2021 Municipal Primary Candidate Questionnaire

Prepared By: Taiba Sultana Phone/Email:

REDACTED
Campaign Manager Hillary Kleinz Phone/Email
Candidate Name: Taiba Sultana

Campaign Email: info@taibasultana.com

Campaign Website: www.taibasultana.com

I, _________Taiba Sultana , certify that the information provided on this

questionnaire is accurate and the opinions stated here accurately reflect my own positions.
__________________________________________________________________________

Please complete, sign and return this via email in either Word Doc or PDF format to
politics@lvstandsup.org on or before March 27th, 2021.
_______________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer

In an effort to build transparency and hold our leaders accountable, LVSU intends to publish this
questionnaire on our website and social media to draw our members’ attention to issues in this
election cycle. We also intend on publishing answers from your campaign to more directly
engage with our membership and community. Do you agree to have some or all of your
responses shared publicly as part of our endorsement process?

X Yes
❏ No (if no we will indicate that you preferred not to share your answers publicly)
 INTRODUCTION

Lehigh Valley Stands Up (LVSU) a grassroots multi-racial working class force for transformative
political change in the Lehigh Valley. We empower constituents and public servants alike to
address systemic causes of inequity at the heart of our mission, especially the systems that
disproportionately impact our marginalized communities, such as Black, Indigenous, People of
Color (BIPOC); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQIA+); disabled; and otherwise
vulnerable residents. The following open-ended questions are intended to help the members of
Lehigh Valley Stands Up (LVSU) understand how you view the world and the political issues that
face the Lehigh Valley. As you might expect, these questions are big and broad. We expect
each answer to explicitly address the issues facing the aforementioned vulnerable communities.
Please respond to each in 250 words or less.

1. What do you value most about the municipality you’re running to represent and why do
you want to represent the people of that municipality?

The people of Easton are what makes Easton special. Easton welcomed my family and
provided us a home to rebuild our lives after being left homeless from an abusive
relationship. As a member of the Easton City Council, I will reflect the compassion we
received. I will work to ensure that all of Easton’s residents are safe and able to enjoy a
life in which dreams can be achieved.

2. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ constituents?
How does it fit into your campaign priorities?

I believe that my BIPOC community has clearly exposed the inequities in our justice
system. I am running to represent the Southside of Easton which includes several
diverse communities. Addressing the over policing of communities of color needs to be
addressed in Easton just the same as every American city. For our LGBTQIA+
community needs the same legal protections as everyone else. We need to address the
fact that it is still legal to discriminate against our LGBTQIA+ community members.
While I cannot address the lack of protections at the state and federal level I am
committed to expanding the visibility and support of our LGBTQIA+ residents. I believe
Easton needs to appoint City liaisons to ensure equality towards the LGBTQIA+
community especially in our schools.
 3. How will you regularly use the power of your office to dismantle white supremacy and
address systemic racism in our local and municipal governments?

As a woman of color, I have experienced the effects of white supremacy myself. I

believe the strongest impact I can have on dismantling systemic racism is to start prioritizing our
southside community and addressing the racism in our policing system. Please see details on
question 5 for how I can do that and what actions I will take as a member of Easton City
Council.

4. The 2 main campaigns for LVSU in 2021 are de-carcerating the Allentown school system
and protecting and expanding voting rights in the Lehigh Valley: In seeking our
endorsement, how will you support our campaigns? I am a vocal supporter of the
decarceration movement. I am appalled at the school to prison pipeline. While I am not
running in Allentown, I am supportive of the progressive candidates who are running in
the city and school board. I will continue to call out injustice and I will stand beside
LVSU and participate in rallies and amplify the decarceration message for all of the youth
of the Lehigh Valley. I also serve as a member of Governor Wolf’s Commission on
Higher Education and as a member of the College Textbook Policies Advisory for the
Pennsylvania State Board of Education. Through these positions I have developed
connections with many of our elected officials in Harrisburg. I will use those contacts to
be a relentless advocate and voice for our city to make sure we get the funding and
assistance we need.

