All of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates are with us on our issues — nondiscrimination, marriage equality, anti-bullying and hate crimes, among them — which itself is a testament to the burgeoning awareness, both personally and politically, of the need for LGBT rights in the Keystone State. As they are all on point on our issues, other factors to consider include how strongly that support has translated into leadership, their likelihood of being able to unseat our current governor and if we can expect LGBT issues to not just be a part of, but rather a priority of, their administration. After considering all of those questions, PGN identified McCord as the strongest candidate.
McCord has demonstrated that he is willing to not just back LGBT equality, but to emerge as a leader for our community. Earlier this year, McCord became the first state official in Pennsylvania to formally enter, on the side of the community, one of the several pending challenges to the state’s marriage-equality ban. In submitting his friend-of-the-court brief in Whitewood v. Wolf, McCord is believed to be the first state treasurer in the nation to take such an action. But his brief wasn’t simply a political gesture; he argued clearly and concisely the practical implications the state’s ban on marriage equality has on his department and our state’s LGBT citizens, in arguments the judge agreed had not yet been so clearly delineated in the case. Leadership is taking on a fight that you don’t need to, but because it’s the right thing to do, which McCord’s involvement demonstrated.
His leadership on LGBT issues is not new. In the past several years, he pressed for state Democratic Party support on marriage equality and sought to educate both the public and the legislature on issues like marriage equality and LGBT nondiscrimination. McCord’s history illustrates that LGBT support is important to him, and would continue to be if he were elected governor.
Getting to the governor’s office, though, requires first getting past Gov. Tom Corbett this fall. McCord has developed a strong record of going against Corbett. He has spent the past several years as treasurer during an administration with which he frequently butted heads — not just on civil-rights issues, but topics like liquor and lottery privatization — and McCord fervently countered the governor’s position without pause. We need someone who knows how to take on Corbett.
With the dismal LGBT record of our current governor, it would be a breath of fresh air to have any leader in that office who embraces LGBT equality — but McCord stands out as the leader who will be best able to bring LGBT equality to fruition.