Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

It is almost time for a feature we’ve published for a decade – the Political Q&A interviews with candidates for political office in Pennsylvania.

What is the Political Q&A?

Each year, we customize a Q&A of about 15-20 questions for interested candidates running for any level of office – local, state, and federal from anywhere in Pennsylvania. I explore their backgrounds, their political beliefs, and probe their LGBTQ competency. I spend a lot of time creating each Q&A.

Soon, I will begin reaching out to 2025 candidates in the primary election. It is always interesting who returns their Q&A first. It is also interesting who ducks and weaves around my requests. I’ve only had one candidate politely but clearly decline to participate. I respect that they answered my inquiry and did not just hope I’d go away. That was professional.

No candidate for office has any valid reason not to answer a LGBTQ Q&A. Right?

Otherwise, there’s a lot of ducking and weaving. Oh, yes there is.

How to Participate

To participate a candidate or campaign can simply email pghlesbian@gmail.com

They must

• Support full equality for LGBTQ community
• Identify as pro-choice
• Not have participated in election denial activities or legislation
• Not have requested, but failed to return a Q&A in previous years (we can discuss)

This is not an endorsement. It is one of many opportunity to engage the LGBTQ community and educate the larger community about the candidate’s LGBTQ competency. I’m not looking for an exclusive, I’m looking for answers.

I publish in the order that the Q&A’s are returned to me. I will publish right through election day, but of course I prefer to publish early.

A few notes

The sooner you request a Q&A, the more time I’ll have to craft great questions and the longer you’ll have to answer.

If you run for office every two years and find the Q&A repetitive, we can adjust.

If I live in your district and you do not participate, people notice. I don’t try to rationalize.

You can forward this email to campaigns and candidates, inviting them to participate. I blast away using email, campaign website forms, social media accounts. I reach out to campaign staff and volunteers. I text, ask mutuals to put in a good word, etc. I badger the ACDC, Facebook groups, anyone who canvasses me, etc.

Why have I published nearly 140 Political Q&A’s since 2013?

In 2025, we cannot afford to allow any candidate to intentionally ignore LGBTQ campaign questions. That’s a burden we all share. An obligation we must fulfill.

Just this week, I wrote a blog post on the way in which a book ban debate in Pine-Richland School District is providing a smokescreen for actual sexual violations of students by a former athletic trainer. No one else is reporting this. I don’t have super secret information, just the capacity to connect the dots. Read for yourself and understand this – there are 500 school districts in Pennsylvania. Who is monitoring them? Who is protecting the former students who were victimized by a predator in the bathroom? Not the School Board.

If you are following School Board races in your community, reach out to me.

What races are on the 2025 ballot?

We have a local race for Pittsburgh Mayor with an incumbent and one challenger so far. I hope both will reach out.

Three seats on the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court will be on the ballot.

One seat on the Commonwealth Court and one seat on the State Superior Court are on the ballot.

Philadelphia has two ballot measures to consider.

Six seats on Allegheny County Council are on the ballot with three incumbents opting not to run again.

At least a half-dozen spots on the Common Pleas Court bench are expected to be on the ballot owing to retirements and some older judges reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 per WESA.

What else?

It is a new era. We have to get the school board candidate information. We have to make sure people understand the real impact of the judges. We have to get our of Alleghey County and see what’s happening in the region.

God only knows what is going to happen on the federal level. We have to do this work.

Please. Share this blog post with people you know who are running for office, Other than it taking some time to answer, there’s no reason to hide. There’s every reason to be transparent and decisive on LGBTQ equality among other issues. We deserve their responses.

Send me an email pghlesbian@gmail.com