Latino Pride
Saturday, June 5th
12-8 PM
5th and Jefferson Streets in North Philly

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Sunday, June 13th
12-6 PM
The Great Plaza at Penn's Landing

Slinging insults about a candidate's sexual orientation has never been considered particularly high-brow, but a Pennsylvania state representative's recent attack on her opponent's professed bisexuality may be a new twist on the matter.

Gregg Kravitz, seen in this undated photo, was accused by Democratic primary opponent State Rep. Babette Josephs at a recent fundraising event of lying about his bisexuality to pander to Philadelphia's powerful gay vote.

"I outed him as a straight person," Josephs, 69, said at the Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant, while Kravitz supporters recorded her speech.

"When we heard it, we were, frankly, shocked," Kravitz told ABCNews.com

The 29-year-old, who quit his position as campaign director for congressional candidate Manan Trivedi to run for the 182nd district, emphatically denied that he ever lied about being bisexual.

"I'm a bisexual man," he said. "I've had intimate relationship with both men and women, not that it's anyone's business. But that's what bisexual means."

Denis Dison, spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which supports LGBT candidates across the country, was familiar with the dispute between Josephs and Kravtiz, and said it was an exceptionally rare argument.

"The idea that somebody would pretend to be part of the community to improve their chances of being elected is a fairly unique situation," he said.

Dison said that most of the candidates supported by the Victory Fund have the opposite problem -- their opponents try to make sexuality a campaign issue in hopes of swaying the voter away from the LGBT candidate.

"Whether or not she was attempting to smear him or attempting to, in her mind, get the truth out there," he said, "it's not something is ... 99 percent of the time legitimate to discuss in the campaign."

Josephs, who is straight, has been a longtime outspoken advocate for LGBT rights and has championed the community's causes at the state level. Her district is home to the city's well-known "gayborhood."

And while the LGBT voters on their own don't make up the majority of the constituency, they and their straight supporters do.

But Josephs sidestepped questions about the accusations she lobbed at Kravitz, telling ABCNews.com that she only made the comments to distinguish her own career of public service.

"It shows that it doesn't matter what your sexuality is, if you have no record, you're not qualified to be in office," she said.

When asked if she still believed Kravitz was not bisexual said she had "no notion" and that she never dated him or planned on it. She quickly ended the interview.

Kravitz confirmed that he has been dating a woman since January -- Josephs pointed to that as evidence he was lying in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer -- but said that doesn't mean he isn't attracted to men.

"That fact that my opponent chooses to use this as part of her stump speech ... is inappropriate and a dirty campaign tactic," he said.

In her speech at the Black Sheep, Josephs also called Kravitz a "trust fund baby" who has never had a real job.

Kravitz said that while he has a thick skin, he's concerned that Josephs' accusations could be damaging to people who are still in the closet and send a message to LGBT youth that coming out opens you up to ridicule.

"I sincerely hope that this campaign can go back to focusing on issues of substance," he said.

Kravitz, who has been publicly identifying himself as bisexual since college, said that while he doesn't go around telling everyone he meets, being open about his sexual orientation shows his constituents he has a "personal investment" in the community.

"It's not exactly something I walk around introducing myself, 'Hi I'm Gregg Kravitz and I'm bisexual,'" he said.

Micah Mahjoubian, co-chair of the Liberty City Democratic Club, said he was surprised at the attention the dispute has gotten, but that he's pleased about what it stands for.

"This incident I think illustrates how important candidates are taking the LGBT community," he said.

The Liberty City Democratic Clubhas endorsed Josephs in the primary, calling attention to her efforts to block efforts to ban same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania.

But club members, Mahjoubian said, have no reason to doubt Kravtiz's sexuality.

"Gregg identified himself as a member of the LGBT community," he said. "Of course we take him at his word."

In what some analysts call a sign of growing gay political clout, a Pennsylvania state representative from Philadelphia has accused her male primary challenger of pretending to be bisexual in order to pander to the district's LGBT voters.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, in Center City's 182nd state house district, "Veteran Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) last Thursday accused her primary opponent, Gregg Kravitz, of pretending to be bisexual in order to pander to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters, a powerful bloc in the district."

