Several-dozen people, including university students and people active in Democratic Party organizations, filed into the Ethical Humanist Society in Rittenhouse Square Oct. 6 for state Rep. Brian Sims’ “Congress Exploratory Committee” fundraiser.
It was his first big fundraising push, the same day he officially announced his plans to run for a federal seat.
Sims intends to challenge U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat, to represent the Second Congressional District, which includes parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties.
The fundraising event was private, but Sims spoke to PGN outside the Ethical Humanist Society before it started.
“I’m going to need a lot of support,” said Sims, a Democrat and the first openly gay state lawmaker elected in Pennsylvania. “You can’t do [this campaign] online. This city has a 200-year history of knocking on people’s front doors.”
The district has a primarily black population. Its representatives have been black men for more than 50 years.
“Lots of people will speculate about racial makeup,” Sims said. “I’ve walked this neighborhood. People want a champion who will stand up and advocate with them.”
He said important topics for him include education, neighborhood safety and guns, among other things.
Sims will face three others so far in the April 26 Democratic primary. Fattah still plans to run for a 12th two-year term, despite his indictment in July on charges of racketeering and related crimes. Dan Muroff, an attorney and ward leader for the powerful Philadelphia Ninth Ward Democratic Committee, and Brian Gordon, a commissioner in Lower Merion Township, have also announced plans to run.
Sims also plans to run for his current seat representing Center City, including the Gayborhood, in the state legislature, said Mason B. Lane, Sims’ chief of staff.