Michele Lawrence gears up for First Congressional seat bid

Michele Lawrence is running for the First Congressional District of Pennsylvania, where she has been a resident for 13 years in Fishtown.

Her platform “Service, Opportunities and Solutions” comes after ending a 28-year tenure in 2016 at Wells Fargo—serving as area president and senior vice president for the Greater Philadelphia retail region.

Lawrence is scheduled to make the announcement Monday, Jan. 15, during a campaign kickoff event.

Soon after, Lawrence started her own company, MicheleSpeaks, LLC, focusing on helping people “embrace wellness and accrue wisdom by providing empowerment tools and special events.”

“I care about our community,” Lawrence told The Tribune. “And I care from a place, quite frankly, that my heart is in this. I retired in 2016. And so for me this is an assignment to give back to the people, and so that the people have a voice in Washington. And so that is why I’m running.”

Lawrence will be challenging current U.S. Rep. Bob Brady for his position during the primary elections. Former Deputy Mayor Nina Ahmad announced her campaign for the seat in late 2017.

The 49-year-old Rutgers University graduate will also be facing off against Lindy Li, Casey McLeod, and Willie Singletary going to into the elections happening in May.

But Lawrence is confident in what she feels that she can accomplish if elected. She noted for the last 13 years, the district has remained as the most “impoverished district in the country” and she says that it still has “remained the same.”

Lawrence also argued that she sees remodeling and improvements happening on the outside of the district that she is running for and described it as “beautified,” but she said she hasn’t seen that same type of effort for the inner city.

“What I have seen, even in the area by which I live in, there is developers coming and buying properties and building beautiful homes,” said Lawrence citing infrastructure changes in the outskirts of the city.

“What I haven’t seen is some of that transition to the inner part of the districts. North Philadelphia has not had the same attention as the Riverwards. So if I had to look at some components of the district, I would say there have been benefactors among the outskirts but not necessarily benefits to the inner part of the district.”

Lawrence talked about the “energy” of young voters and how their role has been a driving force in recent elections over years. She said millennials have no problem holding elected officials accountable, but she also believes there is a give and take.

She wants to tackle preventative factors for small businesses and wants to help local businesses establish five-year business plans as opposed to two-year plans.

Lawrence wants to expand resources for local businesses in the city.

“As a congresswoman, I would not only make sure that we know, but that through the distribution of our offices, that we partner to bring those types of workshops so that small business owners aren’t spending their time digging through it, but that they can come and touch it inside of the offices,” she said.

Lawrence noted she has “the loud voice that creates win-wins” and has the ability to get it done across party lines.

“It’s not about the party you are, it’s about the people you represent,” she said. “And I am going to bring it back for C1. I’m committed, I’m competent, and I most certainly am capable.”