Each election cycle, PGN reaches out to candidates in contested races to explore their positions on LGBT issues. PGN interviewed Democratic candidates for City Council-at-Large in the spring and, this fall, reached out to Republican and third-party candidates to gauge their positions on LGBT issues. Candidates who did not respond to our requests for interviews are listed below each section.
David Oh (R)
David Oh, seeking a second term as an at-Large member of City Council, said he believes anti-LGBT violence is one of the most pressing issues facing the loca LGBT community.
“I have been generally supportive of LGBT issues, from anti-bullying to housing for senior couples,” Oh wrote in a PGN questionnaire. “As a former Philadelphia Assistant D.A., I have prosecuted those who committed hate crimes against LGBT citizens. As an attorney in private practice, I have represented LGBT employees in discrimination claims and lawsuits.”
Oh voted in favor of city legislation that established penalties for anti-LGBT hate crimes. He said he thinks a task force including police officers, detectives and prosecutors can be created to deal specifically with these crimes.
“We need to ensure that our law-enforcement personnel are sensitive and well-trained to provide police services to transgender women of color,” Oh added. “We need public education and support.”
Oh said he would like to address discrimination in hiring and housing, citing studies that show unemployment among transgender women of color is more than 25 percent and homelessness more than 40 percent.
“This leads to greater likelihood of violence due to lack of financial stability and unsafe environments,” Oh wrote.
If re-elected, he plans to introduce and vote for legislation to appropriate funds for housing for people with HIV/AIDS. Oh noted he supported the creation of the John C. Anderson Apartments, which provides seniors affordable, LGBT-friendly living spaces.
Oh would like to establish an LGBT position within the Office of Economic Opportunity. He also supports reinstating the Minority Business Certificate. The councilman employs a seven-member staff. None of them identify openly as LGBT, but Oh said he would not hesitate to hire LGBT employees for future positions.
Andrew Stober (I)
Andrew Stober thinks the preeminent issue facing the LGBT community in Pennsylvania is workplace protections.
A lifelong Democrat turned Independent, Stober previously served as chief of staff in the mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities.
“I was proud to create a work environment, in a field dominated by straight white men, that was inclusive across many measures — including gender, race and sexual orientation,” Stober wrote in a PGN questionnaire.
He said, if elected, he would hire staff members based on similar practices.
“I will add my voice clearly and loudly to the many others fighting for these important protections,” he wrote.
Stober said he was instrumental in getting the rainbow crosswalks installed at 13th and Locust streets and would like to meet with stakeholders from the LGBT community to formulate plans on reducing anti-LGBT violence and fostering equal opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.
His education plan calls for quarterly hearings with the School District of Philadelphia, at which he plans to “take deep dives on policy issues” like bullying prevention and support for LGBT youth.
Stober supports city-funded housing for people with HIV/AIDS.
“I support health department and community efforts to reduce new transmissions and effectively support the more than 30,000 Philadelphians with HIV and AIDS,” Stober wrote.
Mayor Michael Nutter and former Gov. Ed Rendell have endorsed Stober.
Al Taubenberger (R)
Al Taubenberger considers the number and severity of hate crimes committed against LGBT people to be the most troubling issue facing the LGBT community in Philadelphia.
“We as city leaders need to engender greater acceptance of all citizens and ensure swift retribution against those who dare to engage in these subhuman acts of violence,” Taubenberger wrote in a PGN questionnaire.
He said he supports the city’s recently passed law that establishes penalties for anti-LGBT hate crimes.
“I would want council to conduct a thorough review of our existing hate-crime statutes to ensure we have covered all possibilities and close any loopholes in the laws,” Taubenberger wrote.
He added he would like to evaluate existing punishments for anti-LGBT hate crimes to make sure they are significant enough to curtail attacks, especially against transgender women of color. He supports laws that ban bullying in Philadelphia public schools based on LGBT status.
If elected, he would like the city’s five-year budget plan to include a line item for housing for people with HIV/AIDS.
As the former president of the Greater Northeast Chamber of Commerce, Taubenberger said he worked with LGBT-owned businesses to help them thrive. He said he would like the city to appoint an LGBT business liaison. With regard to his own staff, Taubenberger said he would make use of hiring recommendations from various sources to ensure a diverse staff.
“As a City Councilman, I will always treat the city’s proud LGBT community with the utmost respect,” he wrote.
