Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym has endorsed Bernie Sanders

Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym on Tuesday endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, making her the first prominent elected Democrat in the city to back the party’s front-runner.

Gym, an activist turned lawmaker with a large liberal following, rallied with Sanders and hundreds of nurses last summer to protest the closure of Hahnemann University Hospital. She said Tuesday that the Vermont senator’s connection to grassroots organizing, as well as his focus on Medicare for All and debt-free college, led her to endorse him.

 

“It wasn’t a difficult choice,' Gym said. 'I come out of movements that have reshaped the political map here in Pennsylvania.

“I’ve seen movements reshape our city and state, and I believe in the power of movements to reshape our country. Bernie Sanders doesn’t just talk about movements for change, he leads them.”