Beyond these fundamental protections, my campaign focuses on meaningful representation for the LGBTQ+ community in politics, warding off a right-wing Supreme Court that could poke holes in LGBTQ rights based on “religious liberty,” and addressing the many disparities that the LGBTQ+ community faces in affordable, inclusive health care.
Meet the Candidate
This is the next post of our 2024 primary election season series ‘Political Q&A’ with progressive candidates throughout Pennsylvania. 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 Western Pennsylvania. If your candidate would like to participate in ase contact us pghlesbian at gmail dot com. We welcome candidates at all levels of government across the entire Commonwealth.
These Q&A’s are lengthy because there is a lot of ground to cover.
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
- recognize the 2020 election of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris
I’ve had the privilege of interviewing Summer Lee several times (links below.)
One thing that impresses me about Summer Lee is how she remains connected to her core values while moving into new spaces with confidence. She’s very accessible via social media as any other neighbor might be, but leaves no doubt that she is utterly capable serving in the US Congress. That’s not in a hand shake/kiss the baby/scratch my back sort of relationship. It is the pleas of a new homeowner describing domestic disasters and struggles. It is daughter and sister talking about family dynamics. It is showing up with her constituents.
I am quite pleased she is the second candidate to return her Q&A. That says a lot about her appreciate for the LGBTQ communnity.
I think she says it best so read on …
Name: Summer Lee
Pronouns: She/her
Office Sought: House of Representatives for Pennsylvania’s 12th District
How do you describe your identity? I am a cis, heterosexual Black woman who grew up working class in the Mon Valley. I am committed to working toward justice and liberation for all people.
Tell us about your district, specifically something new you’ve learned about it since you were first elected to Congress. I have learned that people in this district do not feel heard by their government and politicians. That despite working harder than ever, their lives are getting harder, more expensive, and more unmanageable. They do not feel hopeful that their children will live easier lives than them. They need people in Congress and in all levels of government to focus on them rather then corporations and billionaires.
The erasure and silencing of racial injustice in Western Pennsylvania, especially in my own Mon Valley community, still continue to manifest in various ways. The historical legacy of racial injustice, including the presence of former plantations and legalized slavery, remains largely erased from public minds. This disconnect creates systemic inequalities, like environmental racism tied to air quality, without proper acknowledgment or accountability.
Questions and Answers
Please tell our readers about the duties and obligations of the House of Representatives.
As someone who understands the difficulties of the working class firsthand, I see it as my duty to be a voice for those that often go unheard. The House of Representatives is obligated to address issues like systemic racism and economic inequality that disproportionately affects marginalized communities. I believe in using my position to push for legislation that promotes equity and justice, and fight for our nation’s democratic ideals.
Fixing our democracy goes beyond stopping Trump, elected Republicans, and right-wing judges from engaging in voter suppression and abusing their power to overturn the results of free and fair elections. It also includes working to end racist voter ID and suppression laws, restoring the full power of the Voting Rights Act, and ending gerrymandering. The House of Representatives has a duty to ensure that voting is made accessible to all American people, and put the government back in the hands of the people.
Do you support reelecting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024? Why or why not?
I do, a second Trump term would be catastrophic for so many reasons.
The class of 2022 has been touted as the most diverse ever. Western PA sent three openly LGBTQ women to the PA House of Representatives, one of whom is Black, one a Jewish woman, and one an autistic woman. We elected a Jewish man as Governor and a Black man as Lt. Governor. And you became the first Black woman from this region to represent us in Congress.How does this representation change the institutions of government?
Throughout our nation’s history, we have never delivered on the promises of democracy. The legacies of slavery and Jim Crow have carried on through voter disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, and voter suppression making the ballot box inaccessible, especially for poor, Black and brown people across the country. For decades our government has prioritized white, cisgendered men. Our new class of diverse representatives will create legislative solutions and economic investments that address marginalized communities. The more representation we have in Congress, the better we can advocate for all facets of the U.S population.
