With planning well underway for the annual international LGBT event Equality Forum later this month, the agency’s executive director is also gearing up for another important occasion — the municipal primary election in May, in which he’s running as the first out candidate endorsed by the Republican City Committee.
Malcolm Lazin drew the second-place position on the Republican City Council at-Large docket for the May 17 ballot.
Lazin was one of the original founders of Equality Forum in 1993, then known as PrideFest, and has served as executive director for the past 12 years, during which time the organization has grown to a weeklong celebration of LGBT culture that draws participation from throughout the world.
Lazin said he is balancing campaigning with preparations for Equality Forum.
“I’m a person who knows how to multitask, and I don’t think either will suffer,” he said. “We’re certainly gearing up for primetime in terms of Equality Forum, and then I’m spending the rest of my evenings and spare time doing all the work for the campaign.”
Lazin said he would step down from the organization if he is elected in November, adding he has discussed that possibility with the board and executive committee of Equality Forum.
“Our bylaws provide for a national search and a search committee, and I would stay in place until that process was completed, and then whatever period of time the new director would want me to remain so they can be brought up to speed, I would do that,” he said. “City Council is not a required fulltime job, and a lot of City Councilpeople have outside employment, but my decision was to do it full-time when I’m elected.”
Lazin, who earned a law degree from Boston University, launched his career in 1970 as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and was given the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award.
In 1979, then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh appointed Lazin to the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, which he later chaired and helped lead through its investigation of organized-crime killings.
He spent time in private practice before heading up a real-estate development firm that focused on revitalizing the Delaware River waterfront.
Lazin has also served as the co-chair of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s legislative committee, and president of the Society Hill Civic Association, and is currently chair of its Washington Square Committee.
“It’s a very diverse background, and it’s a background that includes law, nonprofit work, civic leadership and business experience,” Lazin said. “So I think all of those would be very helpful [for a City Councilperson]. And I think that background also projects that I’m not just a person who talks the talk but who also walks the walk and makes things happen.”
The council race is not Lazin’s first foray into politics, as he ran against Ed Rendell in the 1977 District Attorney race, eventually losing to the future Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor.
This time around, Lazin said, he’s eager to seek public office to help repair some of the city’s ills, including its current financial state.
“I’m at a moment in my life where I wanted to give back to the city. I love this city, and I feel privileged to live here, but we have huge problems that we need to address, in particular our deficit — Philadelphia is in a sense the Titanic right now and is on a course with the iceberg called bankruptcy. We need to address those issues because, unless we change direction, when we hit bankruptcy there will be virtually no funding left to provide for those most in need of services in the city. And it would obviously be a huge detriment to the reputation of Philadelphia.”
In terms of LGBT issues, Lazin said he would focus particularly on initiatives to alleviate bullying and homophobia in city schools.
While the council race includes LGBT-friendly candidates, Lazin said having elected officials who are actual community members is significant.
“I think we’ve seen across the country that whenever we’ve had one of our own in office, it made a huge difference. We had state Sen. Jarrett Barrios personalize the issue of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, and we saw it around bullying with Joel Burns down in the Ft. Worth [Texas] City Council. When we have one of our own at the table, it gives us a voice.”
As a Republican, Lazin said he has seen some pushback from conservative Republicans, critical that he’s running as an openly gay candidate. Republican Adam Taxin challenged Lazin’s nominating petitions, but the challenge was withdrawn.
“There are obviously some homophobes in the Republican and Democratic parties,” he said. “My petitions were challenged by a known homophobe, and that was soundly defeated. I expect to do well in the primary and go on to the general election in November.”
The top 10 vote-getters from the at-Large primary race — five each for Democrats and Republicans — will face off for the seven open at-Large seats in the general election. No more than five seats can be held by the same party, a rule that typically results in two Republican at-large members in the largely Democratic city.
Lazin is facing nine Republican contenders, including incumbent Frank Rizzo Jr., who does not have party backing.
Lazin said he isn’t concerned that many LGBTs are registered Democrats, as he is confident he’ll be able to survive the primary and later get the backing of the community in the general election, where voters’ party affiliations do not restrict their choices.
“I think that will actually help my campaign. I expect I will be elected in the primary, and I think that in order to win in the general election, one needs crossover from Democrats and independents. And I think our community will cross over.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].