"I outed him as a straight person," said Josephs during a fund-raiser, according to the Inquirer, "and now he goes around telling people, quote, 'I swing both ways.' That's quite a respectful way to talk about sexuality. This guy's a gem."

The Inquirer reports that Kravitz, 29, said he is bisexual and that the taunting is offensive.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal said, "We've hit a new high point when candidates are accused of pretending to be gay to win a seat,"

The 70-year-old Josephs has the endorsement of gay leaders like Segal and the Liberty City Democrats, Philadelphia's LGBT political club. According to the Inquirer, Josephs has worked to block the passage of a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, and to add sexual orientation to the state's hate-crimes law.

It's happened so often that it's now a cultural cliche: the gay politician pretending to be straight. In most parts of the nation, homosexuality or bisexuality is a clear electoral liability.

Not in Center City's 182d state House district. There, it's a badge of honor.

Veteran Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) last Thursday accused her primary opponent, Gregg Kravitz, of pretending to be bisexual in order to pander to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters, a powerful bloc in the district.

"I outed him as a straight person," Josephs said during a fund-raiser at the Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant, as some in the audience gasped or laughed, "and now he goes around telling people, quote, 'I swing both ways.' That's quite a respectful way to talk about sexuality. This guy's a gem."

Kravitz, 29, said that he is sexually attracted to both men and women and called Josephs' comments offensive.

"That kind of taunting is going to make it more difficult for closeted members of the LGBT community to be comfortable with themselves," Kravitz said. "It's damaging."

But others said the remarkable quarrel itself was a sign of progress.

"We've hit a new high point when candidates are accused of pretending to be gay to win a seat," said Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News and a pioneering civil rights advocate.

"I've been doing this for 40 years, and I never have heard of this kind of charge in any race in the nation," he said. "I take that as flattery. It shows how far we've come."

In her pitch, Josephs was pleading for money and volunteers to help her watch polling places in the May 18 primary. "There will be cheating if he can get away with it, because he already has tried to lie to people about a whole bunch of stuff, including his sexuality," Josephs said.

For good measure, Josephs also told her listeners that Kravitz was a "trust-fund baby" with no discernible job history who was running for the House because he was bored.

Josephs, 70, first elected in 1984, has the endorsement of the Liberty City Democrats, the preeminent LGBT political organization in the city. A blunt-talking liberal, she worked to block passage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and to add sexual orientation to the state's hate-crimes law.

In an interview, Josephs said she stood by her comments about Kravitz. She said her opponent told her he was gay, then showed up at a campaign event with a woman who introduced herself as his girlfriend. On the trail, Kravitz has described himself as a "proud member of the LGBT community," and he discussed his bisexual orientation while pitching Liberty City for its endorsement.

"He's said so many things to so many different people that I am puzzled," said Josephs, a widow. The issue is Kravitz's credibility, she said, adding that she did not like identity politics.

"My sexuality is not a qualification for office," Kravitz said. "I bring it up only in the context that it's important for the LGBT community to have a seat at the legislative table." He said that it would be good for "right-wing" lawmakers in the capital to work with an openly bisexual colleague.

Kravitz denied that he had ever talked to Josephs about his sexuality, and said he did not recall telling people that he "swings both ways."

Segal, who is supporting Josephs, said he had no reason to doubt Kravitz. "I take him at his word," Segal said. He added that he believed Kravitz had a bright future in politics, but that it was important for lesbian, gay, and bisexual activists to reward political allies regardless of their personal orientation.

Kravitz is Center City's second self-identified bisexual candidate in as many election cycles. Anne Dicker, a married anticasino activist who ran unsuccessfully for the First District state Senate then held by Vincent J. Fumo, advertised her bisexual orientation.

Josephs, in her 10-minute speech, challenged Kravitz's qualifications.

"I wouldn't be concerned except for the fact that he's a trust-fund baby, he has as much money as needs; he does not have a job, he's 29 years old, he's never had a job; and so 24/7, he is out there talking to my friends, my supporters, my constituents, and saying, 'She's entrenched. She's part of the problem.' And I've been told he's even said, 'She's old.' "

Though she has been around and has deep support among longtime district residents, Josephs told the gathering she was worried because at least 10,000 voters have moved into the district since her last campaign, and they don't know anything about her.

