I’m running an independent-minded campaign for state representative in Pennsylvania District 172. I’m not affiliated with any political party. The election is November 8, 2022.
The dominant political parties do not serve the interests of citizens of our Commonwealth. I’m not going to let our dysfunctional political system continue to harm our communities. As an independent-minded State Representative, I’ll be accountable directly to the people, and only to the people. I believe we all deserve a government that works effectively to deliver a higher quality of life.
I’ll always evaluate legislation that comes before me without an ideological bias and without pressure from any political party to conform to their agenda. My primary goal as state representative is to advocate for my constituents and be their voice in Harrisburg. I’ll evaluate each piece of legislation from that perspective. If it helps my constituents, I’ll support it. If it does not help my constituents, I will not support it. Please scroll through this page to learn more about my legislative priorities.
When I was growing up in Albania there was only one political party, and that party became ineffective at running the government and making sure that its citizens had access to food and other basic resources. In America, our two-party dominated system has unfortunately produced similar results; just in our region, hundreds of thousands of our friends, families, and neighbors struggle to afford food, housing, and transportation. There are plenty of resources, but they’re only available for the wealthy and the well-connected. In Albania, I witnessed how the lack of accountability for those in power led to poor leadership that ignored growing problems for too long.
Our major political parties have little interest in solving these problems because that doesn't serve the interest of winning the next election. And because Democrats and Republicans pitch themselves as the only game in town, they have little interest in actually solving the root causes of our problems. For our major political parties, it’s always a safer bet to rally their core supporters instead of trying to compromise with each other to pass meaningful legislation. Instead of leveraging their power to help people, the parties engage in bickering on social media and go on talk shows speaking only to their respective bases. I’m running because I will not stay on the sidelines as I see my family and my community struggle.
There is another way to do things and we can absolutely make the lives of everyday people better.
I was born in the city of Korçë in the People’s Republic of Albania in January of 1990. My family lived in a modest apartment on the fifth floor of a concrete building near the center of town. Both of my parents were leaders in their fields of work, my father an engineer and my mother an economist. During my early childhood, I experienced the collapse of communism and the general lawlessness, economic disaster, and civil war that defined Albania in the 1990s. We immigrated to the United States of America in December of 1999 and settled in Northeast Philadelphia. We found peace when we arrived in Philadelphia. My family and I are proud to call Philadelphia our home.
The principal lesson of my earliest memories and growing up is the importance of family, honesty and hard work. These lessons have helped me to understand the value of intelligent and courageous leaders who will act on the interests of the people at large and the consequences of ignoring big problems for too long.
As communism was falling in Albania, both of my parents found themselves out of jobs from bankrupt state enterprises and plunged into a world of uncertainty and chaos. Once highly-skilled and valuable, they needed to find new ways to provide for my sister and me. Their sacrifices and hard work are the only reasons I'm here today, and why I've been able to achieve any success. I owe it all to my Mom and Dad whose dream it was to come to America so we could have a better life. They worked tirelessly for over 10 years to make that dream a reality, when it was finally legal to emigrate out of Albania.
When we came to America, I was in 4th grade and did not speak English. I remember when my Mom was walking me to Loesche Elementary for my first day of school and I could not understand a word anyone was saying. This went on for many, many weeks until I could piece together a few words that I had often heard. Over time, I found that intellectual curiosity and original thoughts were not accepted and conformity was the name of the game. In spite of a challenging experience during those early days of ESOL and learning English at Loesche, I went on to graduate from Baldi Middle School, George Washington High School and Temple University. I graduated with a bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and later earned a Master of Science in Business Analytics.
After graduating near the top of my class, I have served many clients in different industries with media, management, and data science services. I’ve worked in advertising with a variety of jobs including media buying, creative production, contract negotiations, and analytics. My specialty is strategic management of projects and data modeling to achieve the highest possible return on investment. As a data scientist, I help people analyze and understand their data with the goal of applying it to attain measurable improvements to their business. I plan to apply my passion and experience making sense of data to evaluate legislation that comes across my desk. I currently work as a manager at Amtrak in their advertising department.
Make it easy for new businesses in our communities to access startup capital. Create a public bank to fund those businesses so that they have the resources to create local, well paid jobs. Invest in improving infrastructure in our local business corridors to make them attractive gathering places for our community. Create a one-stop-shop for small businesses to have access to state resources.
We need an education system for the 21st century. Implement and support existing workforce development programs that match primary and secondary schools students with jobs and employers in demand in their communities and give them the training they need to get well-paid jobs.
The Pennsylvania state constitution mandates that students be provided with a “thorough and efficient system of public education.” Fully fund our education system and remove the disparity between the per student spending in wealthy school districts and school districts that serve primarily students in poverty and need additional funding the most. Increase pay for Philadelphia teachers to reflect the difficulty of their job and attract talented educators from outside the City.
Healthcare is a basic human right and we need to ensure all Pennsylvanians have access to the healthcare they need at affordable prices. Create a state insurance company that will negotiate on behalf of the taxpayers to lower our out-of-control healthcare costs through increased competition and provide price maximums for medicines and medical services.
Invest in community organizations with a track record of targeted and effective anti-violence programs. Pass common-sense gun control legislation to make it harder for criminals to access guns. Address the underlying issues that lead to the homicide shooting epidemic.
Close background check loopholes and stop gun purchases without completed background checks. Enhance mental health background checks. Make straw purchases of guns illegal. Respect the rights of responsible gun owners and ensure that their constitutional rights are protected.
Organized labor is one of the only tools left to create and maintain well-paying jobs and increasing wages for those currently earning poverty wages. Support workers’ unions and those seeking to organize in their workplace. Fight against ‘right-to-work’ legislation that undermines employees’ bargaining power against employers.
Send a contribution to fund our independent-minded movement today! We need your support to have the resources required to win in November.
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Copyright © 2022 Friends of Tedi Kotori - All Rights Reserved. Paid for by Friends of Tedi Kotori | Endrit Faslliaj, Chairman | Joe Ryan, Treasurer
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