The Committee to Elect Diop Olugbala and myself would like to thank the entire community for signing the petition to get my name on the ballot to run for mayor of Philadelphia. For the last several weeks the Committee has been in the streets, on the subway and everywhere in the community gathering signatures. Because of the support of the people, the committee has by far exceeded the amount (1845) of signatures required for my name to be placed on the ballot. We obtained more than 4000 signatures! This overwhelming support from the community shows that the people are ready for real change. I am the only independent candidate to challenge the Democratic and Republican Parties for leadership of the city. I'm running on a platform calling for economic development for the community, as opposed to billions of dollars for police, prisons and courts.