s Bailout” and organized rallies and marches for the Black Lives Matter movement. 11
Pennsylvania Stands Up received $2,000 from the Pennsylvania Stands Up PAC from 2019-2020. The PA Stands Up PAC also gave Scale to Win $57,726 from 2019-2020, 12 and Scale to Win gave PA Stands Up $57,726 in the 2020 cycle. Donations made to Pennsylvania Stands Up pass through the left-of-center ActBlue Civics group. 13