Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Awar
April 10, 2017
Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym is a 2017 nominee for their Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.
Named in honor of the dedicated and courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office. The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014, Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley in 2015, and Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016.
“Helen is a progressive champion for the people of Philadelphia,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “Her support for quality public education, immigrant rights, and sustainable investments in neighborhoods shows her deep commitment to improving the overall quality of life in her city. EMILYs List is proud to recognize Helen’s dedication to public service as the EMILYs List community nominates her for the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.”
Elected in 2015, Helen Gym became Philadelphia’s first Asian American woman elected to city council. She won her at-large seat after 20 years of grassroots organizing on behalf of Philadelphia’s public education system and immigrant communities. In her first year, she won historic investments toward universal pre-K and youth homelessness, and expanded resources for public schools. Helen is now leading the charge nationally around sanctuary cities and immigrant rights – and becoming a leading voice for cities resisting and winning with a progressive agenda.
The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input. Online voting can be found here: Vote for the 2017 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star.
Helen Gym is nominated alongside:
- Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Nevada Assembly Majority Leader
- Coral Evans, Mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona
- Nicole Galloway, Missouri State Auditor
- Lorena González, Seattle City Councilwoman
- Jennifer McClellan, Virginia State Senator
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have trained nearly 10,000 women to run and helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color – including every single Latina, African American, and Asian American Democratic congresswoman currently serving.
