No one should be punished simply because they have found themself in an abusive relationship. Knowing how difficult it is for people to leave these relationships when the abuser has gained often emotional, financial, social, and physical power over them, I felt strongly that they should have every tool possible to gain their independence, freedom, and safety.
Meet the Candidate
Welcome to the 2025 election season series ‘Political Q&A’ – interviews with candidates throughout Pennsylvania. Since 2013, we’ve published nearly 150 of these interviews. We use an email Q&A format to allow the candidates to speak directly to you, the readers.
Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any level of office. Please note that these are not necessarily endorsements, more of an opportunity for candidates to connect with the LGBTQ community, progressives neighbors, and others with an interest in Pennsylvania. If your candidate would like to participate, contact us pghlesbian at gmail dot com. We welcome candidates at all levels of government across the entire Commonwealth. We publish in the order that they are returned and will accept Q&A’s until Election Day.
Please note that Pennsylvania has over 500 school districts. We’d like to talk with candidates in any one of them. Tell your district’s story statewide.
Important to note that I do not edit the responses, including their framing of LGBTQ identities.
These Q&A’s are lengthy because there is a lot of ground to cover. This year, I created about 20 questions per candidate. This is and should be a deep dive because you deserve as much information as possible.
By participating in this Q&A series, candidates are saying that they
- are an LGBTQIA+ ally, specifically supporting equality and dignity for transgender persons
- identify as pro-choice
I first met Erika Strassburger when she was a staff person for then-Councilor Dan Gilman. She was planning to run to fill his seat in a Special Election. A mutual suggested I meet with her and it was a good conversation that led to a new idea for both of us (read on for details.) She completed this Q&A in 2018
I’ve interacted with her quite a bit over the years due to her interest in progressive issues. She was one of the first electeds to show up for the Protect Trans Kids Project. She’s done significant work on domestic violence issues. And she’s brought issues surrouding parenting front and center to City Council.
Name: Erika Strassburger
Pronouns: she/her
Office Sought in This Election: Pittsburgh City Council, District 8
How do you describe your identity?
I am a human who is fascinated by and enjoys the company of other humans. Some might call me a people person. I cherish my identity as a parent, partner, daughter, daughter-in-law, and friend. I identify as female, straight, cis-gendered, and white. My identity is also currently tied to my vocation as a City Council member, and I prefer to be identified as a public servant rather than a politician.
Tell us about your district.
District 8 includes three main neighborhoods: Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and Oakland. More specifically, I represent half of Squirrel Hill – the other half of which is in District 5, currently represented by Barb Warwick. Oakland is a mega-neighborhood technically broken out into five neighborhoods. Of those, I represent portions of North Oakland, Central Oakland, and West Oakland. The district is home to nearly 35,000 people. Demographically, the district is about 68% White and 32% non-White. The largest non-white population is Asian and Pacific Islander at just over 20% (the largest proportion of any other district). All three of the main neighborhoods I represent house both homeowners and people living in rental apartments. These statistics are as of the 2020 census. You can dig into the statistics here: DRA 2020.
The district is also home to many large institutions and employment centers, including the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University, Carlow University, Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, Carnegie Libraries Main and Squirrel Hill Branch, several main hospitals, religious institutions, green spaces such as Mellon Park, Wightman Park, and Schenley Plaza and a few designated historic districts.
You can find an interactive, searchable map here: Pittsburgh City Council Districts, or a photo of District 8 attached.
I truly believe our City and region can grow its residents’ wealth and improve health by ensuring that the places where we live and work are healthy, keep us warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and produce most of their own energy on site. We can treat our waste as a resource rather than a burden, and we can make it easier to get from one place to another without the use of a personal motorized vehicle.
Questions and Answers
What is a hidden aspect of City Council most people might not know about?
People might not realize that in addition to our full-time job as Council members, we all also serve on various boards, authorities, and commissions. I currently serve on the boards of Pittsburgh Water (formerly PWSA), Carnegie Museums (which requires one Council member to serve on its board of trustees), and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (which requires four Council members to serve on its board of trustees). Because I apparently like being busy (and truly have a passion for the causes) I also serve on the boards of the Squirrel Hill Health Center and PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, as well as the Chair of the Appalachian Leaders Network Advisory Council.
