A leading Philadelphia mayoral candidate drew backlash Tuesday over his response to a debate question about environmental racism.
Jeff Brown, a businessman whose campaign slogan is “Pick up the damn trash,” was asked by a moderator during the Democrats’ mayoral primary debate how he’d address accusations of pollution and environmental racism in Chester, a struggling city outside Philadelphia. Some of Philadelphia’s trash is burned in Chester, which has a predominantly Black population.
“Chester is Chester. I’m worried about Philadelphians and how their lives are,” said Brown. “And so what will come first for me is what will be best for my Philadelphians.”
“So, you don’t care about Chester?” the moderator asked.
Brown replied: “I do care, but I don’t work for them.”
“The trash has to go somewhere,” he added. “And whoever gets it’s going to be unhappy with it.”
There were audible murmurs throughout the room during his response. On the debate stage, fellow Democratic candidate Rebecca Rhynhart said it was “not really an appropriate answer,” while another candidate, Cherelle Parker, said “that response is the same way you treat the Black and brown community.”
A clip of the moment shared by Twitter user and media watcher @Acyn was viewed over 100,000 times in less than two hours.
Philadelphia has for years held contracts with Covanta, a controversial waste incineration company that has been the subject of environmental justice concerns. Residents in Chester complain that the company’s facility in their city, which burns thousands of tons of trash a day, is polluting the air they breathe and causing health issues.
Brown has not previously run for political office. A fourth-generation grocer, he owns a chain of ShopRite and Fresh Grocer stores in Pennsylvania. He’s been in the headlines in recent days over allegations he violated campaign finance law.
He drew swift criticism as a clip of his debate remarks circulated online. See some of the responses below.