Army veteran throws hat in ring for 164th House seat
For Brian Sharif Taylor, the motivation to run for elected office came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and what he saw as a lack of leadership.
Taylor, a 14-year Army veteran who served at the Pentagon during the recovery following 9/11 and in both Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, is running as an independent candidate in the
164th state Legislative District which encompasses Upper Darby, East Lansdowne, Lansdowne, Millbourne and Yeadon. He will face off with
10-year incumbent Democrat Margo Davidson.
“When the pandemic hit and everything was closed down, I saw the fear in this community. I saw also the lack of leadership. There was no response from the leadership,” said Taylor during a phone interview on Thursday.
As opposed to what he had witnessed while in the military, a plan, communication of resources, and words of encouragement that we will get through this were all missing.
“The lack of that stirred me. The average individual, the average family, didn’t know what was going on, what was next,” said Taylor. “Everybody just went into a corner and hid. There was nothing said. There was no sense of comfort.”
Taylor said issues such as mental health, food insecurity and how to pay the bills when your job is gone were foremost in residents’ worries, but this was all an example of a larger problem in the community.
“The 164th has been underserved in the lack of commitment to the everyday quality of life. Those services have been lacking,”
said Taylor. “Those who are born into poverty are actually chained to the same path, due to an inefficiency of leadership.”
He said the purpose of his campaign is to “bring solutions for issues such as mental health, unsupervised children, homeless, the elderly and the lack of employment for communities especially the AfroAmerican community.”
After a stint of homelessness himself, Taylor joined the military and learned about leadership and about respect. He was part of a military police unit that was sent to Baghdad to guard Iraqi prisoners at two camps. These prisoners included many of the high-ranking officials on the infamous deck of playing cards that the military circulated following the collapse of Iraqi regime.
This experience taught him to respect many different cultures. “The world is made up of many different people with many different backgrounds, so you have to learn their different characteristics and cultures,” Tay
lor said. “You have hospitable.”
In 2014, Taylor had to retire form the military after complications from an anthrax vaccine which affected his heart. He went home and became a fulltime father and husband. However, leaving the military was difficult and he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. With the help of his family, he was able to overcome the trauma. This led him to helping others.
Taylor began “Taylor Made Vets,” an organization focused on Veterans affairs including mental health and stabilizing health and welfare. It helps Veterans and their families both heal from the wounds of war and swim through the mountains of red tape the VA system often involves.
“Everything today is computerized but everyone is not computer-literate, “said Taylor. “There is a gap between the Veterans Administration and the Veteran who is seeking services. I saw many individuals who maybe should
to be have been compensated for things they go through and were not. Some vets still have the same mindset – [ashamed of] asking for services when [in reality] they’ve already earned them.”
Taylor says it is often difficult for veterans and their families to understand each other, which causes the vet frustration.
“That is why I started Taylor Made Vets, to let my brothers and sisters in arms know that there is someone there for them,” he said. “I have dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder myself. I help my brothers and sisters in arms because someone helped me. I’m just following on tradition.”
Back in Upper Darby, Taylor can be seen walking the community and helping the homeless in 69th Street, organizing basketball tournaments for youth and spreading information for those in need. He has a number of goals if elected, which include eliminating human trafficking in Delaware County, holding local officials accountable for their actions and a Community & Law Enforcement Advisory Board.
Taylor has taken part in many of the local Black Lives Matter events and as a former member of the military, has tried to bridge the divide.
“We can all agree a policeman’s job is difficult and not everyone can do it. They are going to face a lot of difficult situations,” said Taylor explaining his call for more police training, including mental health training. “Training has to continue, as much as possible; it will benefit not just the officer but also the community.”
Taylor believes that running as an independent will give him the ability to work with both sides if he goes to
Harrisburg.
The Republicans did not field a candidate in the race.
As for Taylor’s write-in candidacy, Davidson said what is great about America is everyone has an opportunity to run for office. However, she believes to be a serious candidate a person has to meet the minimum criteria which to her is to being on the ballot.
She said she and her office have worked diligently in response to the COVID-19 pandemic assisting hundreds of people to be able to stay in their homes and assisting hundreds of others who were having trouble applying for their unemployment and pandemic relief money.
“I have scores of notes of profuse thank you from my constituents for the help my office provided during COVID,” said Davidson. “My office never closed. We weren’t seeing people in the office but we were working full time helping people online and by telephone throughout the worst of the pandemic.”
Davidson believes more needs to be done to support small business that have been
hurt during the pandemic. She said that will be her focus in the coming session.
“There needs to be a real plan first to contain the pandemic and then revive the economy, that will be my first order of business as we continue through 2021,” Davidson said.
Davidson noted in the last two elections she defeated her Republican opponents with move than 70 percent of the vote.
“I’m excited about getting country this country back on track and I’m hoping that we defeat (Donald) Trump in the White, secure the U.S. Senate and we take the majority for the Democrats in Harrisburg. I’m working to that end and I’m excited about accomplishing it,” she said.
As for Taylor, he is excited about the election.
“The 164th is my home and that is the one thing I have done since I’ve have been back from the military. I’ve walked the area, I’ve seen the issues. There are a lot of people suffering trauma who don’t know where to go,” said Taylor.
He added, “There is no individual in this country that doesn’t have value.”