What legislative accomplishment as a seated member of City Council gives you the most pride?
I am most proud of the collective bills I have written and shepherded to prevent discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. This means that discrimination in the workplace, in housing, or when accessing public accommodations would be illegal and subject to an investigation and penalty from the City’s Commission on Human Relations. These classes include: sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy status, language spoken, citizenship status, status as a survivor or victim of domestic violence. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a strong and vibrant Commission on Human Relations here in Pittsburgh whose members and staff have acted as a partner to develop and enforce these protections. In the case of discrimination on the basis of sex and sexual orientation, these were already protected classes in City code, however my legislation updated and modernized the definitions. No one in Pittsburgh should live a life of fear at work, when searching for a home, or when visiting a business or public place based on who they are, who they love, and how they express themselves, something that Pennsylvanians outside of Pittsburgh largely face.
Please tell me about your familiarity with the LGBTQ community in your district.
Most of my familiarity with the LGBTQ community in my district comes from my individual relationships with friends, acquaintances, constituents, and staff. I also maintain a good relationship with owners and managers of businesses and safe space businesses such as Eons (Richard Parsakian), 5801 (Ralph Morrow), and the son of the late Wendi Miller whose frame shop and home will hopefully soon be repurposed to honor Wendi’s legacy as one of Pittsburgh’s earliest trans rights and LGBTQ advocates. I have also spent time with Persad Center’s OWLS members (Older Wiser Leaders), many of whom live in my district, and heard their concerns and requests.
Based on this, what do you understand to be our current top LGBTQ concerns and priorities for the City Council ? How will you respond to those priorities?
Despite all of us spending more time socializing online, I understand that gathering spots for LGBTQ folks, and subsets of, are important. Many of these gathering spots have disappeared over the years. I will support any kind of new business or nonprofit that wishes to open in or near my district. I also understand that housing, and in some cases, accessible housing for older adults, is an important issue. Although it sits just outside of my district, I have been thrilled to see the construction of new LGBTQ senior apartments in Oakland. Physical safety is another stated concern, with the first Trump presidential administration unleashing a Pandora’s box of outwardly-expressed vitriol, bigotry, and violence. Ensuring our police and public safety-embedded social workers are helping to prevent and adequately respond to such incidents is something I have worked on. I sit at a very new and quite intersectional table of coalition partners whose mission is to prevent hate and bias before it begins, and I’m pleased that our Pittsburgh Dept. of Public Safety is represented.
In about 70% of Pennsylvania, it is legal to discriminate against people based on gender identity and sexual orientation – to fire us, to refuse to rent to us, even to deny to serve us in a business. The few protections we have come from municipal ordinances, court rulings, and executive decisions none of which carry the weight of legislative action by the General Assembly. Name three things your office will do to address the fallout of this legalized bigotry?
First, I will help increase the funding through the City’s annual budget process to increase funding for our City’s Commission on Human Relations. This will be necessary to fill the gaps that will be left as the Trump Administration defunds this critical work. Second, I will work with this Commission to reaffirm these protections at the municipal level and to help publicize them more widely among LGBTQ audiences, something that is important because the protections are complaint-driven. Third, I will continue to advocate at the state level for the same protections as the City of Pittsburgh has. Fortunately, my State Representative, Dan Frankel, has championed these protections at the state level, and I can raise my voice in support of these bills.
What have you personally and professionally done to protect trans kids?
In addition to the anti-discrimination protections mentioned earlier, I have supported groups like Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, SistersPGH, and Persad Center in various ways – by recognizing them and their youth members through proclamations, by participating in forums and webinars, and through financial support. Ensuring the health and wellness of our region’s trans kids and youth is so very important, and something close to my heart. Additionally, I offered financial support and urged my network to support the fundraising effort to print and distribute Protect Trans Kids yard signs throughout the city. With the recent Trump administration threats to trans kids, I am working with a small group of people to collect information about all drugs and puberty blockers that are critical to trans youth, and advocating for low-cost options for as many of these drugs as possible.
