Q&A With Jessica Benham, Incumbent Candidate for PA House District 36

Jessica Benham

As a member of the minority party, it’s incredibly difficult to get legislative priorities to move in Harrisburg. In fact, so far, no bill prime sponsored by a House Democrat has been signed into law this legislative session. I have used the amendment process to still advocate and fight. State Representative Jessica Benham This is […]

Q&A With La’Tasha Mayes, Candidate for PA House District 24

As a voting rights advocate and integrated voter engagement organizer, there is a frame for voting justice called “electoral justice” coined by Jessica Byrd, Rukia Lumumba, JD and Kayla Reed of the Movement for Black Lives. It represents the idea posed in your questions created by Black women and femmes working at the intersection of […]

Q&A With John Fetterman, Candidate for US Senate

John Fetterman for Senate

I learned a great deal from the tour, and it helped build my understanding and knowledge of how a legal recreational marijuana system, which I have long strongly supported, could work in Pennsylvania. And some of what I heard on that tour helped change my opinion on a few issues relating to legal weed.  Lt. […]

PA House Republicans Advance Anti-Trans Legislation That Will Do Nothing to Help Working Families

On its face, the legislation is absolute rubbish. Trans women and trans girl and nonbinary folx are incredibly underrepresented in academic athletic programs. All this fuss and bother to pass these bills in Republican controlled states is such an obvious attempt to delude voters into thinking they are protecting children while actually not attending to […]

Q&A with Emily Kinkead, Candidate for PA State House District 20

Emily Kinkead Pennsylvania

if re-elected, I intend to leverage my new relationships (if the Democrats don’t manage to take the majority) to get some traction on one of my most important, if possibly least sexy, pieces of legislation – a bill that would establish a state insurance program (like mine subsidence insurance) for people impacted by landslides. State […]

Q&A With Jerry Dickinson, Candidate for U.S. Congress PA-12

Yes, I am committed to a fully inclusive Equality Act that includes gender identity. I would not vote for a version that focuses on sexual orientation and not gender identity as this would exclude a large population of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our trans and non-binary siblings need powerful, equitable representation and protection This is the […]

Q&A With NaTisha Washington, Candidate for PA House District 24

Unfortunately Pittsburgh/Allegheny County does a bad job of celebrating and acknowledging our talented resident until they’re famous or nationally recognized. I’ve fortunately had the opportunity to meet or know about many people around the city doing amazing work but they were not locally supported like they should. Last year I highlighted black environmentalists, but this […]

A Year in the Life of a City of Pittsburgh Commissioner on the LGBTQIA+ Commission

One year ago, I was among a group of 17 individuals nominated and approved to serve as Pittsburgh’s first LGBTQIA+ Commission. That was February 9, 2021 so a little more than a year. Sue Kerr, Kathi Boyle, Richard Parsakian, Leonard Orbovich, Sarah Rosso, Jam Hammond, Guillermo Velazquez, Denise DeSimone, Luca Salerno, Tiffini Simoneaux, Nekia Burton […]

Do you want to answer our political Q&A for the 2022 Pennsylvania primary election?

Political Q&A

Each election cycle, we publish Q&A’s with candidates for all levels of office. It is a pretty popular series and often consulted for insight into candidates’ queer/progressive/social justice values. To be eligible, candidates must be running for office in Pennsylvania at any level. Our readership extends statewide so we welcome candidates from anywhere in the […]

Mayor Gainey Appoints Out Trans Latina Maria Montaño as Press Secretary, Unveils Letterhead With Pronouns

Maria Montaño

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey made a landmark announcement today, sharing that he has appointed Maria Montaño as his Press Secretary. Montaño is an experienced communications professional who brings a lot of talent and wisdom to the position. She also happens to identify as a proud trans, queer, Latinx woman. Montaño is possibly the highest ranking […]