For mayor, there really is no contest here — neither in the race itself nor who we as a community should support. Simply, Michael Nutter. While we disagree with the mayor on issues such as the Boy Scouts, he has shown an ability to be supportive of this community and treat it with equality. He has done so throughout his entire political career. It’s a vote you can cast with honor.
For City Council at Large, this is more complex, and individual votes will matter more here. There are seven seats total and you can vote for five. However, the two non-majority candidates (currently Republicans) with the highest vote tally also get seats. That said, we endorse the following:
Jim Kenney: He’s been the strongest voice on Council for the LGBT community for almost 20 years. Likewise, Blondell Reynolds Brown and first-termer Bill Green are great candidates. Sometimes overlooked is another strong ally, William Greenlee.
If you’re counting and you’re going to vote for those four candidates, that leaves you with one more vote: one of the five Republicans, of which only two will be elected. Here’s where history serves us well. Republican Dennis O’Brien is first on our list since he was Speaker of the Pennsylvania House and, at that time, kept this community out of harm’s way. He’s an unabashed gay-rights advocate and we strongly endorse him.
But there are two other candidates that deserve your attention, and maybe your vote. Originally, we would have printed David Oh’s name here without hesitation, but in recent months he has come under attack for embellishing his military record and, more seriously, for mishandling his gun on several occasions. Oh would be the first Asian on Council.
There is one other choice among the Republicans: Al Taubenburger. Taubenburger has demonstrated an ability to bring the LGBT community into his work, outside of politics. When he was president of the Von Steuben Society, he was asked if it were true that von Steuben was gay. He responded, “Who should care?” We feel the same way: Who should care about Taubenburger’s heterosexuality? It’s a good vote.
For city commissioners, you can vote for two. Stephanie Singer beat entrenched DROP program incumbent Marge Tartaglione in the primary. At that time, we did not endorse Singer because she handed out a ballot with a slate of council candidates that left off Sherrie Cohen, the only LGBT Democratic candidate. We’ll give her our backing as an olive branch and hope that she improves her LGBT credentials. We also support incumbent Democrat Anthony Clark.
For Philadelphia sheriff, Jewell Williams has a stellar LGBT voting record in the State House. He deserves our support.