Izzy Smith-Wade-El

Izzy is a proud Lancaster City native. His mother was an educator, union member, and single mom who raised Izzy and his brother. They sometimes struggled – when Izzy was nine, they almost lost their childhood home – but his mom always made a point of helping others, even when she had little left for herself. She taught Izzy that when you have something to give, you give it, and if you don’t have it to give, you go get more to give.

Izzy draws his values from his family, his Catholic faith, and his community. Like his mom, he has spent his career serving the community, first in behavioral health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation, then as a grant writer and researcher. He currently works with LancCoMyHome (the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition) to secure housing for Lancaster’s most vulnerable populations.

Working in social service organizations across the city, Izzy saw political leaders delivering less and less for working families, while out-of-town real estate developers took more and more. That’s why in 2017, he decided to run for City Council to widen our City’s focus from downtown development to each and every neighborhood.

On City Council, Izzy has shown up and fought arm-in-arm with the community to meet their needs, from moving millions of dollars into investment in safe and affordable housing, to decriminalizing marijuana and working with Black Lives Matter organizers to change the city police use of force policy. Izzy has joined with community leaders, nonprofits, and neighborhood groups to fight alongside them.

But as hard as we work here in Lancaster, the laws of our Commonwealth favor giant corporations, lobbyists, and a status quo that hurts Lancaster’s working families. Those laws prevent us from leveling the playing field for our friends and neighbors and putting power to the values we share: kindness, welcome, dignity, and care.

As a city councilor, Izzy has fought hard with communities and organizers to deliver big wins for working families. But the powers that be in Harrisburg, despite years of rhetoric about small government, have not organized with us to fight for our needs and values. It’s time we had a friend in the fight for living wages, affordable housing, quality education, and the power to shape our communities.