Expanding voting rights and enabling more residents to vote is a mission I share. I am
registering new immigrants in my community and educating them about the voting
process every day. I see the confusion and lack of available information about local
candidates and elections as a major impediment to getting progressives elected who can
make voting easier for all of our residents.

5. What is your vision for the role of police in our communities in the Lehigh Valley? Please
address how your elected office can take steps to accomplish your vision.

On a national scale, to a local level - we are in a crisis when faced with police and law
enforcement interactions with people of color. More than ever, we must address community
violence - and invest in our young people to prevent crime rather than relying on a police-only
strategy. We can support our police while also working to improve police interactions with the
community and the policies dealing with the city they protect and serve.
 We need to engage residents to determine which criminal activities they are most
affected by, creating an accurate law enforcement priority list shaped by the people who
live in the area
We need to make sure that community policing is effectively working with the local
leaders to train them in order to reduce crime
We need to improve trust between law enforcement and residents
Demand more cultural competence training for police officers before they can join the
city’s police force
We need to understand and address youth violence as a public health issue
Decriminalize marijuana - free up our court system and stop our city from heavily
prosecuting for non-violent crimes
Expand mental health programs that assist police when dealing with people in an
emotional or psychological crisis
We need to focus our effort to curb the overdose epidemic on proper treatment, not
incarceration. That means using our advanced healthcare resources in the region to
ensure that every individual suffering addiction has access to the resources they need to
recover
We also need to include more renters and younger citizens in our government
decision-making process, to help shape a future of our city that will benefit everyone

These are all policies that as a member of Easton City Council I can address directly
through legislation and the budgeting process. We need every single one of these policies
enacted to start dismantle the systemic racism in our city.
 6. According to a December 2020 report from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center,
CARES funding for PA schools was distributed inequitably and underfunded the poorest
districts and those with majorities of students of color most. The state also failed to
distribute $108 million in rent and mortgage relief within the allowed period. With more
COVID relief available soon from the Biden administration, we need leaders that will get
relief into the hands of those that need it most.

If your elected body received a grant for COVID-related relief, what would be your top
spending priority? How would you ensure that COVID-related relief lands in the hands of
vulnerable people first?

Ensuring all of our residents who are housing insecure is my number one priority.
Preventing families from being displaced because of the economic effects of the
pandemic has to be the first priority of spending for COVID funds. Making sure our
community can be vaccinated as fast as possible is vital to a faster economic recovery.
If there were additional funding to assist small local businesses, we should help them
hire back staff and speed up their recovery as well through grant funding similar to what
South Whitehall already accomplished in Lehigh County,

7. Municipal and local budgets are notoriously cash-strapped. In a period of austerity how
will you prioritize the needs of our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities in the face of
budget shortfalls?

By ensuring equity is a budget priority. We should be investing in people not incarceration and
pretty office buildings. The entire Lehigh Valley has a lack of affordable housing. While our rent
to income ratios are not nearly as bad as Allentown’s, we need to invest in affordable housing
which would benefit both BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community members. I believe reforming our
police department will lead to cost savings throughout the city that can be used to invest in
programs that benefit our residents.

8. What is your path to victory? How will you engage new voters and expand the electorate
in your municipality or body?
In the last election for this seat only 400 voters participated. My strategy is to expand the
electorate. I received over 500 signatures for my petitions which was already more than the
votes my opponent received in that last election.

9. Who is funding your campaign? Is there anyone from whom you are not taking campaign
contributions? Why?

Our campaign is funded by everyday people with a small donation of $25. I will make sure those
people are fully represented on city council. Therefore, I have pledged to take $0 in campaign
contributions from for-profit developers and those associated with them. Additionally, I will not
accept funding from corporate PACs.

10. For School Board Candidates Only: Given the difficulties K-12 education faced
throughout this pandemic, what are your preparedness plans for future pandemics?

ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION

If there’s anything else our membership should know about you or if you feel the need to provide
additional information about any of your above responses, do so here. Please keep your
response to a total of 100 words or less.