We are old-timers and newcomers. We are teachers, artists, social workers, counselors, retirees, students, and caregivers.
Who We Are
Vote the Ridge is an all-volunteer group in lower northwest Philadelphia dedicated to:
Increasing local participation in and understanding of the political process;
Supporting open and democratically-run ward organizations;
Creating forums for discussion of public questions and political issues;
Supporting political candidates who are advocates for progressive values and policies; and
Introducing candidates to the general public.
Executive Board 2024-2026:
President: Rebecca Poyourow
Vice President: Debby Dowlin
Secretary: Kati Rutkowski
Treasurer: Anne Bower
Directors: Josh Finkelstein, Carol Franczyk, Jamie Labov, and Dan Merin
History
Vote the Ridge began in 2020 as an initiative of several progressive Democratic Committee People who wanted to educate neighbors about the new vote-by-mail option during the pandemic. With our work in 2020, we reached over 10,000 voters and helped increase our neighborhood turnout by 25% over the 2016 results.
In successive elections, Vote the Ridge has increased turnout by several thousand votes in each campaign it has launched. In the fall of 2023, we increased the turnout for Democratic state judicial candidates by 40% over the previous state judicial election, and simultaneously saw support for Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke double in our area, helping ensure their election to City Council.
In the 2024 general election, we knocked on 3,300 doors and sent out 4,000 mailers. Our work in lower northwest Philadelphia this year helped turn out 1,000 more votes for the Democratic candidates than in 2020. While some Democratic voters stayed home throughout the city in comparison to 2020, our area saw one of the highest turnout rates in Philadelphia (76%). Vote the Ridge helped make lower northwest Philadelphia one of only two wards in Philadelphia that saw both an increase in turnout and a shift towards Democratic candidates from 2020 to 2024.