Much of the conversation about your work and your career references the “grassroots” – from your work in labor organizing and policing to your association with other progressive members of Congress described as “The Squad’ to your relationship with the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement process. And fundraising. How do you describe the “grassroots” and how does your definition differ (if at all) from this media narrative?
For me, the “grassroots” embodies the idea of ordinary people coming together to advocate for change. It’s the foundation of support for campaigns, activism, and lobbying and it represents the goals of everyday people passionate about their community.
I’m consistently inspired by The Squad and progressives across the country who are building power to fundamentally change the political landscape in just the past few years, and I’m honored to have the endorsement of national progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, alongside the 98-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. My involvement with The Squad is definitely part of my grassroots activism, but it only scratches the surface. In my opinion, it’s less about alliances or organizing, but rather genuine connection with my constituents. It’s about listening to the needs of my community and building real relationships.
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Congressional committees are little understood by the general public. Please tell us more about your committee assignments and the work you’ve accomplished in those roles. I have been part of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, (Vice Ranking Member), House Committee on Space Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy
In my first year, I brought home an unprecedented $1 Billion in federal investments for Western Pennsylvania, including over $500 million for infrastructure, over $50 million affordable housing, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fuel clean manufacturing, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.
How has your familiarity with the LGBTQ community in Pennsylvania evolved over the course of time you’ve been in office?
I have always been and will continue to be a friend, ally, and fighter for the LGTBQ+ communities across our region. I’ve served proudly on the Equality Caucus, fighting for an LGBTQ-inclusive budget and policy priorities to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities in housing, employment, health care, education, and in our prison and policing systems. I’ve worked in partnership with community groups like Sisters Pgh, and as board member of the Alliance for Police Accountability, to co-govern, fighting at state, municipal, and federal level for policies that protect and support our LGBTQ+ communities – especially our trans and gender-non-conforming siblings who face so much systemic injustice and transphobic violence across our governing institutions.
What specific legislative actions or administrative activities have you supported to affirm LGBTQIA residents in your Congressional role?
At a time when homophobic politicians, judges, and hate-filled media are attacking our LGBTQI+ community with historic vitriol and violence, passing the Equality Act has never been more urgent. That’s why I helped reintroduce the Equality Act to demand protections for the LGBTQI+ community. I helped introduce a resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment, because we’ve waited too long for its passage and must not allow an arbitrary deadline to move us backward. I also helped introduce the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act to ensure federal surveys that solicit data collection on sexual orientation only acquire that information on a voluntary basis and the Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act of 2023 to ensure the same tax provisions that apply for heterosexual married couples apply to same-sex couples as well.
How can Congress lead the resistance to the assault on transgender children?
I think it’s important that we raise the voices of transgender children, their families, and teammates. We must focus on meaningful representation for the LGBTQ+ community in politics, and address the many disparities that the LGBTQ+ community faces. We must continue fighting back against transgender discrimination in all forms. That’s why I introduced the Equality in Laws Act to protect trangender children from facing discrimination in schools or being barred from participating in team sports. Legislation like the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2023 to address bullying and harassment at universities, and the Pride In Mental Health Act of 2023 to fight back against the mental health crisis among LGBTQI+ youth and increase mental health support are extremely important in addressing the assault on transgender children.
What has to happen for Democrats to take control of the US House of Representatives in this election?
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the House. California and New York are the most important states in the upcoming election, and they are the key to flipping the house in favor of the Democrats. I believe we should prioritize grassroots organizing and voyager outreach efforts in key districts in those states. We need to invest resources into marginalized communities and ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to vote in the upcoming election. It is so important that everyone has a voice in their congressional districts, and I think by mobilizing our supporters we can usher in an era of new, progressive leadership.
You are a member of four caucuses. What role does a caucus play in government and how do those outcomes impact Western PA?