In a failed bid for Congress in 2004, Taubenberger had said he would support a constitutional amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman, but told PGN he now supports marriage equality.
“Like many people, my stance on this issue has changed,” he said. “I do support same-sex marriage.”
Sheila Armstrong (I)
Sheila Armstrong, a North Philadelphia education activist, would like to address bias and discrimination directed toward LGBT residents in the city.
“As an African-American woman and member of the LGBT community, I strongly believe that any crime that targets people because of their race, sex, gender or sexual orientation should definitely be a hate crime,” Armstrong wrote in a PGN questionnaire, noting she supports the city’s recently passed law to instate penalties for anti-LGBT hate crimes. “I believe education is the key to changing some of the issues we have in our city,” she added.
To combat high rates of violence against transgender women of color, Armstrong suggests organizing community forums to examine sources of bigotry and brainstorm prevention strategies and increasing training for law enforcement to identify bias-motivated crimes.
To cut down on LGBT bullying in Philadelphia public schools, Armstrong would like to start conflict-resolution and peer-education programs to teach bias awareness to younger children.
Armstrong said she would support increased city funding for housing for people with HIV/AIDS.
“The best way to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic is by providing educational material to the community and the best practices our citizens can use to prevent transmission of the disease,” Armstrong wrote.
She said, if elected, she would like to hire staffers who cover a range of backgrounds from the city.
“I am a very passionate person that has been working in advocacy for the past 10 years,” Armstrong wrote. “During my work, I realized that it is important to have people in office that share the same passion I have to ensure that equality exists for all people and not a special few.”
Kristin Combs (G)
Kristin Combs said LGBT youth homelessness in Philadelphia deserves urgent attention.
“This is the exact type of situation where government can and should step in to protect and shelter its most vulnerable in the most sensitive and humane way possible,” Combs wrote in a PGN questionnaire. Combs, who identifies as bisexual, has members of the homeless community, along with LGBT people, minorities and women serving on her campaign team.
“This group is truly representative of how I plan to approach my work as a public servant,” Combs wrote. “When hiring staff in City Hall, diversity will be one of my top priorities.”
She said she strongly supports the recently passed city legislation that institutes penalties for hate crimes against LGBT residents. She said transgender women of color could benefit from more public awareness, and cited the murder of Kiesha Jenkins as a recent example.
“Philadelphia police have been overly reluctant in labeling this murder as a hate crime,” Combs wrote. “These tragedies must be made more visible, and citizens need greater oversight of the police in order to ensure that all citizens are being protected and served.”
To curb LGBT bullying in Philadelphia public schools, Combs proposes partnerships between teachers, school officials and community groups. She said the focus should be on teaching empathy and acceptance because zero-tolerance policies are not always effective for prevention.
She said an aggressive reform of the stalled Land Bank project could help provide housing stock for people with HIV/AIDS, among others.
“I will actively represent our perspective in council,” Combs wrote of the LGBT community. “Our community should not have to fight to get inside council chambers — we should be inside, and I will open the door.”
*The following Republican and third-party candidates did not respond to PGN’s questionnaire. Below is background information on each drawn from public sources.
Dennis O’Brien (R)
Dennis O’Brien is seeking a second term as an at-large member of City Council.
While on council, O’Brien has worked on addressing neighborhood blight, tax delinquency, probation and parole practices and equitable contract and fair workplace practices for Philadelphia firefighters. He also chairs the Committee on Disabilities and Individuals with Special Needs. O’Brien launched the Philadelphia Autism Project last year.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/CouncilOBrien.
John Staggs (Socialist Workers Party)
John Staggs is seeking an at-Large position on City Council. He works for Walmart and has joined the fight for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, full-time work and a union.
Staggs ran unsuccessful campaigns for mayor of Philadelphia in 2003 and 2007 as a Socialist Workers Party candidate.
Dan Tinney (R)
Dan Tinney is a lifelong resident of Northeast Philadelphia who has worked as a financial advisor and now as a construction worker in the energy sector.
The Republican considers job creation and business development, safer communities, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure improvements and quality of life as the most pressing issues.
For more information, visit www.dantinney.com.
Terry Tracy (R)
Terry Tracy has served as an executive for major companies and is now seeking an at-large position on City Council. The Republican notes education, economic growth, pension reform, public safety and government integrity as his top priorities.
For more information, visit www.terrytracy.com.