Kravitz said that he did not have a trust fund - "I wish it were true" - and that he had worked on Wall Street and in politics. He was a trader for Schoenfield Securities (now T3 Capital), then worked for a political fund-raising firm and as a consultant on several congressional campaigns. Before announcing his candidacy for the state House, Kravitz was a spokesman for Sixth District congressional candidate Manan Trivedi.

The Kravitz campaign said that a tape of Josephs was made by a supporter who was in the Black Sheep and was invited to join the event in the second-floor bar area, though she did not have a ticket for the fund-raiser. The campaign provided a copy of the tape to The Inquirer.

The Liberty City Democratic Club held its endorsement meeting last week, with members selecting the slate of candidates they felt would best represent the LGBT community at the state and federal levels.

The LGBT political group endorsed U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in his reelection bid against challenger Congressman Joe Sestak (7th Dist.), as well as Joe Hoeffel in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race.

Micah Mahjoubian, co-chair of Liberty City, said those two races saw the most debate from the 55 voting members in attendance at the April 8 endorsement meeting, although the disagreement wasn't as widespread as in years past.

"There was definitely support for both candidates in the Senate race and it was between Hoeffel and [Allegheny County Executive Dan] Onorato in the governor's race, although the winners did win with about 60 percent of the votes," he said. "But when you compare it to when John Street was running for reelection as mayor, that was very close and there was lots of maneuvering and caucusing from each side, but we didn't really have that this time around."

Other endorsed candidates include Jonathan Saidel for lieutenant governor, Manan Trivedi for 6th District in the U.S. House and Pennsylvania House candidates Fern Kaufman for the 26th District, who is an open lesbian; Tim Kearney for the 172nd District; Jonathan Ramos for the 180th District; Lewis Thomas for the 181st District; Josh Cohen for the 194th District; and Anthony Ingargiola for the 195th District.

The club also endorsed incumbent Reps. Mike O'Brien (175th Dist.), Babette Josephs (182nd Dist.), Kenyatta Johnson (186th Dist.), James Roebuck (188th Dist.) and Vanessa Brown (190th Dist.).

An endorsement committee comprised of 10 Liberty City members recently met to review all of the questionnaires completed by candidates seeking endorsements and made recommendations. The committee then put forth motions to endorse each candidate during the meeting and, after debate on some of the candidates, each recommendation was supported by a majority of the voting body.

Not making the list were out candidates Daryl LaFountain and Gregg Kravitz, who were challenging incumbents O'Brien and Josephs, respectively.

Mahjoubian noted that the club did not make endorsements for all races, such as in the 7th Congressional District, in which none of the candidates completed questionnaires. The club also did not make primary endorsements in uncontested Democratic races, such as incumbent Rep. Patrick Murphy (8th Dist.).

The primary election will be held May 18.

Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club has overwhelmingly endorsed Arlen Specter for US Senate and Joe Hoeffel for Governor at a their annual primary endorsement.

In the other races, former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel was unanimously endorsed for Lieutenant Governor. Manan Trivedi received the endorsement in the race for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional Dist.

Incumbents Babette Josephs and Mike O'Brien both received endorsements over open members of the LGBT community. Liberty City Co-Chair Adah Bush moderated the first half of the evening and was pleased with the process. "Even in the middle of some passionate debate from both sides, the level of civility and discourse was great to see. I know that not all members supported every candidate that was endorsed, but that speaks strongly about the openness of the process and the diversity of opinions represented by this organization," Bush said.

Others endorsed include State House (172)-Tim Kearney; State House (180)-Jonathan Ramos; State House (186)-Kenyatta Johnson; State House (188)-James Roebuck; State House (190)-Vanessa Brown; State House (194)-Josh Cohen; and State House (195)-Anthony Ingargiola.

Endorsements, and a new poll released Wednesday, show the Democratic race for Governor to be wide open, with less than five weeks remaining before the primary. That makes endorsements important to some candidates.
Planned Parenthood PAC, the Pennsylvania National Organization for Women PAC, and Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL, joined in endorsing Joseph Hoeffel for Governor. So did the Liberty City Democratic Committee, which joined the Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh and the Steel-City Stonewall Democrats, hopefully bringing Hoeffel needed campaign money.

