Last week I wrote about the importance of the Pennsylvania primary, coming up in less than seven weeks. While the Republican side is a three-ring circus with the clowns leading the parade, the Democratic presidential nominee is a forgone conclusion with President Obama. But there are other Democratic races that need your attention.
Most importantly in Philadelphia is the race for the Pennsylvania House 182nd District seat, currently held by Rep. Babette Josephs, who is being challenged this year by activist Brian Sims.
Here’s the rub. Josephs is, as anyone will say, the most ardent supporter of LGBT equality in the state House, and has been that way since her first day in 1985, when it was not so popular to stand up in front of the legislature and speak against bigotry. On the other hand, you have Brian Sims, the former board president of Equality Pennsylvania and staff counsel for policy and planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association.
The district is populated by a large LGBT community and progressive Democrats. The people in 182 couldn’t care less if their representative was LGBT or not; what they care about is that their representative fully support LGBT equality. So here we have the strongest supporter of LGBT issues as the incumbent running against a proven openly gay activist.
I’ve written in past columns, and about this district particularly, that the issue of an openly LGBT candidate running against a longtime LGBT ally would take a professional, organized campaign and lots of funding. Sims seems to have that. I’ve also said it has to be a serious candidate with a proven record. Sims also has that. That leaves the last question, which I’ve posed in the past and once again is open for community debate.
When an openly LGBT candidate runs for office against one of our strongest supporters, where does our community stand? I wrote about this in a column soon after Sims announced and, at that time, said this issue, the ensuing discussions and how the community faces it would be a maturing point. That discussion has just begun, but it only has seven weeks to mature.
Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. He can be reached at [email protected].