On Monday, April 4, 2022, US Representative Conor Lamb (D) visited Hunting Park to speak with Hispanic leaders about his campaign for the United States Senate. Rep. Lamb has served in Congress since 2018, representing the people of the 17th District in Pennsylvania. The 17th District covers a southwestern area of the state, including Beaver Counting and the Pittsburgh suburbs. He is now campaigning to be elected as a US Senator for the Commonwealth, targeting the seat vacated by retiring Senator Pat Toomey, who previously announced his intention not to seek reelection. Rep. Lamb will first seek voters’ support on May 17th for the primary election, and if chosen as the Democratic candidate, he will continue on to the November general election.
Prior to joining the Housing of Representatives, he served as a federal prosecutor in the Obama administration, from 2014 to 2017. Rep. Lamb was also previously on active duty in the US Marine Corps. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the House Veteran’s Affairs Committee, and as a member of both the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Science, Space & Technology Committee.
Approximately a dozen people gathered at Esperanza’s offices on 5th Street, including Reverend Carlos Diaz, President of the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity coalition and a leader in the Assemblies of God denomination in the region; Reverend Bonnie Camarda, Divisional Director of Partnerships for the Salvation Army of Eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware; and Pastor Gilbert Alfaro of Front Street Community Church, among others.
The meeting began with Rep. Lamb providing some background on his journey to the US House of Representatives, and the personal convictions that he brings to his work as a policymaker. He described his upbringing in the Catholic faith. Rep. Lamb stated that throughout his childhood, helping people and serving those around him was a consistent value. During law school in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, he had mentors who showed him how his faith could be connected to public policy and could help him represent and serve the people who had elected him, by taking their interests to Washington DC.
Regarding the diversity in Pennsylvania, and the large and growing Latino community, Rep. Lamb committed to creating an environment of understanding, respect, and representation. He spoke of his intention to get to know the Latino community and to have Spanish-speaking staff in his office. He also spoke about his preference to visit churches, hold town hall meetings, and otherwise meet with communities in ways that feel comfortable and open. Rep. Lamb had recently attended the Puerto Rican Day parade in Reading, PA, and was particularly moved by the conversations he had with home healthcare workers who were struggling with barriers to financial sustainability and career advancement. He acknowledged that everyone wants to have the same ability to advance, make a good living, support themselves and their families – but not everyone has the same opportunities.
The dialogue during the meeting raised questions about education, immigration, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and the general sense of disconnection between communities and their elected officials. Rep. Lamb acknowledged that education is not funded equally for all people, contributing to the inequality in people’s quality of life and long-term prospects. He also spoke about his desire to help address the current worker shortage in the labor market, by advocating for changes to immigration policies that would provide more opportunity for immigrants to fill open positions. On housing, he stated that although this is a difficult issue, there is “reason for hope” – he would focus his energy on the supply shortage issues, rather than simply increasing voucher programs to subsidize rent and mortgage payments, because the affordability issue is caused by a lack of supply of housing in the market. On criminal justice reform, he spoke about his desire to focus on prevention as much or more than intervention, by looking at the flow of guns to low-income communities.
Beyond the policy issues, however, Rep. Lamb was most focused on reiterating that if elected, “you’ll know my staff and they will know you.” He spoke about his deep conviction that he is an advocate for the people he represents, even when people come to him with issues that are outside his purview at the federal level. On all issues, at all levels, he sees his constituents like his clients when he was a practicing lawyer – and wants his constituents to “talk to [him] like a normal person, so we can build trust.” Together, he says, “we can light a candle instead of just cursing the darkness.”
You can learn more about Rep. Lamb’s campaign at www.conorlamb.com
