The Tartan

By Cole Skuse

On Sunday, Jan. 28, the three Democrats running for U.S. Congress to represent Pennsylvania’s 12th District — which includes Carnegie Mellon — stood in McConomy Auditorium for the 2024 Barbara Daly Sanko Political Forum. The forum was sponsored by the 14th Ward Democratic Committee, CMU College Democrats, 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

At the left podium stood Summer Lee, the current Congresswoman for the 12th District. Lee was elected to the position in 2022 and is the first Black woman elected to Congress from western Pennsylvania. Previously, Lee served in the Pennsylvania State House and co-founded UNITE, a grassroots organization focused on electing progressives to various levels of government.

At the middle podium stood Laurie MacDonald, current President and CEO of the Center for Victims, which is located in Southside. Her campaign website states that she has more than 20 years of leadership experience with the organization and has helped raise millions of dollars for crime victims.

At the right podium stood Bhavini Patel, who currently serves on the Edgewood Borough Council and works as Community Outreach Manager for Allegheny County.

The forum was moderated by 14th Ward Democratic Committee Heidi Norman, WESA government and accountability editor Chris Potter, and CMU Democrats President Avalon Sueiro, a sophomore studying business administration.

The event was a forum, not a debate; candidates were instructed not to respond to each other. Below are some of the questions the candidates answered at the forum.

“Why do you want this job?”

Patel said she wants to “showcase the promise of our country, and the idea that the American Dream is still alive and well.”

Lee said she initially ran “because I’ve never seen anyone who spoke to the issues that matter to me and to my community.” She discussed the need to have representatives who are “bold enough to speak truth to power; bold enough to speak out … who are centered in the pain; people who actually have lived experienced in these places.”

MacDonald said part of her reason for running is “because what I see now is a country that’s very divided … so I want to bring the skills that I have to Washington.”

“What do you think the role of a congressional representative is in navigating a complex situation in the Middle East?”

MacDonald talked about growing up as the daughter of an immigrant from the Middle East, and emphasized the Abraham Accords, and that “there’s room for everyone in this world.”

Patel talked about the start of her campaign on Oct. 5, five days before Hamas attacked Israel. Patel said that on Oct. 8, she and her team were at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill, that Lee had not done enough to support the Jewish community, and that Lee had left up a tweet perpetuating misinformation days after it had been fact-checked. To Patel, that meant “stoking antisemitism, and it puts people in our communities in a tragic, dangerous position.”

Lee discussed the need to not pit communities against each other, and that “peace, justice, and accountability is not counter to peace and justice for Palestinians.” She stated that she’s been in conversation with many communities, and that “anybody who will use this as a political wedge is not serious and does not understand the gravity of the situation.”

“What is the role and responsibility of the United States in the world? How should Congress advance that role and responsibility?”

Patel called out Lee for voting “no” on a bill to sanction countries that provide weapons to Iran. She also stated that Lee “tweeted information indicating that the President doesn’t have the authority to authorize airstrikes in the Red Sea,” and stated that President Biden has the authority to do that (though it’s not completely determined if the President does). Patel also indicated that she would have voted in support of creating the House Select China committee.

Lee followed Patel and talked about how “our biggest strength is our diplomacy, our ability to negotiate peace between people.” Lee used the Israel-Hamas war as an example of what happens when we do not center diplomacy. Lee also stated that the President does not have the authority to declare an airstrike without the authorization of Congress.

At this point, Patel attempted to interrupt Lee, but was quieted by the moderators and crowd complaint. Lee continued after this interruption and noted that the House is a Republican-held majority, and that it’s important to “not play into Republicans’ hands,” “to continuously call [Republicans] out,” and for Democrats to “serve as the moral authority.”

MacDonald said she has spent much of her life advocating for other people and noted that “we are privileged to live here in this great country, we have freedoms that other people do not have.”

“What congressional actions do you support to promote gun safety and reduce gun deaths?”

Lee discussed how super PACs have prevented Congress from passing gun safety regulations. “We have to start to get to the root of what is trying to keep us from being able to keep our kids, our neighbors safe,” she told the audience. “When the NRA is able to put in as much money as it does, they’re able to buy politicians.” Lee said Congress should ensure that people have access to schools, well-paying jobs, and community resources.

MacDonald said that, working with the Center for Victims, she has talked to the parents of victims of gun violence. “I think that we need to allow people to get mental help … A lot of the kids who have guns have gotten them from an adult, those adults should be found, and they should be prosecuted.”

Patel discussed her work on the Edgewood Borough Council. She said she supports President Biden’s Safer America Plan, especially its investment in mental health services. Patel said there should be more accountability for people who own guns and discussed the connection between poverty and gun violence. She is interested in “expanding the Child Tax Credit [and] investing dollars resources for our community” to reduce gun violence.

“What is the lowest-hanging fruit for Congress to achieve an objective to accelerate action and slow climate change?”

MacDonald said Lee and Patel “work and live in some of the most difficult school districts where so many people live in poverty,” she said. “It’s a travesty that my opponent does not help her own community … I worked there. I helped them.” Audience members shouted in protest at this response. MacDonald questioned the ability for poorer communities to turn to greener alternatives like electric cars when they can’t afford them. “How do we make this affordable for the average Joe, for the average people who are out there slugging it out paying their taxes by encouraging better gasoline and paying these exorbitant utility bills?” MacDonald asked.

Patel talked about the Tech Hub designation for western Pennsylvania, which would have allowed the region to receive part of $500 million in federal funds. Though the region did not receive those funds, Patel talked about potentially receiving funds like this in the future that could be put toward the development of renewable energy technologies. Patel also spoke about how it’s critical to provide more funding and resources to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Lee discussed “the urgency of this moment” and said Democrats have held polluters accountable to existing standards. She mentioned that there have been millions of dollars brought back into the community to address climate change and justice. Lee also said it is important to give people opportunities to weatherize their homes. She said that ignoring the inevitable transition from fossil fuels will put communities that have been left behind even further back.

“Imagine you get to write one law in your first week, and everyone will agree to pass it. It is required to be on a single subject and narrowly focused. What do you choose for your one free law?”

This was the last question of the forum, and Lee immediately responded with: “We’ll overturn Citizens United.” The audience cheered. After it quieted down, Lee continued, “We must focus on right now, every single election cycle, we can’t be at the edge of a knife, hoping that democracy lasts another day, hoping that Donald Trump just goes away. … We’ve already had a failing democracy, which means that everything that we do around that has to address the insane amounts of money that we pour into our election keeps us from having a reflective democracy.” She closed by underscoring voter laws to ensure the voice of the people is heard.

Patel used her time to address Lee. She started by sharing her experience as a woman of color and talked about her background as a first-generation college student. She also mentioned that “there were a lot of prolific things that were done … that were racist, unacceptable” in advertisements the last time this seat was open. She ended her time stating that “we’ve been running an honest campaign” and that she and her campaign team are “very proud of the broad coalition team” that they’ve built.

MacDonald said she would provide everyone with a free electric car.

People who are registered to vote Democrat in the 14th District of Pennsylvania can vote for one of these three candidates at the polls on Tuesday, April 23.