Being part of congressional caucuses can help me influence policy decisions in Western Pennsylvania, secure funding for local projects, and fight for issues that matter to my constituents. As a member of the Congressional black caucus, I have the ability to address racial disparities and promote social justice all across our country. We work to advance policies that address systemic racism, and create new opportunities for people of color. Our advocacy not only impacts my own constituents in Western Pennsylvania, but affected communities across America. As Vice Chair of the Equal Rights Amendment caucus, I advocate for gender equality and ensuring that women’s rights are protected under the law. Our caucus works to advance the ratification of the ERA, and help restore justice to marginalized communities in Western PA.
Long question – I grew up in West Mifflin, minutes from the Mall and less than five miles from Kuykendall-Forsyth-Reed Farm, a former working plantation that enslaved human beings on Route 885, but was never ever mentioned in any context to me – not school, not church, not the cemetery up the street from my childhood home where some slave owners were buried. I learned about this when I was 47, genuinely shocking me even though Western Pennsylvania had various degrees of legalized slavery from about 1750-1854. None of my classmates or neighbors had known of this history.
This juxtaposition of the man who is considered the “founder” of Clairton enslaving people just a mile away, but fading into the annals of time seems to underscore contemporary dynamics around racial justice in the Mon Valley communities of your district, i.e. environmental racism tied to air quality.
How do you see this sort of erasure and silencing around racial injustice manifesting today in your district? And this disconnect with the realities of our regional history?
The erasure and silencing of racial injustice in Western Pennsylvania, especially in my own Mon Valley community, still continue to manifest in various ways. On any given day, our region suffers from some of the poorest air quality in the nation. CEOs get wealthy while the people of Western Pennsylvania–particularly in our Black and brown communities–experience higher rates of asthma, cancer and other diseases. Despite these increased health risks, large corporate polluters have invested millions on lobbyists to stop Congress from acting with the urgency we need to combat the climate crisis and guarantee clean air and drinking water in our communities.
The historical legacy of racial injustice, including the presence of former plantations and legalized slavery, remains largely erased from public minds. This disconnect creates systemic inequalities, like environmental racism tied to air quality, without proper acknowledgment or accountability.
Another significant issue is the refusal of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Block Communications to provide a fair workplace or to honor their legal obligations. This is terrible for labor, but also destroying our flagship media resource. Have you taken the pledge to avoid speaking to the Post-Gazette scab employees? Upon election, what can your office do to save Pittsburgh’s daily newspaper and the fourth estate?
Yes, we have taken that pledge and have boycotted the PG since the strike began. I have been on the picket line with the striking workers every time they have asked and will stay committed to working with them until they can find justice.
Fixing our democracy goes beyond stopping Trump, elected Republicans, and right-wing judges from engaging in voter suppression and abusing their power to overturn the results of free and fair elections. It also includes working to end racist voter ID and suppression laws, restoring the full power of the Voting Rights Act, and ending gerrymandering. The House of Representatives has a duty to ensure that voting is made accessible to all American people, and put the government back in the hands of the people.
Western Pennsylvania was heavily represented, in the number of dioceses with credible allegations and victims in the Attorney General Report on Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church – including some of my friends and neighbors. How will you advance holding the perpetrators and their protectors accountable for the harm they’ve caused?
I support all efforts to investigate the Catholic Church or any other institution accused of sexual abuse. There are too many institutions that do not adequately protect people, often children, from these abuses. I will always support the victims in their efforts to bring abusers and these institutions to justice.
Your campaign heavily promotes your accomplishments bringing infrastructure funding to this district. The structures need fixing, but will that specific money create jobs? Help schools? Create safer communities? How so?
Western Pennsylvania has been ground-zero in dealing with our nation’s crumbling infrastructure–with insufficient public transit with infrequent service, continued traffic congestion issues that keep us from our loved ones, sources of energy that continue to pollute our air and water, and public spaces in need of rehabilitation.
I’m proud that through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, our office has helped secure grants that will certainly create jobs, help schools, and create safer communities.
I secured $50 million HUD Choice Housing grant to revitalize Bedford Dwellings and the Hill district neighborhood, righting past wrongs of racist development decisions by funding much needed rehabilitation and building new affordable housing units. This money will specifically create safer communities, help schools, and create clean accessible jobs.