"I am honored and thrilled to receive this endorsement," said Hoeffel. "I have spent my career in public service working for the rights of women in the workplace, health clinics, schools and in every segment of our society. Pennsylvania has some of the most onerous impediments to a woman's right to choose, and I will lead the effort to replace them with laws worthy of a 21st-century society.

The endorsements followed a Quinnipiac poll showing Hoeffel's momentum has put him in the middle of the pack of Democrat contenders seeking the nod for Governor.

The new poll also still shows Republican Pat Toomey leading both likely Democratic opponents, Sen. Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak, in Pennsylvania's fall General Election for US Senate.

READING, Pa - Influential community organizations to individual community leaders alike, Democrat Manan Trivedi continues to receive key endorsements that will prove to be a valuable asset to the campaign's ground game with just a little more than one month before the May 18 primary.   From the Liberty City Democrats to the Greater Reading PAC (GRPAC) to a Democratic party chairperson, a state Representative and twenty-four more committee people, Trivedi is picking up momentum at a critical time in the election season.

Coming from the Liberty City Democrats, the organization released the following statement on their web site following their endorsement meeting. "Manan Trivedi submitted an excellent questionnaire showing a real understanding of and passion for LGBT issues. His record of military service in Iraq and background as a medical doctor would give him a valuable perspective as a Congressman. From repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell to understanding the unique healthcare needs of LGBT community members, Manan will be an advocate. If elected, he will also be the only Indian-American serving in Congress."

Both GRPAC president Jen Schlegel and their treasurer, Bob Millar stated that "Manan is an outstanding candidate and we found his background and progressive positions on the issues important to us to be compelling reasons to endorse him."

The addition of the individual community and political leaders now brings Trivedi's total to 137, which triples the amount of his Democratic primary opponent.

Here's the official statement on the gay or LGBT endorsement for Joe Hoeffel from Philadelphia:

Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club Endorses
Arlen Specter for U.S. Senate and Joe Hoeffel for Governor

Philadelphia, PA -Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club, the premiere Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender political organization in Pennsylvania, overwhelmingly endorsed Arlen Specter for U.S. Senate and Joe Hoeffel for Governor at a their annual primary endorsement meeting held at the William Way LGBT Community Center yesterday.

A motion from the endorsement committee to endorse Senator Specter was approved 32-22 and a motion to endorse Joe Hoeffel was approved 32-19.

"Arlen Specter and Joe Hoeffelboth have long records advocating for the LGBT community and Liberty City is prepared to work hard to turnout voters for both candidates in the May 18th Primary Election," said Liberty City Co-Chair Micah Mahjoubian. "Both men demonstrated a clear understanding of our issues, and the willingness to act, which resonated with our members."

In the other races, former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel was unanimously endorsed for Lieutenant Governor. Manan Trivedi received the endorsement in the race for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District. Incumbents Babette Josephs (whose district includes the William Way Community Center) and Mike O'Brien both received endorsements over open members of the LGBT community. Members of the organization spoke about the need to elect candidates from the community, but felt strongly about supporting incumbents that have been strong advocates for LGBT issues in Harrisburg.

Liberty City Co-Chair Adah Bush moderated the first half of the evening and was pleased with the process. "Even in the middle of some passionate debate from both sides, the level of civility and discourse was great to see. I know that not all members supported every candidate that was endorsed, but that speaks strongly about the openness of the process and the diversity of opinions represented by this organization," Bush said.

The club will now begin to implement an aggressive "get-out-the-vote" operation on behalf of all Liberty City endorsed candidates.

