Last night, I attended the monthly meeting of Philly For Change, held every Wednesday evening at Tattooed Mom, 5th and South streets in Philadelphia. we listened to the campaign pitches of candidates for the offices as City Council at Large and City Commissioner ( the body that runs the voting system in Philadelphia).

Lisa Deeley, current incumbent Chair of the City Commissioners, spoke to the group, along with Omar Sabir and Moria Bohannon, also running for City Commissioner. They took questions about the integrity of the new voting machines the City has purchased, whether they can be safe from computer hacking-a real fear. They also spoke about the need to educate people about how the voting system works, and of the importance of voting.

Candidates for City Council at Large were Justin DiBerandinis and Derek Green, who spoke of how their life experiences influence their participation in the political process. We as citizens should also involve ourselves in the process, because it affects our lives.