The biggest news out of Pennsylvania’s election Tuesday was the ousting of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in favor of Democrat Tom Wolf.
It is a win that could signal the potential of real LGBT change in the coming years: with a governor on our side, long-stalled issues like LGBT nondiscrimination and inclusion in the hate-crimes law could finally gain some traction, as could a sea of other efforts to ensure full LGBT inclusion across all facets of Pennsylvania policies and programs.
But, while the Democrats in the nation mourn the loss of control of the U.S. Senate, our state has another loss that we should be focused on: the ousting of Republican state Rep. Mike Fleck.
Fleck lost his primary earlier this year but won enough write-in Democratic votes to run on that ticket, although he still came in behind his opponent.
Fleck was first elected in 2006 and again in 2010 to represent the 81st District in Central Pennsylvania. In the 2006 primary, he captured more than 50 percent of the Republican vote, besting three other candidates; and in that year’s general election, he received 65 percent of the vote over his Democratic challenger. Four years later, he was unopposed in both the primary and general election.
So what changed?
He came out.
In 2012, Fleck announced publicly that he is gay, becoming the state’s first sitting openly gay legislator.
Critics soon after sought to argue that Fleck was a Republican-in-name-only and was more closely aligned with Democratic ideals, contrary to the conservative, largely Republican district he represents.
Did his record change with his coming out? Did his plans for the district shift? Or his views on everyday issues affecting his constituents?
All that changed is that he was willing to be open and honest with his district and his state about who he is. That should be a commitment that we value in our legislators but, apparently for the voters in the 81st District, it is not.
Being gay should not be equated with being a Democrat or having liberal-leaning views, and gay legislators shouldn’t solely be relegated to urban areas. That the 81st District seemingly believes so is shameful — for them and for our entire state.
While Pennsylvania saw a great victory in Wolf’s election, Fleck’s loss is equally momentous — and should be used as momentum for the investment in LGBT education and outreach to the parts of our state that are eager to turn back the clock on equality. In the days leading up to the election, one GOP official in Central Pennsylvania posted a crude drawing of two men having sex on a Facebook post related to the 81st District election; that type of uneducated, small-mindedness should not be permitted in our state.
And it should be used as a rallying cry for aspiring LGBT candidates to — as opposed to being dissuaded — use this setback as further impetus to pursue elected office, and press for societal change, openly.