The complete slate of Liberty City endorsements are:

U.S. Senate-Arlen Specter
Governor-Joe Hoeffel
Lt. Governor-Jonathan Saidel
U.S. Congress (6)-Manan Trivedi
State House (26)-Fern Kaufman
State House (172)-Tim Kearney
State House (175)-Mike O'Brien
State House (180)-Jonathan Ramos
State House (181)-Lewis Thomas
State House (182)-Babette Josephs
State House (186)-Kenyatta Johnson
State House (188)-James Roebuck
State House (190)-Vanessa Brown
State House (194)-Josh Cohen
State House (195)-Anthony Ingargiola

* * *

Liberty City is a progressive, membership based, political action committee serving the greater Philadelphia region that works within the Democratic Party to achieve and sustain economic and social equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.

From the moment that Democrat Joe Hoeffel got into the race for governor, there's been little question that his social policies are the most friendly toward abortion rights advocates and gay rights advocates. This week Hoeffel was rewarded for those stances, with significant endorsements from one of the state's most prominent LGBT groups and from the state's Planned Parenthood political action committee.

Hoeffel, the Montgomery County commissioner and former congressman, was endorsed Wednesday night by the Liberty City Democratic Club in Philadelphia. Hoeffel won the group's backing with 32 of the 51 votes, and has now netted strong support from LGBT constituencies across Pennsylvania. On Thursday morning, Hoeffel was unanimously endorsed by Planned Parenthood's Pennsylvania PAC.

"More than any other candidate in this race, Joe Hoeffel understands that people need information and options so that they can make responsible life decisions," Sari Stevens, executive director of the group's PAC, said in a statement. "But we also need responsible government to ensure women and men have access to safe, affordable, preventative care. Joe understands the role of government in private medical decisions and we look forward to working with him as Governor of Pennsylvania."

In an interview Thursday afternoon, Hoeffel said the endorsements served as recognition of his long record supporting equality and reproductive freedom.

"I'm delighted," Hoeffel said. "I feel very strongly that our laws should treat people equally, that everyone should have full civil rights."

Of the Planned Parenthood endorsement, he said: "I have always supported women's reproductive freedoms, and I was thrilled to be endorsed for my career-long view."

When the Liberty City Democratic Club voted on its endorsements Wednesday night, it also backed Senator Arlen Specter for reelection, Democrat Jonathan Saidel for Lieutenant Governor and Democrat Manan Trivedi in the 6th Congressional District.

"Arlen Specter and Joe Hoeffel both have long records advocating for the LGBT community and Liberty City is prepared to work hard to turnout voters for both candidates in the May 18th Primary Election," Liberty City co-chair Micah Mahjoubian said in a statement. "Both men demonstrated a clear understanding of our issues, and the willingness to act, which resonated with our members."

Members of the LGBT community turned out in force April 1 at Tabu for a meet-and-greet with nearly 20 political candidates who are seeking LGBT support in next month's primary. The event, organized by Liberty City Democratic Club, drew about 150 community members, about which Liberty City co-chair Micah Mahjoubian said he was "pleasantly surprised." On Tuesday, Liberty City hosted a similar event at Q and the organization's endorsement meeting was scheduled for April 7.

longtime member of the Liberty City Democratic Club and the former deputy secretary of external affairs under Mayor Street is now the head of the LGBT political organization.

The Liberty City board voted Feb. 17 to elect Micah Mahjoubian as its co-chair after Gregory Walker, who was recently elected alongside Adah Bush, stepped down for personal reasons.

Mahjoubian has been a member of Liberty City since 2000 and served on the group's board off and on throughout the decade, and most recently was elected in January 2008.

Mahjoubian said that when the opportunity recently arose to take on the leadership role, he jumped at it.

"I have a strong passion for Liberty City; I think there are a lot of great LGBT organizations out there doing important bipartisan work, but I am a strong advocate of the Democratic Party and I believe we need to have LGBT points of view represented within our party," he said. "Liberty City really is the only organization in Philadelphia that has that mission, and I wanted to certainly be as much a part of this organization as I could."

Mahjoubian said he and Bush plan to fuse their backgrounds to benefit Liberty City.

"It's going to be a great partnership. The way we look at it, she brings a fresh energy, being newer to the board, and she's already shown the ability to bring new ideas and passion to the work that is very exciting," he said. "And I have the more longtime experience, being a political consultant and knowing the political players, so I think the two of us will make a great team."

Mahjoubian was a member of Street's administration for eight years and made headlines in 2007 when he and partner Ryan Bunch were joined in a commitment ceremony in City Hall, over which Street presided.

