Ted Martin, Executive Director of Equality PA emailed me about my post the other day concerning the endorsement of candidates.  Originally, I was going to add this as a comment to the blog post, but then decided to post it directly to assure more folks saw it. If you know anyone who runs for office, encourage them to contact Equality PA so that they are sent a questionaire.

From Ted Martin:

Like you, I was frustrated by the less-than-robust Western response we received EVEN after we increased our outreach significantly from what we had done for the Primary.  I know for some people EQPA and what we are attempting to do statewide is new and that getting to know us will be a process.  Obviously, that goes for those running for office as well.  Just know that we are committed to making sure that the West is represented fully in everything that we do (as an aside, our 13-member board is now almost half from the West with 3 members being from the Southwest and 3 being from the Northwest — including Lisa Kustra of Pittsburgh as the Vice President and Kevin Bennett of Erie as the Treasurer).  I would also welcome any suggestions you may have on building interest in the endorsement process.  Let’s face it, more candidates on record on LGBT issues benefits everyone everywhere.  Would you be willing to help publicize the availability of questionnaires the next time around?  Give it some thought and please let me know.

I suppose my question for Ted would be this: what role do their board members play in helping to identify candidates?  I would hope that their board members here in the Pittsburgh area would have been aware of many local candidates like Bruce Krause. Perhaps board members can reach out to candidates to let them know that Equality PA is now issuing endoresments. Ted is an advocate for LGBT rights with a proven history, and I would also count him as a friend. I appreciate their hard work and also look forward to how their work impacts the state of PA as they continue to grow.