美国国家公共电台 NPR--Voters in Philadelphia head to the polls to cast ballots in the mayoral primaries

Voters in Philadelphia head to the polls to cast ballots¹ in the mayoral primaries

Transcript²

If history is any guide the winner of the Democratic primary will become the city's next mayor after November's general election.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Today, voters in Philadelphia will head to the polls to choose a Democratic nominee⁴ who will likely be the next mayor of one of the poorest big cities in the U.S.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Yeah. And many are watching the mayoral race in the largest city in this swing state for hints as to what appeals to voters as the 2024 presidential election approaches. Independent polling shows four candidates have a real chance at getting the Democratic nomination⁵ for mayor. And three of them are women.

MART?NEZ: Tom MacDonald of member station WHYY has been covering politics in the city for decades. Tom, this is just the race for the Democratic nomination. So why is it being seen as pretty much deciding the election for mayor?

TOM MACDONALD, BYLINE⁶: Because the city of Philadelphia is a Democratic stronghold, with voter registration⁷ at 7 to 1, so this really isn't much of a primary. The winner is expected to become the next mayor of Philadelphia. We haven't had a Republican as a mayor since 1952. The final independent poll last weekend put four candidates within striking distance of a win. And three of the four are women - that would be a first for the city - including two former members of Philadelphia City Council, a former council member who has an estimated $400 million personal fortune. And the fourth is a former city comptroller who is the elected fiscal⁸ watchdog of the city.

MART?NEZ: All right. Tell us about the candidates in this race.

MACDONALD: Helen Gym is a former teacher who became an activist⁹ and then a city council member. She's been called the frontrunner by many and has support from both national and local progressives. AOC and Bernie Sanders headlined a rally on Sunday for her, which her campaign estimated about 35,000 potential voters came out for. She also has the support of both the local and national teachers' union, which will supply people to bring out the vote. Cherelle Parker is trailing Gym, but only by a few percentage points. She's going with traditional party support, along with a campaign organization that she's been part of for decades through state and local office wins.

Then there's Rebecca Rhynhart, the former city comptroller. She left a career on Wall Street to join city government. She's pitching as someone who can get things done and has the support of three former mayors. And Allan Domb is in the group. He's part of the statistical¹⁰ tie for the lead. He spent more than $8 million on his campaign out of his own pocket. So there's no doubt he'll spend even more today to bring out the people to knock on the doors and to help people who need a ride to go to the polling places. Now, whoever wins this election will have an influence in the race for the presidency¹¹, helping¹² the city's margin¹³ of victory for a Democrat³ in this swing state, where every vote counts, as it did in the last election. The eyes of the country were on Philadelphia for several days as the final votes were tallied¹⁴.

MART?NEZ: What are the main issues in this race?

MACDONALD: As you mentioned at the top, Philadelphia is one of the poorest big cities in the country. And crime and drugs are the big issues. Some neighborhoods have deteriorated¹⁵ so badly, the candidates have taken aim at the outgoing mayor, Jim Kenney, saying he's just not doing his job to fix the city's ills, something he refutes. One area of note is a drug-infested intersection¹⁶ known as K&A - or Kensington and Allegheny. It's been the symbol of the fight against drugs and the city's failing war on drugs. And all the candidates have said they'll clean it up in one way or another.

But the big problem is how to fix the problems the city has. And the candidates all have different ideas on how they would deal with the city's issues. The city is also having problems hiring police officers after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Democratic majority cities across the country were focused on efforts to defund the police. And Philadelphia was sort of one of them. They're about 1,000 officers down and can't keep up with attrition in the city, and is about 800 correction officers down, which resulted in the first escape in decades after guards found two men, including one of four murders.

MART?NEZ: That's Tom MacDonald of member station WHYY. Appreciate you speaking with us.

MACDONALD: Thank you.

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1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

14 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

15 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

16 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。