PGN conducted interviews with candidates running in the May 19 municipal election about a wide range of LGBT issues, to inform our community about their positions and to form the basis for PGN’s endorsement decisions. We sent written surveys to all Democratic candidates for City Council-at-Large, and the summaries of the completed questionnaires are included below.
Jenné Ayers
Jenné Ayers might be one of the youngest candidates running for City Council, but the Harvard grad and current Yale law student has returned to her hometown eager to share her energetic vision at the Council table.
As Councilwoman, Ayers said she would be conscious of diversity in the workplace and advertise widely for open positions, as well as work with organizations in the LGBT community to notify its members of employment opportunities.
Ayers strongly supports the recently passed LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes legislation; however, she said she thinks more can be done in the school system and the law-enforcement field to curb anti-LGBT violence.
To combat the rising rates of violence against women of color, Ayers said the city’s enforcement of the Fair Practices Ordinance must be improved. She also stressed the importance of education efforts and effective and thorough criminal investigations.
She supports laws that specifically ban bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Philly public schools and said more funding must be set aside for high-quality anti-bullying and sexuality-education training.
If elected, Ayers said she would make sure the city budget provides sufficient funds for housing opportunities for people living with HIV/AIDS. She added that developers in areas with high HIV/AIDS rates should set aside a certain percentage of housing for these individuals.
To combat the disproportionately high rate of infection in Philadelphia, Ayers would press for more public health centers, partner with HIV/AIDS groups like Action AIDS and BEBASHI to conduct citywide awareness and prevention campaigns, support education programs in schools and partner with the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania to connect people living with HIV/AIDS to needed legal services.
She said she would work to ensure LGBT business owners are aware of the resources available to them by holding trainings in local community spaces. Ayers also said Council needs to commit to increasing the number of LGBT-owned business with which it contracts.
Ayers said the most pressing issue facing the LGBT community in Philadelphia is the increasing physical violence towards, and lack of inclusion of, transgender Philadelphians.
“As a city councilwoman, I will work hard to support and facilitate the political power of the LGBT community,” she added. “As an attorney, I will be a tireless advocate for the equal civil rights of all individuals. I will be a new kind of city councilwoman — one who puts the people first and implements the best solutions for all Philadelphians. It would be an honor to receive support from the LGBT community.”
Sherrie Cohen
Sherrie Cohen is making her second attempt for a seat on Council after a narrow loss in 2011.
The self-described activist for social, economic, racial, educational and LGBT rights hopes to bring her experience fighting for the voiceless to City Council as its first openly LGBT member.
To ensure diversity in her office if elected, Cohen said she would reach out to all communities when seeking employees and have a strong affirmative-action policy.
She supports the recently passed law instating penalties for anti-LGBT hate crimes, though she said prevention is the best approach. Cohen said age-appropriate education on sexual orientation and gender identity is one action that could be taken to stem the tide of anti-LGBT violence.
According to Cohen, public-education campaigns are also key to addressing rising rates of violence against transgender women of color, as is ensuring they have access to safe and affordable housing, employment, health care and a fair path to citizenship.
Cohen support laws that specifically ban bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity, such as the state PASS Act, and the federal Safe Schools Improvement Act. Locally, she said the comprehensive anti-bullying rules the school district already has in place must be enforced.
To ensure funding for housing opportunities for people with HIV/AIDS, Cohen would lobby for Pennsylvania to apply for a Medicaid waiver, which would allow Medicaid funds to be used for supportive housing for people with HIV/AIDS.
Her plan to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic adopts similar steps as that of the community organization ACT UP and includes increased funding for education and prevention programs.
Cohen said the city should include LGBT people as a protected class in its diversity-contracting program as the primary way to ensure that minority-owned businesses receive fair and equal opportunities.
She said the most pressing issue facing the LGBT community in Philadelphia is the epidemic of violence against transgender people, especially against transgender women of color.
Cohen said having an LGBT person at the table can also be effective in promoting understanding.
