Dr. Ala Stanford, a former Abington resident and founder of a Jenkintown-based pediatric practice, announced her campaign bid for Pennsylvania’s 3rd congressional district seat last week.
In 2022, Joe Biden appointed Dr. Stanford as the Mid-Atlantic regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She previously served as the director of pediatric surgery at Abington Memorial Hospital and was recognized by Forbes magazine in 2021 as a woman over the age of 50 who was changing the world.
In 2017, she opened Stanford Pediatric Surgery, LLC (SPS), located at 419 Johnson Street in Jenkintown, and is a member of Salem Baptist Church of Jenkintown. Dr. Stanford gained recognition in 2010 when she performed life-saving surgery on a toddler from Haiti.
“As a doctor and a community leader in Philadelphia, I go to work every day to serve our most vulnerable neighbors and families, but we’re up against a system that simply doesn’t work for working families and people in need. That’s why I’m running for Congress, because when I see a problem in our city, I take action to fix it,” Dr Stanford said in a campaign announcement. “The people I serve every day at 21st and Lehigh in North Philadelphia deserve so much more than the status quo. They deserve safe streets, affordable housing, good schools, jobs that pay living wages, and basic, quality health care. I know what it means when our supposed leaders like Donald Trump fail us. I’ve seen it, I’ve lived it, and I’ve stepped up to lead when he turned his back on our city. That’s why this campaign is about stepping up and continuing to fight for Philadelphia.”
Candidates must establish residence within the district for which they are campaigning. On October 12, a member of the campaign told Glenside Local: “Dr. Stanford and her family purchased a home in Philadelphia, in the district, before her announcement, and they’re in the process of moving into the house.”
The notice added that she has been serving patients in Philadelphia for about five years now.
For more on Dr. Stanford, you can visit her campaign page here.
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Photo: stanfordforcongress.com