With the primary election for the 100th mayor of Philadelphia fast approaching, candidates are gearing up for their May 16 competition. The Democratic primary has ten candidates: Warren Bloom, Amen Brown, Jeff Brown, James DeLeon, Allan Domb, Derek S. Green, Helen Gym, Cherelle Parker, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez and Rebecca Rhynhart. David Oh is currently the only candidate in the Republican primary. PGN reached out to all eleven candidates to ask about their stances on LGBTQ issues.
Warren Bloom
Bloom previously ran for political office in 2019 and lost, but that did not stop him from running for the city’s top office in 2023.
Bloom’s campaign website lists him as a committeeman, citywide licensed minister, family business owner, musician, activist, and as an organizer for Men United for a Better Philadelphia. His site also notes the issues Bloom is passionate about and will fight for. These include strong public schools, fair and competitive wages, women’s health rights and better access to healthcare, the rights of private property owners and property renters, veterans’ health, public safety, equal rights for all groups, environmental excellence, criminal-justice excellence, spiritual excellence, and ministerial leadership for a better city.
Bloom told PGN that he wants to collaborate with constituents, noting that he is “all ears” when it comes to addressing problems the LGBTQ community may have. Furthermore, he said he will continue to work with the Office of LGBT Affairs and said that Director of LGBT Affairs Celena Morrison will have “full access” to him.
“The LGBTQ community is not asking for anything other than to be treated fairly and equitably,” Bloom said. “I want to continue to protect the rights of all citizens — especially the LGBTQ community — against violence amongst everything else and to continue to make sure everybody has an opportunity to have access to fair housing and jobs and to be anything you want to be in Philadelphia. The main thing is protecting the future.”
Amen Brown
Brown is serving his first term as state representative for the 190th district, which incorporates seven wards in West Philadelphia. The state representative has been outspoken on his views regarding gun violence and the prison system, given his lived experiences as a survivor of gun violence.
When it comes to LGBTQ issues, Brown has shown support for the transgender youth. In 2022, he voted against the PA General Assembly’s bill that would obligate students to use restrooms and locker rooms for their gender assigned at birth. Additionally, he spoke out against those who sent threats to the trans patients and the medical and mental-health providers who provide gender-affirming care at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“These are young people and their families who go to this center to access resources for quality care,” Brown said in a statement. “Not to mention the threats to the providers who are there to help them. This is disgusting behavior that comes from pure hatred. It has no place in Philadelphia, the commonwealth, or the country.”
Brown was not available for comment on this story. However, he attended a mayoral candidate meet-and-greet event at William Way LGBT Community Center. Philadelphia Gay News, Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club, Al Dia, Philadelphia Young Democrats, and Mazzoni Center hosted the Jan. 23 event.
“I’m running to be our mayor to protect each and every one of you and your family members, your loved ones and your neighbors,” Brown said during his introductory speech.
Jeff Brown
As the owner of a chain of Shoprite stores in the Philadelphia region, Brown is the only candidate with no previous work in politics. However, he has long been connected to Democratic circles and was an outspoken opponent of Mayor Kenney’s soda tax.
According to his campaign site, Brown plans to address poverty, public safety, public education, economic opportunity and reducing recidivism. Additionally, in a statement to PGN, Brown said he will be a “fierce defender and advocate for Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community.” His planned initiatives include providing resources to LGBTQ youth and senior citizens. For the latter, this includes leveraging city resources, including private and nonprofit partnerships, to expand housing opportunities. Brown also plans to ensure his leadership team reflects the LGBTQ community and noted an increased trend of violence against the LGBTQ community in his plans to address public safety.
The candidate said he also wants to work closely with city agencies and organizations that have filled the void between the LGBTQ community’s needs and what the municipal government has provided.
“We must find ways to ensure better collaboration/partnership, and innovative ways to direct resources for the organizations that do critical work in the LGBTQ+ community,” Brown said.
James DeLeon
DeLeon, who served as municipal judge for 34 years and as chair of the legal committee for the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee, is running on a platform to combat gun violence within the city. This includes but is not limited to violence faced against the LGBTQ community. In an interview with PGN, DeLeon said the violence against the community “sickens” him. According to his campaign website, DeLeon plans to offer solutions-based citywide listening sessions with families and communities impacted by gun violence.