“It’s long past time that Philadelphia had a publicly out member of the LGBTQ community on City Council,” she said. “I believe that my knowledge of the issues facing our community and my commitment to ensuring our full equality will greatly benefit our community, if I am elected to City Council.”
Derek Green
Attorney Derek Green, former special counsel to City Councilwoman Marian Tasco, hopes to bring his experience in City Hall to a seat on City Council.
Green has also served as counsel to the Council Committees on Finance and Public Health and Human Services.
Additionally, he has worked as campaign manager for various political campaigns including for Tasco, state Rep. Stephen Kinsey, District Attorney Seth Williams and state Rep. Cherelle Parker.
Green said an individual’s differences enhance the workplace and our city. As an African-American and father of an autistic son, Green said he understands diversity and its importance, and will work to ensure opportunities exist for LGBTs in his office if elected.
He supports LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes legislation but also believes the city must use existing resources to promote educational efforts. For example, inserts regarding sexual-orientation discrimination and the new hate-crime legislation could be included in various city mailings (e.g. tax, gas or water bills).
Green supports the efforts of the Police LGBT Liaison Committee, which he said can be integral to training the department to be more responsive to the concerns of the transgender community.
As a parent of a child in a Philly public school, he commended the current anti-bullying campaign that is promoted throughout the schools, but said it needs to be expanded and revised to be LGBT-inclusive.
As former deputy city solicitor, Green worked with the federal Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA) program and, as councilman, said he would advocate for funding and adequate resources for citizens living with HIV/AIDS.
As counsel to Council’s Public Health and Human Services Committee, Green organized hearings regarding the HIV epidemic in Philadelphia. As councilman, he said he would push the city’s AIDS Activities Coordinating Office to develop sustained marketing and social-media campaigns to raise awareness among youth, communities of color and elderly regarding HIV.
To ensure LGBT-owned businesses receive fair and equal opportunities, Green would lobby the Commerce Department to create an LGBT economic advisory board.
Green said the most pressing issue facing LGBTs in Philly is unsupportive legislators in Harrisburg; he said he would work to persuade lawmakers to support civil rights for the LGBT community.
“I am an advocate for diversity. From racial diversity to people with learning differences like autism, I believe that our city is enhanced when we embrace people from various backgrounds. I believe that I represent this value and would bring this perspective to Council.”
Helen Gym
Public-school teacher and community activist Helen Gym wants to bring her two decades of experience navigating one of the city’s most pressing issues — the under-funded public-school system — and all she has learned addressing poverty in her neighborhood to better the city as a councilmember.
Gym is no stranger to diversity. She is on the board of Asian Americans United, Public School Notebook and Rethinking Schools, where she employs a workforce that includes members who identify as LGBT, and said she will continue to ensure diversity if elected.
Gym knows LGBT people suffer from disproportionate rates of violence, especially transgender people, and supports LGBT-inclusive protections. Additionally, she would work to ensure that such crimes are specifically tracked by the police department.
In 2009, Gym led a campaign for school safety that resulted in a federal civil-rights settlement against the school district to ensure safe-school climates free of bias and harassment. She also helped write the School District of Philadelphia’s first anti-harassment policy.
Gym said she would help build a larger public understanding of need and cost as it relates to HIV/AIDS and noted, in particular, that she strongly supports increased funding for the Housing Trust Fund. She also said the city must call on its major pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to prioritize HIV/AIDS research.
Gym said she has made it her life’s work to address institutional bias and other issues that limit opportunity, in a way that uplifts and empowers the most vulnerable.
“Philadelphia needs elected officials who understand not only what bias is but how to address it institutionally,” she said. “I have worked all my life to end hate crimes and institutional biases that limit opportunity and reduce our sense of humanity and connection to one another.”
Paul Steinke
Paul Steinke is running to be the first openly gay city councilmember.
