Although active in politics since high school, Daniel J. Clifford used to think he would get relegated to the sidelines because he is gay. He didn’t think becoming a public official was in the cards for him after he graduated from law school in 1984.
“There were no role models in entertainment or in sports, and certainly not in politics, except maybe far away in San Francisco,” Clifford, a Democrat, told a courtroom full of at least 100 people. They were in Montgomery County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon to watch Clifford take his oath of office as the first openly gay Montgomery County judge.
County judges serve 10-year terms and are paid $176,572 a year.
“I’m very mindful of the historical significance of my election last November,” said Clifford, who is also the first out county official elected in Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia.
Dan Anders, the first openly gay judge in Philadelphia, attended the ceremony, as did D. Bruce Hanes, the Montgomery County register of wills who was the first official to issue same-sex marriage licenses in the state. Kevin Dougherty, an LGBT-affirming judge newly elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, performed the swearing-in.
Clifford’s husband, Jonathan Weinhold, held the Bible. Their son, Matthew Weinhold Clifford, and niece, Kiera Clifford, helped Clifford don his official robe.
“Of course, to Matt, the most important thing going on this week isn’t today,” he joked. “It’s on Friday when he goes for his driving license.”
In a stirring 15-minute speech, Clifford thanked his family and the LGBT community for supporting him. He acknowledged the out municipal officials who were elected before him in the county, including Abington Township Commissioner Lori Schreiber.
“I stand on your shoulders today and I hope others will now be encouraged to follow us,” he said.
Clifford said he already heard from a friend, who said his son came out to the family on New Year’s Day.
“I started to choke up,” he said. “I could not help but think about how courageous that was for this young man to take that first step at such a young age, even today.”
Clifford thanked the Pennsylvania Bar Association for enabling him to serve in several leadership roles over the last 16 years, most recently as chairman of the family law section.
“In the bar association, we found acceptance, support and friendship,” Clifford said of himself and his husband. “We started going to bar association events way back in 1993. We were the only gay couple and it was not easy. It was well before ‘Will & Grace.’ Jonathan was really the true trailblazer because he refused to be left in the shadows. If I was going to an event or conference, he was not going to sit behind in the hotel room.”
William H. Pugh V, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, said he’s known Clifford for more than 25 years and seen him practice law with great distinction. Pugh said the state bar association recognized Clifford in 2014 with an award for commitment to pro bono services. He added Clifford has advocated for legislation to make family court more efficient and created a video instructing judges on how best to conduct a child-custody hearing so the child feels safe. That video, which is part of the training program for all new judges in the state, has also been circulated nationally, Pugh said.
“The greatest thing about Dan is his devotion to his family,” Pugh said. “He is a loving husband to Jonathan and a loving and dedicated father to Matthew. What he has is a great degree of sensitivity and a sense of fairness and a sense of caring. That is what is needed in family court.”
Clifford seems to have engendered similar goodwill in the community. Joy Greenlee, who used to work as Clifford’s office manager at Wolf Block, and her husband, Paul, attended Wednesday’s ceremony. The two of them helped Clifford stuff envelopes for his current campaign and volunteered when he first ran for county judge as a Republican in 2011.
“He has perseverance, obviously, because it took him more than one attempt,” Paul said. “He’s very smart.”
Joy teared up when she talked about seeing her former colleague win a judgeship.
“We were just talking about how great this is on so many levels,” Joy said. “He has the perfect temperament. He has a big heart.”
Clifford’s son looked past the historical significance of his father’s victory.
“The thing that makes it a lot more significant is that he’s my father,” Matt said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m ecstatic.”