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Beth Finn, candidate for Philadelphia City Council at Large announces receiving an endorsement from americans for Democratic Action Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter works in the Philadelphia metropolitan area to educate the public, organize and unite progressives, and support candidates who share this vision.

"Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell is a personal hero of mine. She’s taken tragedy and grief and has turned it into a powerful movement to help others and end gun violence. It is an honor to have her endorsement." Beth Finn

"I met Beth Finn at the first Women's March in Philadelphia where I spoke about how my family has been impacted by gun violence. Beth is an ally, a community leader and has the ability to build bridges, that is why I am endorsing Beth for Council at Large. She has courage and commitment which are qualities we want in our public servants. I know she will fight for Philadelphia."- Rep Movita Johnson Harrell

Philly Progressives endorse Beth Finn for Philadelphia City Council at Large. The organization strives to engage and connect progressives across the city to enact political change.

“Beth has time and again proven herself to be a woman who can take charge and support others. The tech sector is dominated by men. Beth made tech her career. It’s not easy for a woman to get a leadership role in tech. Beth did that, too. She’s part of the original team of women that brought us together for the Women’s March on Philadelphia and I’m happy she’s running for office. I’m proud to endorse Beth Finn for City Council at Large.” -Rep. Joanna McClinton

“She’s broken ground as the first woman and African-American to hold her leadership position in the State House. Joanna’s passion to serve the people and her leadership are things I have admired since I met her. She cares deeply for each resident of her district and her focus is on making sure she is fighting for their well-being every day.” -Beth Finn

“We need Beth Finn in public office. She’s a fighter for equality, an organizer for progressive causes, and she knows how to get stuff done. Beth is one of those truly good humans running for Philadelphia City Council. I’m really excited Beth is running.” -State Senator Katie Muth

“Katie is a dear friend and I’m honored to have her support. Since day one, Senator Katie Muth has been a powerful leader. She ran a grassroots, people-powered campaign without taking any corporate money, including zero dollars from gas and oil. She knocked on more doors than any candidate I know. Now, she’s leading the #MeToo movement charge in the State Senate.” -Beth Finn

Pennsylvania National Organization of Women (PA NOW) endorses Beth Finn for City Council at Large. The progressive organization is a group of women and men from all racial and economic backgrounds working to create equal rights for all women.

“PA NOW continues to work hard to encourage and support women as they run for public office. I am honored to be endorsed by an organization that helps give women an equal playing field in Philadelphia and across the state.” -Beth Finn

“Our vision is to increase the voter turn out among millennials ages 18-35, to foster a culture of civic engagement and community service, and to influence local elections through political fundraising and grassroots organizing." - Millennials in Action PAC

“Millennials in Action works tirelessly to engage the Millennial generation throughout the year. I am honored to receive an endorsement from an organization that is doing such important work in our community. Every generation deserves to have a voice when it comes to who is representing them in City Hall” -Beth Finn

Some candidates in this year’s city races said they hadn’t personally encountered issues of basic literacy on the campaign trail. Others, like Beth Finn, one of 29 Democratic candidates vying for City Council at-large, are conscious of it every day.

Plenty of campaigns have turned their ballot number into a mnemonic device, or a catchy jingle that will help voters remember them on Election Day. But Finn, who has worked in the STEM field, has made a habit of repeating “Beth Finn, No. 64” to prospective voters explicitly because they may have unseen limitations.

“Look, I have an easy name, it’s four short little letters, first name and last name,” Finn told Billy Penn. “But even so, if you can’t read, it doesn’t matter how easy or hard your name is. So those numbers really help people.”

“It’s extremely rare that people vote for the environment,” said Clean Air Council president Joseph Minott. “That’s unacceptable, and we’re here to change that at the local level.”

Of the nearly three-dozen candidates vying for seven at-large Council seats, six candidates attended the forum including Democrats Justin DiBerardinis, Ogbonna Paul Hagins, Adrian Rivera-Reyes, and Beth Finn, as well as independent Joe Cox and Republican Drew Murray.