The longtime former general manager of the Reading Terminal Market, William Way board of directors member and former executive director of the University City District is hoping to bring his wealth of civic experience to City Hall.
Steinke said he has consistently strived to create a diverse workforce at every organization he has been a part of. His campaign is equally diverse and he is committed to maintaining this diversity if elected, he said.
Steinke said he strongly supports the recently passed LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes legislation. As an openly gay man who came out in the 1980s, he said he knows firsthand just how important those types of protections are.
To address violence against LGBT people, Steinke said the city needs enhanced police sensitivity training, especially as it relates to transgender people; increased use of body cameras; and the continued presence of citizen-police advisory councils.
Additionally, he said all women, trans included, should be able to seek refuge in the city’s domestic violence and women’s abuse shelters without the fear of being rejected because their gender identity doesn’t match their birth certificate.
He supports state-level anti-bullying legislation and said a weighted funding formula for education would allow for additional staff in school, which would help keep all students safe.
Steinke said he would work to identify funding in the city’s housing budget for housing opportunities for people with HIV/AIDS and would advocate for greater funding support from state and federal resources.
To address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Steinke would prioritize funding for the city’s Department of Human Services’ annual budget and would support funding for awareness and prevention programs.
He also would propose legislation to require the city’s Office of Equal Opportunity to add LGBT-owned businesses to its list of disadvantaged classes. Further, he would press the OEO to accept the certification of LGBT-owned businesses from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
According to Steinke, the most pressing issues facing the LGBT community in Philadelphia are police relations with the trans community and LGBT youth homelessness.
Steinke said his 25 years of community and economic-development experience make him the most viable candidate.
“I have devoted my life to making Philadelphia a better, safer, cleaner, more prosperous and more vibrant city in which to live, work and do business,” he said. “All of my roles have required me to bring people from diverse backgrounds and having disparate interests together to find solutions to common problems, much like being a member of City Council. I believe I represent the most well-rounded candidate in terms of my experience and what I have to offer as a member of Council.”
Tom Wyatt
Tom Wyatt currently chairs the education committee of the Passyunk Square Civic Association, which supports Kirkbride and Jackson elementary schools. Before that, he was the chief ethics compliance officer for almost a decade at American Water, a publicly traded utility company. Wyatt began his career as a public-school teacher in rural Mississippi. Today, he wants to bring his public-school and corporate experience to City Council.
During his time at American Water, Wyatt was responsible for keeping the workplace respectful and safe, which included advocating for LGBT acceptance. He said he understands the importance of a diverse workplace and would make sure that, if elected, his staff would reflect the diversity of Philadelphia.
Wyatt supports the recently passed LGBT-inclusive municipal hate-crimes law, and said it’s important that statewide protections be in place for LGBT people.
To address rising rates of violence against transgender women of color, Wyatt would work to increase funding for all domestic-violence shelters in the city and make sure those services were extended to transgender victims. Also, he would support funding for projects that focus on improving law-enforcement response to such cases.
As councilman, Wyatt would advocate for the development of anti-harassment policies that protect LGBT students and training for faculty, staff and students.
Wyatt believes in continued funding for housing opportunities for people living with HIV/AIDs. He said he would conduct a housing-needs assessment to evaluate the federal HOPWA program to improve efficacy and overall housing programs.
To address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Wyatt would explore the use of community-development block grants from the state to increase funding for needle exchange and condom-distribution programs.
Wyatt supports the growth of minority-owned businesses and believes his “Bringing Jobs to Philadelphia” plan is the ticket. The plan overhauls the local tax code to incentivize business growth in the city. He is also committed to exploring opportunities that incentivize the growth of LGBT-owned businesses.
According to Wyatt, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state nondiscrimination law is the most pressing issue facing the LGBT community in Philadelphia.
“I am running to make positive change and help restore the people’s faith in local government leaders,” he said. “I want a new era of leadership — young or old, millennial or baby boomer — but all with a collaborative spirit, the energy to move us ahead and the ideas that will really move the needle.”