Mahjoubian now works as a political consultant, and said the political ties he's established have already benefited the LGBT community.

He previously worked on John Dougherty's campaign for state Senate and facilitated a meeting between Dougherty and Carrie Jacobs, executive director of The Attic Youth Center. After meeting the youth at the center, Mahjoubian said Dougherty, a local labor leader, was motivated to rewire the entire building to ensure it would be up to electrical codes, an in-kind donation that Mahjoubian said would have cost The Attic $70,000.

"Those are the kinds of unusual connections that I want to make and that I want to bring to Liberty City," Mahjoubian said. "My strength in the community is the close relationships I've developed with many people who you might not always think of as part of our political base. And I want to build coalitions with other Democratic power centers. I don't think we're most effective if we just preach to the choir, if we just organize amongst ourselves. We need to begin dialogues with building trade unions or black clergy or the Democratic Party itself. We certainly want to remain a strong independent organization, but I think we need to also build our relationships."

Currently, Mahjoubian is working on the campaign to re-elect U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, as well as on Sharif Street's bid for state representative, but said his own political leanings will not influence his work at Liberty City.

"I certainly want to make it clear that I am a political consultant, and while I'm paid by both campaigns, I informally advise a lot of others. I want to be completely transparent about that and about who I'm personally working with," he said. "We are an organization of political people, and many of us have been involved with different campaigns, which I think is part of the strength of our organization. But when it comes time for running endorsement meetings and other things like that, I'll certainly take a step back and defer to my co-chair to lead those efforts."

In addition to broadening its community connections, Mahjoubian said Liberty City also has a lot of internal "building" he'd like to see happen, particularly with the creation of new committees comprised of Liberty City members.

He said the organization's issues committee has already been very successful in mobilizing around HB 300, the statewide nondiscrimination bill, and in supporting the effort to remove the gender stickers from SEPTA passes.

Mahjoubian said he's also interested in the issues committee hosting a platform convention, during which members can create an official platform of issues and policy items that Liberty City wants to advocate for, which he said will not only help the group to organize itself but could also help motivate a new batch of activists.

The LGBT and ally community is invited to join Liberty City for two upcoming candidate nights, March 18 and 22, at the William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. to hear from candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate and the Pennsylvania legislature. Both events will start at 6 p.m.

Adah Bush, one-half of the new leadership at Liberty City Democratic Club, is looking to fuse her passion for social-justice work with her adeptness at grassroots activism to create viable change for the LGBT community through the local political landscape.

Bush, who was elected alongside Gregory Walker as the co-chairs of the LGBT political group in November, moved to Philadelphia about 10 years ago from her native Utah.

Before heading east, Bush had worked in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and also provided health-education outreach to ethnic minorities.

As a Native American, Bush said she's always felt a pull toward advocacy work on behalf of marginalized populations.

"I have an enlarged sense of justice," Bush said. "Even as a child, if I didn't think something was fair, I'd have to say so. I'm one of those people who if I see some injustice being done, I want to help and guide efforts to stop that. That's just an innate part of me."

While in Utah, Bush was involved in an effort to counter legislation that sought to institute an "English-only" policy for all state-printed materials.

"I networked with a lot of other organizations and collaborated and brought in a lot of new people to work on this," she said, noting she gained support from the hearing- and visually impaired, as well as from Navajo "code takers," whose language proved invaluable in World War II.

The measure was eventually defeated in 1999.

"People in favor of this had argued that there was just a small group of people who would be impacted, but we tried to show that there were many, many people who'd actually be impacted," Bush said. "And I think that's something that we in the LGBT community need to embrace more. We need to realize that it's not just us; we have family members, coworkers and friends who are impacted when we're discriminated against and who more than likely would be willing to battle with us for these rights."

Since Bush moved to Philly to be closer to her partner, Sheri, she has volunteered as a juror and screener for QFest and worked with Sheri on numerous events staged by Mountain Meadow, a summer program for children of LGBT parents.

Bush works in contracting at GlaxoSmithKline and is a member of the organization's LGBT employee network.

