On March 6, Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club held its first quarterly general membership meeting of 2025 at William Way LGBT Community Center. The agenda of the meeting was to introduce new members of the board, set a path forward for the primary elections coming later this year, discuss various issues of concern to the members, and to meet various candidates who will be seeking Liberty City’s endorsement.
Starting the proceedings were board co-chairs Gregg Kravitz and Rachele Fortier who introduced various board members and committee heads. Kravitz and Fortier explained to the membership that much of the current board is new, and noted the importance of growing the board and expanding the general membership.
Board member Sergio Cea made a presentation explaining various local governmental posts up for grabs in elections later this year. These posts include district attorney, city controller, inspector of elections, and a whole raft of judgeships through the local judicial system.
In the open discussion with the membership, two issues stood out. First was concern about Mayor Cherelle Parker’s lack of action in appointing an executive director for the city’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, a post that has been vacant since November. Some members expressed concern that this lack of action raises doubts about the mayor’s commitment to re-energizing the long-somnolent Commission on LGBT Affairs.
Second was an overall concern that both the local and national Democratic Party has fielded an inadequate response to the Trump administration’s destructive agenda. Many members called for a new “Spirit of Stonewall” that would motivate the community’s spirit of resistance.
The final item for the general membership meeting were words from City Councilmember Rue Landau. The councilmember expressed her continuing pride in being the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to City Council, and her commitment to ensuring that city government continues to address the community’s needs.
In a private conversation, Kravitz and Fortiere went into some detail about some of the long-term goals for Liberty City, such as forming coalitions with other local LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations and expanding the club’s pursuit to address the lack of a continuing statewide LGBTQ advocacy presence in Harrisburg.
But the co-chairs acknowledged that that would have to wait until Liberty City itself was expanded and re-energized. They admitted that since the COVID lockdown, the club’s membership and activities have been somewhat diminished, and that reversing that trend has to be their primary goal for the near future. The co-chairs admit that they need members on the board who can help address more of the club’s needs, such as recruitment, marketing and publicity.
The evening ended with a meet and greet where hopeful candidates gathered signatures to qualify for the spring primary elections.