Stephanie Singer facts for kids

Stephanie Frank Singer, born in 1964, is an American mathematician and politician. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before becoming a politician, Singer was a professor at Haverford College. She then started a company called Campaign Scientific, which helped political groups with computer data. In November 2011, she was elected as a Philadelphia City Commissioner. This job involves helping to run elections in the city.

Early Life and Education

Stephanie Singer was born in 1964. She grew up in Washington, D.C. Her mother is Maxine Singer and her father is Daniel Singer.

Career

Academic Work

Singer taught at Haverford College from 1991 to 2002. She became a tenured professor there, which means she had a permanent teaching position.

After leaving the college, she started her own business, Campaign Scientific. This company helped political groups and other businesses by providing them with important data. In 2002, she started asking the Office of the Philadelphia Commissioners for election data. She wanted to put this information on a website for the city's Democratic party. At first, the commission only gave out paper copies of the data. Singer had to threaten to sue them in 2008 to get the information in a digital format.

Political Work

Singer became more involved in politics after volunteering for John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004. She helped with election data. In 2008, she was elected as a Democratic Party committeeperson for Philadelphia's 8th Ward. This was an important local position in Center City.

In 2011, Singer ran for Philadelphia City Commissioner. She won the election, beating Marge Tartaglione, who had held the job for 36 years. Singer ran a strong campaign. She was supported by the Philadelphia Daily News newspaper and John Dougherty's IBEW Local 98 union. She officially started her job on January 3, 2012.

During her time as commissioner, Singer had disagreements with the other commissioners, Republican Al Schmidt and Democrat Anthony Clark. She also disagreed with U.S. Representative Bob Brady, who led the Philadelphia Democratic Party.

After the city's elections on November 6, 2012, there was some criticism about how the commission handled things. The next day, Schmidt and Clark voted to remove Singer as the chair of the commission. They decided to become co-chairs instead. The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported that this change didn't seem to be directly because of the election issues. The newspaper noted that the commissioners had been disagreeing for months over small things. Singer also strongly opposed a new state law about voter ID. Before they were elected, both Singer and Schmidt had campaigned as people who wanted to make reforms. Schmidt had even voted with Singer to make her chair at first.

In 2015, Singer tried to get re-elected. However, she was removed from the Democratic primary ballot. This happened because she didn't get enough signatures on her nomination petitions. She needed 1,000 signatures but was four short. Her term as city commissioner ended in 2016.

In October 2018, Singer started a podcast called Defend Democracy!. In her podcast, she shares her experiences as a former election official and data expert. She also gives advice to people who are interested in getting involved in politics.

Personal Life

Stephanie Singer's mother is molecular biologist and science leader Maxine Singer. Her sister is historian Amy Singer.

In 1993, Singer married Stephen Fischer. Their wedding ceremony was led by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At that time, Ginsburg was a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.