She said she was involved in the "periphery" of Liberty City in recent years and took on a more active role during the 2008 presidential election.

"I had been volunteering, going door-to-door on behalf of Liberty City, and then started becoming more involved because of the election when I saw how important that was," she said. "I realized early on that if we could get a majority of voters in Philadelphia to vote Democrat that we could take the state and could make real progress for equality for LGBTQ communities."

Bush said that Obama's success, as well as the election of many other LGBT-supportive candidates in the area, illustrated the hard work of such groups as Liberty City.

"Through the get-out-the-vote initiative, I realized what an impact Liberty City can have on furthering the equal-rights fight in our community. They really have a lot of ability to get people elected who are supportive of the community, which can be very important for our progress."

Bush said she also hopes to institute a system to measure how well those candidates-turned-elected-officials are living up to their promises to the LGBT community.

"Liberty City has worked very hard to get certain candidates elected, but right now there hasn't been much documentation on how supportive these candidates actually are once they're in office," she said, noting that one of her goals for the agency is the development of a "scorecard" to track elected officials' LGBT positions. "This would show whether or not candidates are supporting issues like ENDA, what they've done on our behalf. And if there are candidates who are voting against our issues, it sends a message to Liberty City that these candidates shouldn't be supported in the next election."

Bush is also hoping Liberty City can launch an initiative similar to its 1998 effort to train dozens of LGBT individuals to run as Democratic committeepersons, which resulted in 33 of the 36 candidates getting elected.

Liberty City will host elections for new board members at 6 p.m. Jan. 28 at the William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., Bush said the organization is hoping to expand its leadership to include more representatives of the transgender and ethnic minority communities.

"We're trying to be as diverse as possible so we can fully represent the community. This organization is open to everyone, and we need people from all of our communities to show that," she said.

Prior to the board elections, board member Micah Mahjoubian will lead an "Election 101" discussion, Bush said, during which he'll explain the ins and outs of this spring's primary process and provide an overview of the candidates' positions.

Bush encouraged all LGBT and ally community members to attend the meeting to educate themselves about the upcoming election and to strengthen Liberty City's capabilities.

"We need everyone's support both financially and by actual bodies; we need people to come support us so we can support candidates who will work on our behalf," she said. "I think it's really important this year to have a really strong showing at the polls by our community so people can see that we're here, we're not going away and we're going to continue to fight for our civil rights."

Members of the Endorsement Committee will determine which candidates qualify for endorsement and evaluate them based on candidate responses to a questionnaire, interviews, the candidate's address to membership, and other research.

The endorsement committee is made up of between 5 and 15 members selected by the Board Development Committee and ratified by the Board for a two year term. The current committee was approved by the board in January of 2009 and includes the following members:

Matt Woodcock, Chair
Cei Bell
Irene Benedetti
Sarah Jacobson
Micah Mahjoubian
L. Curt Mangel III
Michael McCool
Ray Murphy
Soda Nobuhle
Solaris Powers

The endorsement committee is guided by a detailed set of guidelines throughout its process, which can be viewed here.

The endorsement committee will present its recommendation to the General Membership at the General Membership Endorsement Meeting. Each recommendation will be considered a motion to be debated and voted on by the General Membership.

Only members in good standing with a valid ballot may speak during the General Membership Endorsement Meeting. Non-members may attend, but must remain in a clearly designated location behind the voting members. Non-members may not participate in any discussion.

In order to be a member in good standing with valid ballot during the Endorsement Meeting, our by-laws require a member must:

• Have paid dues at least 45 days prior to the endorsement meeting, except for members in good standing from the previous year who shall be permitted to pay their dues up until the start of the Endorsement meeting; and


• Have attended or participated in at least two (2) Liberty City-sponsored meetings, events, functions, or other such activities deemed appropriate by the Board, within the previous twelve months.

An endorsement requires a simple majority vote of the members present and voting. Voting shall be by secret ballot, unless there is unanimous consent to endorse by a voice vote.

The 2010 Primary General Membership Endorsement Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM at the William Way Center located at 1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia.

Related Documents:
Liberty City By-Laws
Endorsement Committee Guidelines
2010 Primary Candidate Questionnaires