As a blogger and activist for 20+ years, I just received my first death threat for my trans affirming content. I’ve been targeted with hate, vitriol, vicious mocking, and even a few death wishes. Last year, I was doxxed by white nationalist website Stormfront.This latest threat required me to go to the police. How do you support trans City employees who receive similar or worse threats and doxxing?
I would reach out directly to this fellow employee to show my support. I then work to do everything in my power to stop the doxxing and to keep them safe – either publicly or privately, depending on their preference. I work with my contacts at the Police to make sure their home has extra security as needed.
Every school kid learns that we have three branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial. We also have three levels of government – local, state, and federal. Democracy is supposed to rest at the intersections of these branches and levels. Those intersections also include people – citizens, residents, voters, workers, neighbors. It can be overwhelming when the balance of power is heavily tilted in one direction. What three specific actions will you take to address this imbalance from your office?
One of the most important lessons I have learned and have become more comfortable with in my seven years in offices is discerning between representative and trustee. Fortunately, as someone whose values mostly align with my constituents, I can cast votes and take actions knowing that I am doing so as a strong representative of the majority of the residents I represent. I also acknowledge that there are some issues that divide the communities I represent quite a bit. At the local level, these tend to be issues related to parking and zoning. As is often the case at any level of government, those with the most access to power are able to speak with the loudest voices. They might sound like a majority, and unless I seek out those voices who are underrepresented and disenfranchised, I will never know the true breakdown of positions on a given issue. In some cases I do vote against the vocal minority if I believe it is the best decision for our City. I have and I will commit to continuing to seek out and listen to the voices of those who are often the last to speak up. In my district that often includes non-homeowners, young people, and new Americans, among others.
City government has been restructured so departments that formerly reported to both City Council and the Mayor now only report to the Mayor. This includes 311, public access cable TV channel, the Communications office, and even the printing office. Should the executive branch have exclusive control over so much of City government? What impact does this have on City Council?
I agree that these functions should not be centralized under the Office of the Mayor and I fought this move at the time and believe it should be returned to a separate division such as a separate Communications Department, for the sake of good government. That said, I have not noticed a marked shift since this move occurred, from my perspective.
Our nation is in turmoil. Still, City business continues – crime addressed, permits issued, potholes filled.. Our lives move forward, facing life changing personal circumstances in this larger context. How does a city councilor balance this cognitive dissonance?
One of the most gratifying parts of governing at the local level is the ability to accomplish very tangible successes on a daily basis that matter to people in their everyday lives. I might not have the power to make sweeping changes with the stroke of a pen, but I can help solve constituent concerns, convene neighbors to form a new resident-led group, provide a listening ear to groups of constituents who are concerned about an issue, and in many cases take legislative or non-legislative action to fix it. As many of us (myself included) are expending a great deal of energy to stay hopeful in these uncertain and scary times, I consider it a privilege to be able to take action in ways small and large that can positively impact people’s lives, provide them with a great experience, and hopefully, little by little, restore their faith in democracy.
What are the fundamental functions and responsibilities of Pittsburgh’s City Council?
The main functions are to pass a budget, approve spending and contracts throughout the year, and to pass legislation. We also have zoning and city planning approval power to help govern land use, however some of these smaller decisions have been delegated to various boards and commissions, such as the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Historic Review Commission, Art and Civic Design Commission, and Planning Commission. I also consider our role to serve as a healthy check on the Mayor’s office and associated departments. Unofficially, the City Council’s responsibilities have grown and evolved over the years to serve as constituent services liaisons, mediators in neighbor disputes, neighborhood leaders, conveners, and communicators to the district and public at large.
In your 2021 Q&A, I asked you about responding to the priorities of the LGBTQ+ community. You said, in part, “I think it’s incumbent upon me to listen to the voices of members of the community to make that determination, and then follow their lead.” Please give a specific example of when you as a Councilor listened to new LGBTQ voices and how you followed our lead since your election.
