Chris Rabb Calls on Penn to Be a Better Neighbor in West Philadelphia Ahead of Congress Run
“There’s this trope that young voters can’t be trusted, that they won’t come out,” state Rep. Chris Rabb said in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
On the cusp of heading to Congress, Rabb is vowing to deliver “transformational change.” Running without a Republican challenger, he is all but certain to represent Penn and University City in the United States House of Representatives for the next two years. At an Election Day event, he credited young voters—including Penn students—with helping his campaign win. Rabb earned a master’s degree in organizational dynamics from Penn in 2006.
During this spring’s primary election, Rabb captured 63.9% of the vote at Penn’s on-campus polling locations, sitting nearly 20 percentage points above his district-wide average. He argued that engaging this demographic simply requires meeting people where they are with a platform that resonates. According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Rabb believes the university itself must step up its local engagement.
Rabb Calls for University Integration into West Philadelphia
For Rabb, the university has a clear obligation to bridge the gap by acting as a “better neighbor” within the city. He maintained that the university needs to do more to ensure students are “integrated” within West Philadelphia. Students also need greater awareness of the “extraordinary disinvestment” that has historically plagued the neighborhoods bordering Penn’s campus.
“They need to atone for their sins of gentrification and alienation, and find ways to connect students with the communities that they should be a part of,” Rabb told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
In an interview with @DailyPenn today, Chris Rabb — poised to represent Penn’s district in Congress — said the University has an obligation to be "a better neighbor" in the city. He said Penn should do more to make sure students are "integrated" within West Philly.
Operating within a tumultuous climate for higher education, Rabb asserted that “elite institutions like Penn” carry a duty to “leverage their privilege.” Pointing to broader political pressures, he added that “we cannot submit to a fascist regime,” questioning the utility of money if institutions fail to stand firm.
Rabb Prioritizes Medicare for All and Progressive Policy
Establishing Medicare for All has remained one of Rabb’s central campaign priorities. Lawmakers can help ensure that educational and medical institutions, such as those at Penn, benefit from university health care policies through co-governance.
Representing one of the bluest districts in the nation, Rabb acknowledged that future elections will show which electorates embrace progressives. Even so, he expressed confidence that Congress will be “attuned to the needs and concerns of those people who have elected folks like me and others across the country.”
“I’ve never voted for a candidate whom I’ve loved, and if you did, nobody would ever vote,” Rabb said, as reported by The Daily Pennsylvanian. “This is about making sure who is the person who can best help us move our agenda forward for the communities we care about most.”