DeLeon also told PGN that he plans to implement a new leadership position, a commissioner for the LGBTQ community, if he is elected mayor. The city has an Office of LGBTQ Affairs and a commission that works with the mayor, but DeLeon said this position would hold higher authority and would regularly meet with the mayor to discuss issues within LGBTQ community.
“In Philadelphia, everybody wants to be treated equally,” DeLeon told PGN. “A person should be able to be who they want to be. As long as they’re not infringing on someone else’s rights, then they should be left alone to endure their own freedom and rights. It’s just that simple.”
Allan Domb
Former Councilmember-at-Large Domb entered the mayor’s race with the intention of rebuilding trust in law enforcement and addressing root causes of crime in the city. Specifically, Domb plans to declare a state of emergency to address Kensington’s public health and safety crisis on his first day in office.
In a statement to PGN, Domb noted that the LGBTQ community faces disproportionate risks of violent crime and that he hopes to work with the community to strengthen the city. He also plans to “work with LGBTQ+ business owners to ensure their businesses have the tools to grow, thrive and create good-paying jobs.”
“Members of the LGBTQ+ community are represented in every corner of our city, and every demographic,” Domb said. “I’m proud that Philadelphia is one of the most welcoming in the country, and I will continue to fiercely defend civil rights as Mayor.”
Domb previously co-sponsored a resolution with Green and Parker to oppose Pa. House Bill 972. The house bill would prohibit transgender student athletes in the state from participating in sports corresponding to their gender.
Derek S. Green
Since his election as councilmember at large in 2015, Green has worked to provide assistance to the LGBTQ community in numerous ways. Green noted to PGN how he introduced legislation in 2017 to expand penalties for businesses violating the Fair Practices Ordinance, which was signed by Kenney later that year. Green previously told PGN he introduced the bill as a result of attending an Oct. 2016 community forum where members of the LGBTQ community spoke on their experiences with racism and discrimination in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood.
Additionally, Green co-sponsored the resolution opposing Pa. House Bill 972, along with Domb and Parker. He also proposed legislation to create gender-inclusive language in the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, co-sponsored bill no. 190558 to require youth organizations to adopt nondiscrimination guidelines for trans and gender-nonconforming youth, and sponsored a resolution which called to investigate faith-based agencies refusing to accept same-sex couples as foster parents.
“Philadelphians — regardless of your community — want to see a city that works better than the way it is currently working,” Green told PGN. “And that’s why I decided to run for mayor. I believe all Philadelphians should expect more and deserve better from its leadership.”
Helen Gym
Voters elected Gym to City Council in 2015. She resigned from that seat in November to pursue her mayoral candidacy and launched her campaign at William Way LGBT Community Center. During her city council run, Gym advocated for LGBTQ people by pushing numerous policies forward. This includes introducing bills to protect trans and gender-nonconforming youth and requiring City Hall to install at least one gender-neutral bathroom on each of its floors. Gym also hosted the city’s first Trans Day of Visibility in 2017.
In a written statement to PGN, Gym said she wants “to make Philadelphia a city where every single LGBTQ+ resident is safe, feels welcomed, and thrives.” She also noted that on day one, she will declare a state of emergency on gun violence. Her other initiatives include plans to improve 911 response times, retrain the city’s police department, clean up city streets, end housing insecurity, establish LGBTQ-inclusive policies for schools, expand economic opportunity, and increase access to health care — including for HIV/AIDS communities.
Furthermore, Gym told PGN that she will work with LGBTQ organizations to make them “stronger and more inclusive. You will see LGBTQ+ folks represented and valued throughout my administration.”
“I am here to deliver concrete action that improves the lives of LGBTQ+ people, because this is the progress that this community and our city deserves,” Gym said. “As your mayor, I will make sure City Hall is more inclusive and reflects the full diversity of queer people on a collective journey to becoming a safer, more equitable Philadelphia.”
David Oh
Oh, the most recent candidate to enter the race, is the only Republican vying for Kenney’s seat. The city councilmember-at-large resigned from his post Feb. 13 to run for mayor after serving in his position for 11 years.
