The congressman from the 2nd District is Chaka Fattah (SHOCK-ah Fu-TAH), a Democrat first elected in 1994. Unlike Rep. Robert Brady, the city’s other congressman, Fattah’s focus is more nationally oriented. “A policy wonk with savvy,” The Philadelphia Inquirer has called him. Read More

The congressman from the 2nd District is Chaka Fattah (SHOCK-ah Fu-TAH), a Democrat first elected in 1994. Unlike Rep. Robert Brady, the city’s other congressman, Fattah’s focus is more nationally oriented. “A policy wonk with savvy,” The Philadelphia Inquirer has called him.

Fattah was born Arthur Davenport, one of six children of a poor single mother in Philadelphia. She changed his name after she married community activist David Fattah; his first name was taken from a Zulu warrior. His parents were both politically active, producing a magazine for African-Americans and opening their home as a neighborhood gathering spot for teens at risk of joining street gangs. Fattah dropped out of high school, but later got an equivalent diploma and went on to earn a master’s degree in government administration at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1982, at age 25, he was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, at the time its youngest member ever. Six years later, he was elected to the state Senate.

In 1991, Democratic Rep. William Gray, the powerful House majority whip, resigned to become head of the United Negro College Fund. In the special election to succeed him, local Democratic ward leaders nominated Councilman Lucien Blackwell, a former longshoreman and labor union stalwart. Fattah ran under the Consumer Party label while state Welfare Secretary John White ran as an independent. Blackwell won with 39% to 28% for Fattah and 27% for White. In 1994, Fattah ran again, this time taking on the Democratic establishment in the primary. Blackwell relied mostly on ward politicians. Fattah was endorsed by the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity. This time Fattah won, 58%-42%. He has had no serious primary or general election challenge since. Fattah’s wife, Renee Chenault-Fattah, is a local television news anchor in Philadelphia.

Fattah has a liberal voting record; he just slightly trailed Democrat Mike Doyle as the most liberal member of Pennsylvania’s House delegation in the 111th Congress (2009-10). He has focused on education and worked on the “Gear Up” program to prepare low-income students for college, although in 2007, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that the program had limited effectiveness for local kids, and the city’s schools phased it out. He has advocated eliminating the federal tax code and replacing all individual and corporate taxes with a system that would tax all individual transactions, an idea that generated some interest among Republicans. But most Democrats are leery of anything that looks like a consumption tax. He got a provision into the 2010 financial overhaul law to provide mortgage relief to the unemployed that was based on a program he developed when he was a state Assembly member. Later that year, Fattah broke with the rest of the Congressional Black Caucus to support President Barack Obama’s tax-cut extension deal with Republicans, citing its assistance to his poor constituents. Black Caucus members “cannot wait for the `perfect’ solution from an imperfect and divided Washington,” he said.

Fattah also has used his post on the Appropriations Committee to secure money to curb witness intimidation in Philadelphia, to combat the use of unsafe blood supplies that transmit HIV/AIDS in Africa and to increase the number of minorities working on defense programs. He sought to become Appropriations’ top Democrat in 2010, but lost a 26-18 vote of the leadership-run Democratic Steering Committee to Norm Dicks of Washington, who had more seniority. Fattah settled for the ranking Democratic post on the panel funding the Commerce and Justice departments and science programs.

Fattah ran and lost a campaign for Philadelphia mayor in 2007. The move prompted grumbling among local Democrats planning to run for mayor that he was giving up his clout as an appropriator, and even some threats that Fattah would face a primary challenge for his House seat. Also in the crowded primary race was Brady, of the neighboring 1st District, former City Councilman Michael Nutter, and wealthy businessman Thomas Knox. Fattah began the race as the early frontrunner, but his campaign struggled to raise money and drew criticism over his refusal to release his income tax returns. Nutter was the eventual winner with 37% of the vote, followed by Knox with 25%. Fattah finished fourth with 15%, less than 200 votes behind Brady, who also had 15%.

With Pennsylvania slated to lose a seat to 2012 redistricting, there has been speculation that Fattah could be put in a district with 13th District Democrat Allyson Schwartz. But it would be a risky strategy, as almost all of the districts near Schwartz’s are GOP-held swing districts.