I still believe this. I followed the lead of those in the LGBTQ+ community by expanding our laws around women and minority-owned enterprise participation with the City of Pittsburgh in its contracting (who does business with the City as a vendor or provider of services) to include self-certified LGBTQ-owned businesses. The first person who put this idea in my head was the publisher of this Q&A series, which was then operationalized and made possible by the leadership in the Three Rivers Business Alliance. Since then the City’s Equal Opportunity Review Commission has taken this expansion very seriously, and a forthcoming Disparity Study will allow us to set goals for LGBTQ+ business participation.
Your campaign commits to keep Pittsburgh on track to meet its 2030 Climate Action Plan goals. Where have we made the most progress? What is the area most in need of improvement?
I continue to champion this cause, and I plan to host another benchmarking hearing again this year. I truly believe our City and region can grow its residents’ wealth and improve health by ensuring that the places where we live and work are healthy, keep us warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and produce most of their own energy on site. We can treat our waste as a resource rather than a burden, and we can make it easier to get from one place to another without the use of a personal motorized vehicle. We can build a city for healthy, happy people. One of our largest hurdles is funding. Renovating City buildings is incredibly expensive, and with the loss of federal funding to help retrofit our work spaces to make them as energy efficient and low-carbon as possible, this is difficult to do at scale. I hope and expect for the 2-year citywide comprehensive planning process to reaffirm our climate action 2030 goals, and integrating this plan with our numerous other plans throughout the city.
You have sponsored multiple ordinances to address gaps in domestic violence supports. Why is that issue so important to you?
No one should be punished simply because they have found themself in an abusive relationship. Knowing how difficult it is for people to leave these relationships when the abuser has gained often emotional, financial, social, and physical power over them, I felt strongly that they should have every tool possible to gain their independence, freedom, and safety. First and foremost, they need a safe and secure place to live. That’s why I further strengthened the rights for a victim of a domestic violence to avoid eviction, require property owners to change the locks of their dwelling unit, and avoid discrimination based on their history. The same goes for employment – it is now illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee on this basis. If an employee must attend a court hearing related to their case, for instance, the employer may not penalize them at work for attending such a hearing.
There’s a clear need to actively create space for women, especially Black women and other women of color, in elected office AND on campaign and legislative staffs. These are issues of representation and realities. Tell us about your campaign team.
As a candidate running in an unopposed City Council race, my campaign is admittedly small. My campaign director identifies as a straight white woman. We have also hired a part-time field organizer who identifies as a white man.
Why did you agree to complete this Q&A?
I value the service that the publisher of this Q&A provides, allowing a space to answer unique, customized questions for a broad audience.
Endorsements, Social Media, and Summary
Tell us about your endorsements.
I am proud to have received endorsements from the Steel City Stonewall Dems, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, and the Allegheny County Democratic Committee so far this cycle.
Please list your social media accounts and your donation links.
Facebook: Erika Strassburger for City Council
Instagram: @estaafstrass
Donation link: Erika Strassburger — Donate via ActBlue
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Not at this time. Thank you!
Thank you, Erika.
In the case of discrimination on the basis of sex and sexual orientation, these were already protected classes in City code, however my legislation updated and modernized the definitions. No one in Pittsburgh should live a life of fear at work, when searching for a home, or when visiting a business or public place based on who they are, who they love, and how they express themselves, something that Pennsylvanians outside of Pittsburgh largely face.
Other Q&A’s
Other Q&A’s in this election cycle series. You can read previous cycle Q&A’s here. If your candidate would like to participate, please contact us pghlesbian at gmail dot com.
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Lauren Leiggi, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Amy Mathieu, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Matt Rudzki, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Amy Bridges, Candidate for New Castle School Director
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Sarra Terry, Candidate for Allegheny Court of Common Pleas
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Eva Diodati Candidate for Pittsburgh Public School Board District 7
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Amanda Neatrour for Pittsburgh City Council, District Two
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Candidate For Allegheny County Council
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Lissa Geiger Shulman Candidate For Allegheny County Council
The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Erika Strassburger, Candidate For Pittsburgh City Council
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