According to Oh’s campaign website, his main plans concern public safety and crime, education reform, jobs and economic prosperity, running a “government that serves the people,” and fiscal responsibility and tax reform.
In 2019, Oh came under fire after posting an article from conservative news site OneNewsNow on Facebook about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s support for health coverage and gender-affirming surgeries. The American Family Association, which owns the outlet, has been referred to by the Human Rights Campaign as a hate group due to their views, which include discussing death and jail time as punishments for homosexuality. Along with the link, Oh asked his followers if they were aware the city provides its employees with insurance that covers these procedures. He also noted that he opposed the law, which City Council passed in 2013.
At the time, Oh told PGN that his intention was to discuss the nation’s health-care process rather than the value of gender-affirming surgery.
“I think part of it was because it dealt with the trans community that is very small and has had a long history of discrimination and abuse and even kind of talking about it was almost like exposing the issue of competitiveness,” he said, “like, ‘Oh, are you saying they shouldn’t have this health care?’ and that was not at all my purpose.”
Oh could not be reached for comment on this story.
Cherelle Parker
Parker noted how she has “been steadfast in [her] support of the LGBTQ community” in a statement to PGN. She has supported several bills to advance the LGBTQ community throughout her career as city councilmember.
In her role, Parker co-sponsored the resolution opposing Pa. House Bill 972, along with Domb and Green. She was also one of the main sponsors of a bill calling for investigations into faith-based foster agencies refusing to let same-sex couples adopt. She also co-sponsored the state’s first bill to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples.
Parker told PGN about her experiences as a Black woman who was born to a teenage mother and raised by her grandparents on food stamps and public assistance. She noted that no one has to tell her “what it is like to feel marginalized for who you are. To feel forgotten. To feel like you do not have a seat at the table.”
“That is why members of the LGBTQ community will know that in my mayoral administration, you will be part of every conversation,” she said. “You will have a seat at the table and your voice will be heard!”
Maria Quiñones-Sánchez
In a statement to PGN, Quiñones-Sánchez said she is proud that the City Council strengthened the Fair Practices Ordinance during her time as a councilmember. Additionally, she noted her support in “efforts to make housing, education and jobs more accessible, ensuring that members of the LGBTQ+ community and all Philadelphians, have more opportunities.” This includes backing Bill 130224, which offered tax-credit incentives to businesses that add same-sex partners to insurance plans and numerous benefits for transgender individuals.
However, she said that being a strong ally and supporting legislation for the LGBTQ community is “not enough.”
“I believe it’s essential to have people with lived experience at the table so that we can make informed decisions,” Quiñones-Sánchez said. “That’s why I always made sure to have members of the LGBTQ+ community on my staff, especially members of the Latinx community. I recognize the intersectionality of identity — if someone is Black or brown and LGBTQ+, particularly if they are transgender, they face additional challenges. We need to make Philadelphia a place where everyone is welcome and can succeed.”
Rebecca Rhyhart
Prior to being elected as City Controller in 2017, Rhynhart served as Kenney’s chief administrative officer. During her campaign for city controller, Rhynhart told PGN that in the latter role, she helped “establish best practices in hiring, to have the most diverse and inclusive workforce.”
Under Rhynhart’s guidance, the controller’s office released reports on the city’s missing $33 million in taxpayer money, police spending, investigations into the city’s response to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the city’s vaccine rollouts, trash collection during the pandemic, plans to reduce gun violence, a spending plan for the city’s $1.4 billion portion of the American Rescue Fund, managerial issues under Kenney’s administration, and details on establishing fiscal transparency within city operations.
When it comes to LGBTQ issues, Rhynhart said in a statement to PGN that the “community is a part of the rich diversity that makes Philly, Philly,”
“We should all be able to love who we love without judgment or hate,” she said. “I stand with the LGBTQIA+ community and will fight tirelessly for their rights as mayor. All of our people, especially communities that have been historically put down, deserve a government that will fight for them and make sure they have what they need to thrive.”
The primary election is May 16 in Philadelphia. To register to vote, click here.
This article has been updated from an earlier version to include all confirmed candidates.
