Ben Waxman
Ben Waxman | |
---|---|
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 182nd district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Brian Sims |
Personal details | |
Born | Benjamin R. Waxman February 9, 1985 BA ) |
Occupation | Journalist and political activist |
Benjamin R. Waxman (born February 9, 1985) is an American journalist, progressive activist and politician. He is the Representative for
Early life and education
Waxman was raised in
Career
Journalism career
As a college student, Waxman wrote left-leaning opinion pieces for The Huntingdon Daily News and served as a Field Reporter for
Press Secretary for Vincent Hughes
In 2013, Waxman was named Press Secretary for Pennsylvania State Senator
Communications Director for Larry Krasner
Krasner was elected District Attorney of Philadelphia in 2017 and inaugurated in January 2018. As District Attorney, Krasner garnered national attention for his efforts to spearhead criminal justice reform. Waxman served as the Krasner's spokesperson and Director of Communications from January 2018 to May 2019[13] In this role, Waxman was often on the frontlines of pushing back against Krasner's critics, who believed Krasner's policies were responsible for violent crime and the rise in homicides in Philadelphia.[14][15] He also advised on Krasner on sentencing reform.[1] Waxman was featured in the 2021 documentary Philly D.A. that chronicled the Krasner administration.[16] Waxman left his role as Communications Director for Krasner to focus full time on his consulting firm A. Waxman & Company where he helped advise Krasner's successful re-election bid in 2020.[10][17]
Campaigns for State Representative
2016
In 2016, Waxman announced he would run for Pennsylvania State Representative in District 182 in a primary challenge against Democratic incumbent Brian Sims.[9] Waxman's campaigned centered around increased funding for Philadelphia's public schools and he was endorsed by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.[9] In a close race, Sims defeated Waxman by about 6% of the vote.[18]
2022
Sims announced that he would not be running for re-election and instead would run for Lieutenant Governor. With the seat open, Waxman announced that he would once again run for state representative in the 182nd District.[1] Waxman's platform is centered around a post-COVID-19 economic recovery, that takes into account equality, for Philadelphia.[1][19] His campaign has been endorsed by Krasner, State Representative Morgan Cephas and Philadelphia City Councilmembers Maria Quiñones-Sánchez and Kenyatta Johnson.[20] In a four way race, Waxman won the Democratic nomination, with 41% of the vote.[2] In the heavily Democratic district, he faced Albert Robles Montas in the November, 2022 general election and was elected with 89% of the vote.
Personal life
Waxman's father is
At the age of 20, Waxman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and following the 2019 El Paso shooting, Waxman disclosed his own illness publicly after then-President Donald Trump blamed mental illness for the mass shooting. Writing for PoliticsPA, Waxman said that such rhetoric leads those who can be assisted to "hide their illnesses and not seek the treatment they need."[24]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Philly D.A. | Himself | 8-part TV Series[16] |
References
- ^ a b c d e f Saffren, Jarrad. "Ben Waxman Announces State Rep Candidacy". The Jewish Exponent.
- ^ a b Prihar, Asha. "Philly's state legislative races were kind of wild this year, but the primary ended up bringing few surprises". Billy Penn.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Brook, Daniel (May 29, 2003). "The Rebel". Philadelphia City Paper.
- ^ "Julie Wertheimer, Benjamin Waxman". The New York Times. November 23, 2015.
- ^ "Betting on the Future: Youth and the Labor Movement". Generation Progress. March 14, 2005.
- ^ "Meet the Inaugural 40 Under 40 Rising Stars". City & State. December 16, 2016.
- ^ Waxman, Ben (March 3, 2011). "The State Budget-Cut Domino Effect". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Ben Waxman reports for "It's Our Money," a joint project between the Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation.
- ^ "Catching up on Philadelphia news with Paul Davies & Ben Waxman". WHYY-FM. October 6, 2010.
- ^ a b c "State House Candidate Ben Waxman on Running as an LGBTQ Ally". Philadelphia Magazine. February 25, 2016.
- ^ a b Wilson, Mary (July 15, 2015). "Senate GOP does some smartphone sleuthing watching Sen. Scott Wagner's posters". ydr.com. York Daily Record.
- Philadelphia Tribune. February 12, 2016.
- Yahoo News. April 17, 2019.
- ^ Herman, Adam (September 7, 2018). "Obama to voters: 'Do what they just did in Philadelphia' by electing Larry Krasner". Philly Voice.
- ^ Waxman, Ben (November 11, 2019). "Searching for the Krasner backlash". thephiladelphiacitizen.org. The Philadelphia Citizens.
- ^ Murrell, David (May 10, 2019). "DA's Office to Axios: You Got Our Drug Arrest Policy Completely Wrong". phillymag.org. Philadelphia Magazine.
- ^ a b "Ben Waxman". IMDb.
- ^ Hurdle, Jon (May 19, 2021). "Victory in Philadelphia Buoys Supporters of Progressive District Attorney". The New York Times.
- ^ "Pennsylvania - Summary Vote Results". Associated Press. April 26, 2016. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ Zipkin, Michelle (February 17, 2022). "Democratic candidates vie to represent the Gayborhood in Pa. House race". Philadelphia Gay News.
- ^ Cann, Harrison (November 10, 2021). "Waxman, other Dems join crowded race for 182nd District House seat". City & State.
- ^ "Julie Wertheimer, Benjamin Waxman". The New York Times. 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Julie Wertheimer leaves city government after 12 years". 9 November 2019.
- ^ "Julie Wertheimer".
- ^ Waxman, Ben (August 19, 2019). "Trump Blaming Mass Shootings on Mental Illness is Dangerous and Wrong". politicspa.com. PoliticsPA.