The list of candidates running this year for an at-large seat on Philadelphia City Council resembles a college football roster. Nearly three-dozen people are running for seven positions. And only a few of them are household names.

“It’s a lot to take in,” said Southwest Philadelphia resident Cheryl Wright. “It’s pretty overwhelming.”

To try to change that, Wright joined dozens of voters Monday night at WHYY studios for a so-called City Council Candidate Convention, a speed-dating style event that gave people the chance to match faces — and platforms points — with the names they’ll see on their primary ballots on May 21.

“I’m such an extrovert that talking to people really fuels me, and I love hearing about what’s important to Philadelphians," said Beth Finn, a Democrat running for at-large.

In another high-profile race in a major US city, a candidate for the Philadelphia City Council has made public banking her campaign centerpiece, demonstrating that the idea is rapidly gaining prominence as a funding solution.

Running a citywide race, which each of the panelists are doing, comes with the challenge of trying to reach the potential voters most likely to support them. That means getting access to voter data is essential — but typically pricey.

“You can get that data from companies that put it into a nice system and databases, but it’s really expensive,” said Finn, who works as a senior project manager at the Center City office of information analytics company Elsevier. “But you can also buy the voter data file from the state for $20. So, I did that and I have a lot of amazing data scientists on my team … so we’ve actually kind of built our own version of that voter system [using R Shiny] that costs a lot of money otherwise, and we’re making it work how we want it to work.”

“This should be probably the No. 1 thing that we’re talking about because it is such a huge crisis,” she said.

Finn said City Council could help tackle climate change by taking small actions, such as eliminating plastic bags, or with bigger policies like committing to transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

"I will make public banking the centerpiece of my legislative agenda. Every year, our city loses millions of dollars in bank fees and interest payments to big corporate banks that also use that money to invest in ventures that go directly against my values. A public bank maximizes our limited funds for investment by recapturing that money and loaning it to ourselves. A public bank is for the public good. Once established, I also want our public bank to offer basic checking account services to the underbanked and unbanked."

“Following the second Women’s March on Philadelphia, my resistance sisters and I were invited to Harrisburg by State Reps Joanna McClinton, Donna Bullock, and Brian Sims. Their intention was to honor us with a proclamation about women’s rights on the floor of the State House. We arrived early in the day, eager to see the proceedings. But as the morning wore on and we watched hockey teams, beauty pageant winners, and a champion jacks player all receive recognition, we began to realize that our turn was not going to come. We later found out that resolutions such as [ours] must pass with unanimous consent, but [ours] could not be approved because some members of the House found statements about women’s rights and equality to be controversial. I experienced fear, disgust, and anger all at the same time. In 2018, how could the topic of women’s rights be controversial? At that moment, I knew despite the progress we have been making, we still have a long way to go before women are equal.”

– Beth Finn, co-founder of the Women's March on Philadelphia and candidate for Philadelphia City Council at Large

"Candidates brought totems of luck or children to pick for them. Beth Finn, a candidate for Council at-large, who drew number 11, had practiced picking out of a Horn & Hardart can her staff ordered online. She carried around a little number 2 ball in her pocket for a week hoping it would bring good juju. Why number 2? “One seemed greedy,” she said."

As a city councilwoman, [Finn] said, she would focus on fixing infrastructure, maintaining affordable housing and creating economic opportunity such as through the implementation of a $15 minimum wage.

"Jews rally when bad things happen to us," [Finn] said. "We unite as a community. And we stand up for ourselves."

Democrat Beth Finn, a Philadelphia Women’s March organizer, has announced that she will run for one of the seven at-large seats on Philadelphia City Council in 2019.

Finn works as a senior project manager at an information technology analytics firm that specializes in the health and science sectors. But she is perhaps better known as the co-lead organizer of Philly Women Rally, a local group that helped coordinate downtown street marches in protest of President Donald Trump as part of a national day of activism in 2017.