Year in Review

2017 was a difficult year for the nation. However, we resisted. I am proud that many of us have worked together to prove that participation is indeed power. Thank you for your support at our telephone and neighborhood town halls, by subscribing to our e-news, reading our mailers, and enduring robocalls. Thank you for the heartfelt testimonials praising us for our constituent services work in our offices and our advocacy. Your openness to my office and your willingness to not just complain but to offer suggestions make this work meaningful. So, as we finish our first week of 2018, this newsletter is a reminder of some of the progress we’ve made in 2017 despite the challenges to serve as inspiration for what’s to come this year.

Youth and Educational Advances to the Community

Youth and educational opportunities combine to help young people build productive lives. We joined those who are working to assist youth through a series of events, forums, and public sessions including:

• ESSA public session at Arcadia University to get student testing reduced
• Chestnut Hill College hosted a community day for over 70 Martin Luther King High School students to get exposure to college
• Our third year of the Reading Revolution summer reading program reached 260 students, up from 98 in 2016
• Introduced legislation for Lead Testing in Schools (SB 647)

We had some victories and we are preparing to do more in Harrisburg and in our neighborhoods this year.

Safety—Advocacy in Action

Citizen Advocacy in Action: Julie Weiner Tour of Capitol

With concern comes complaint, and through complaint and conviction comes action. Throughout the district, there have been a series of initiatives designed to offer support and put advocacy into action. Through your participation, we have mobilized in a number of ways:

• New handicapped access signs and maps added to the Capitol building
• The Judiciary Committee held a hearing on my special prosecutor legislation, requiring independent investigation of deadly shootings involving police officers
• Gun violence awareness march with Moms Demand Action
• Vigil in Abington and Cheltenham for Charlottesville victims

In terms of safety, we have a long way to go in order to make sure our children can grow up without fear of violence, but 2017 was an indication that our advocacy is building.

Grants to Improve Our Neighborhoods

We have seen improvement in our district’s infrastructure and job creation from state grants. 2017 was a decent year for getting state grants that allowed us to repair and replace traffic signals, roads, sewers, and flood controls such as:

• Fitzwatertown Road and Woodland/North Hills signal upgrade in Abington Township
• Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation in the borough of Jenkintown
• Kitchen’s Lane Bank Restoration Project for Friends of the Wissahickon
• Brookdale Avenue Pump Replacement in Cheltenham Township

The grants that were provided in the district in 2017 totaled more than $2 million. These resources help sustain our neighborhoods which ultimately translates to better pathways for safety in our community.

I’m optimistic about 2018. We are already launching advocacy and outreach initiatives including a mentoring conference and raise the wage action on MLK Day. Please continue to offer your support, comments and criticism through visiting our offices, following us on social media, and joining all our online, phone and in-person events and initiatives. We can make this year more successful than 2017.

Calendar Items

1/15 - MLK Day of Action to Raise the Wage

1/18 - Hot Chocolate with Haywood

1/27 - Mentorship Conference at La Salle University

Dare to Care,

Art Haywood
State Senator
4th District

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