Abington pol honored in national lesbian magazine

This month’s issue of Curve Magazine features an array of news stories, advice columns, a summer-travel preview and an interview with Pam Grier of “The L Word.

Also included on the glossy pages of the national lesbian publication is a profile of a local politician, whose commitment to her constituents and the LGBT community earned her a distinctive title from the award-winning magazine.

Curve included Abington Township Commissioner Lori Schreiber in an article about 10 powerful lesbian politicians in the country. Schreiber was the only elected official from Pennsylvania to make the list.

Schreiber has served on the township’s board of commissioners since 2005, when she unseated a 24-year incumbent, and faces reelection this year.

In addition to her duties as a commissioner, Schreiber, 50, is a part-time faculty member at both Montgomery County Community College and Penn State Abington and has taught at numerous other institutions, such as East Stroudsburg University and the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, now Philadelphia University.

Schreiber also serves as the community liaison for MCCC’s POWER Program, a career-counseling service for people with mental illness that she helped to create in 2006.

Schreiber, who moved to Abington about 20 years ago, volunteered for Pennsylvania Rep. Josh Shapiro’s (D-153rd Dist.) successful 2004 campaign, and the representative encouraged her to take on a leadership role in her community.

“Right after Josh’s election, I was on a committee looking for people to run for the board of commissioners, and Josh said to me, ‘Why don’t you run?’ And then it all just came together,” she said.

Schreiber said that since the time she decided to run for office, she’s been committed to being open about her sexuality.

“I talked to a number of elected people that I was friendly with, such as Josh Shapiro, [U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania] Allyson Schwartz and [former U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania] Joe Hoeffel, about how they thought I should come out. I’m a big believer in open government, and I think that elected officials should be as accessible and transparent as possible. We decided to address it from the beginning, and when we made the announcement that I was going to run, I included a mention about my partner and just came out from the beginning.”

Throughout the past four years, Schreiber has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at revitalizing Roslyn, the area she represents.

Schreiber launched two large street festivities — a film festival and a pet fair — which have become annual events and has also been influential in pushing for the expansion of the Roslyn Library to include an arts and cultural center, which she said is now underway.

Schreiber, who is running unopposed in next month’s Municipal Primary but will face a Republican challenger in the November election, said that, if reelected, she would be grateful for the continued opportunity to heighten the visibility of the LGBT community.

“[The gay community] is really an underrepresented voice, and we need to have more diversity in our government; we only can make inroads if we demystify who we are.”

For more information about Schreiber, visit www.lorischreiber.com.

Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].

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