How many Pennsylvania counties have you personally visited? 7
Tell us about your endorsements.
Federal:
U.S. Senator Bob Casey
U.S. Senator John Fetterman
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Pete Aguilar, Chair of the U.S. House Democratic Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC
Congressional Black Caucus PAC
State:
State Senator Lindsey Williams
Former State Senator Allen Kukovich
State Rep. and Democratic Whip Dan Miller
State Rep. Lindsey Powell
State Rep. Aerion Abney
State Rep. Jess Benham
State Rep. Dan Deasy
State Rep. Emily Kinkead
State Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes
State Rep. Mandy Steele
State Rep. Arvind Vinkat
Local:
City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey
County Executive Sara Innamorato
County Controller Corey O’Connor
Allegheny Councilman for District 1 Jack Betkowski
Allegheny Councilman for District 4 Pat Catena
Allegheny County Councilwoman, At-Large Bethany Hallam
Allegheny Councilman for District 12 Robert Palmosina
Allegheny County Councilwoman for District 3 Anita Prizio
Allegheny County Councilman for District 5 Dan Gryzbeck
Pittsburgh City Council President Daniel Lavelle
Pittsburgh Councilwoman for District 8 Erika Strassburger
Pittsburgh City Councilman for District 9 Khari Mosley
Pittsburgh City Councilman District 3 Bob Charland
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman for District 5 Barb Warwick
Westmoreland Dems Chair Michelle McFall
Finally, what are three reasons people should vote for you/support your campaign?
In my first year, I brought home an unprecedented $1 Billion in federal investments for Western Pennsylvania, including over $500 million for infrastructure, over $50 million affordable housing, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fuel clean manufacturing, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.
Pittsburgh is a union town. I believe that every worker deserves a union, and my campaign reflects that belief. That’s why, in Congress, not only have I fought tirelessly for constituents’ right to unionize and collectively bargain, but I’ve regularly joined striking workers, labor unions, and workers organizing to unionize at pickets, rallies, roundtables, and meetings. I’ve hosted and joined events with UPMC health workers and hospital workers rising, rallied with Wabtec United Electrical Workers, headlined AFL-CIO’s annual lawyers conference, participated in multiple rallies with striking Pittsburgh Post Gazette workers in Pittsburgh and DC, advocated for United Steelworkers to improve relationships with faculty organizing at University of Pittsburgh, hosted UAW, USW, and other unions in DC, met with UAW organizers, met with striking SAG and WGA workers in Pittsburgh, and joined the Black nurses association’s national conference.
And finally, my commitment to the protection of LGBTQ+ rights. I believe that we must continue fighting back against LGBTQ+ and gender discrimination in all forms. Beyond these fundamental protections, my campaign focuses on meaningful representation for the LGBTQ+ community in politics, warding off a right-wing Supreme Court that could poke holes in LGBTQ rights based on “religious liberty,” and addressing the many disparities that the LGBTQ+ community faces in affordable, inclusive health care. In Congress I’ve helped introduce legislation that directly addresses the issues facing the LGBTQ community, including a resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment. My campaign has secured billions of dollars in federal investments for Pennsylvania, fought tirelessly to ensure that every worker has the right to organize, and passed legislation protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Please list your social media accounts and your donation links.
Donation Link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sl-website?refcode=header
Twitter: @RepSummerLee
Instagram: summerleeforpa
Facebook: @summerleeforpa
Thank you, Congressperson Lee.
Q&A With Summer Lee, Candidate for US Congress PA-12 (2022)
PA State Representative Summer Lee Describes Digital Campaigning During a Pandemic (2020)
Q&A with Summer Lee, Candidate for PA State House District 34 (2018)
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.
- 2024 Political Q&A with Makenzie White: What You Need to Know About This Candidate for PA Senate District 45
- 2024 Political Q&A with Summer Lee: What You Need to Know About This Candidate for US House District 12
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