Dylan Byers of Politico is reporting that Nathan Kleinman, a member of the Occupy Philadelphia movement, will challenge Allyson Schwartz in a Democrat primary to represent the 13th Congressional District. Kleinman’s announcement makes him the first candidate for Congress to emerge from the Occupy Movement. He reports:
Nathan Kleinman, a 29-year-old member of the Occupy Philadelphia movement, intends to run for congress in Pennsylvania’s 13th district against Democratic incumbent Allyson Schwartz.
“The petition gathering period starts today and lasts for three weeks, so I plan to file by then,” Kleinman told me over the phone today. “I’ll be running in the Democratic primary.”
Kleinman, who refers to himself as a human rights activist and organizer, served as an aide to Joe Sestak’s unsuccessful 2010 Senate campaign before becoming a legislative assistant to Pennsylvania State Representative Josh Shapiro.
More recently, he has been a member of the Occupy Philadelphia movement, participating in a number of associated working groups, including “Free University,” “Outreach Working Group,” “Process Working Group,” “Camp Liberty,” and “The Committee of Correspondence,” through which he became involved with InterOccupy.org, which he describes as “a central hub for communications” in the national Occupy movement.
Now, he plans to campaign for the House of Representatives, which would make him the first member of the Occupy movement to seek a seat in Congress.
The 13th Congressional District includes parts of Philadelphia and most of eastern Montgomery County including the Ambler area, Whitemarsh and Plymouth. If you have a Conshy address, but are located in Whitemarsh or Plymouth, you are in the 13th.