For more than 45 years now, this columnist/activist has been involved with the political system of this state. As one of the first to lobby the governor and legislature back in the early 1970s, the wealth of knowledge of the system that I’ve accumulated over the years is overwhelming. It started with the historic work I did with Gov.
Shapp, who was a very brave leader for our state; that’s what I’m looking for in our next governor.
At my suggestion, Gov. Shapp created “The Governor’s Commission for Sexual Minorities.” It was the first official government council in the nation, on any political level, that was tasked with looking into the problems of the LGBT community and generating ideas to solve them. That Gov. Shapp did this in the 1970s was beyond courageous.
While many will debate the other issues that abounded during the most recent gubernatorial election — and there are certainly other important issues affecting our state — this columnist will continue to press for the basics of equality: That means nondiscrimination and criminalizing hate crimes against our community.
Anyone can make a promise to us during an election. What about action?
Here’s the real truth. Any governor worthy of the office knows how to get his or her agenda through the legislature if they are willing to dialog with lawmakers. It’s called compromise, since both sides have issues they wish to push — or to put it bluntly, it’s about making deals. And with the right leadership, that is possible.
For a good example, take former Gov. Ed Rendell’s number one-issue, which was to bring gambling to Pennsylvania to gain needed revenue. The legislative arm of state government overwhelmingly opposed that plan but, a little horse trading and, presto, Pennsylvania has gambling.
So, I have hope that Gov.-elect Tom Wolf will use that same power for us. Here’s the challenge: a promise to the citizens of the commonwealth that, in the next four years — that’s one term — he will use the power of his office to pass the long-stalled LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law and, especially in light of what happened in Center City recently, to bring equality to the hate-crimes law. These are simply the basics of what our community deserves.