When national politics are so divisive, it’s easy to forget that local races have a far greater impact on our daily lives and our community. In Lancaster, the primary elections for our state representatives are coming up. While primaries simply determine who the Democratic and Republican candidates will be in the general election in November, Lancaster city is overwhelmingly Democratic, meaning the winner of the Democratic primary is heavily favored to win in November. 

Initially, the primary race for the 96th district was set to be between Representative Mike Sturla, the 30-year incumbent, and Ismail Smith Wade-El, the President of the Lancaster City Council. But in December, the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission created a new district map, dividing the city in half and matching the new districts with Democratic-leaning suburbs. 

In the new 96th district, which encompasses the northern half of the city as well as Manheim Township and East Petersburg, Sturla is facing a primary challenge from progressive Dana Hemp Gulick. In the newly created 50th district, which comprises the southern half of the city, Lancaster Township, and Millersville Borough, Smith Wade-El is facing fellow city councilor Janet Diaz, the secretary of the state Democratic Party. It’s expected to be a close race, with both candidates racking up endorsements from prominent Democratic figures in the state.

No matter the results of the race for the 50th, new blood will be joining the PA Legislature, making this election particularly consequential. I interviewed Smith Wade-El about his vision and priorities, and why he thinks he would be the best choice to represent the 50th district.

Tall, with waist-length dreadlocks, Smith Wade-El strikes an unmistakable silhouette, and his warmth and affability are immediately apparent when he begins to speak. An eloquent, charismatic speaker who would be Pennsylvania’s first openly queer Black representative, he cites his mother, the late Dr. Rita Smith Wade-El, as his greatest inspiration, and tells me a story he often shares on the campaign trail. 

At eight years old, during a time of extreme financial hardship for his family, Smith Wade-El witnessed his mother give the last five dollars in her wallet to a homeless man. “‘Listen to me Ismail: if someone asks you for something that you can give, you give it. Sometimes, if you don’t have it, you go and get it so you can give it to them,’” he quotes his mother. 

That ethos of getting more to give permeates Smith Wade-El’s campaign. A member of the Lancaster Homelessness Coalition, he describes housing as his top priority, mentioning Lancaster’s “tight housing market, skyrocketing rents, and absentee landlords.” If he is elected, Smith Wade-El plans to advocate for state investment in affordable housing across Pennsylvania, sealing evictions so people can find housing even with evictions on their record, and “more robust tenant protections.” He aspires to sit on the Urban Affairs Committee in the State House, which deals with development and housing policies.

When he discusses his political ideology, Smith Wade-El talks about how the system makes ordinary people feel disempowered – they “don’t feel like they have any agency over their neighborhoods or futures.” He vows to stay grounded in the needs and concerns of his constituents, condemning politicians who are “removed from the communities they represent.”

An insurgent challenging the status quo, Smith Wade-El repudiates legislators in Harrisburg who “passed laws that forbid us from making big changes to minimum wages, housing, speed limits, and taxes”. He reflects, “the powerful elite stay in power by convincing working people that we are enemies of one another along party lines, racial lines, religious lines, or even geographical lines. But the truth is, those of us who are not among the powerful elite share a lot more of our values than we don’t.”

What do Lancastrians value? According to Smith Wade-El, our values of “community, welcoming, and neighborliness” require “safe houses we can afford, schools for beautiful childhoods, streets free from fear and danger, and jobs that pay us a fair living.” Essentially, we value what unites us more than what divides us. 

Addressing McCaskey students directly, Smith Wade-El asserts, “You are the rightful owner of all the resources it would take to have a community where you can thrive and achieve your dreams. But it’s up to us to organize and take it back.” This is the essence of his campaign: bold, assertive, unprecedented, fighting for what we deserve, fighting for our future.