Harrisburg – Equality Pennsylvania today announced its slate of endorsed candidates in the April 24, 2012 Primary. The organization made endorsements in races for Attorney General and Auditor General, as well as State legislative and congressional seats across Pennsylvania. Adanjesus Marin, chair of the organization’s 501c4 board commented, “We have candidates we are supporting from across the state, from the big cities to the rural center, and all of these people, if elected, will be strong advocates for the LGBT community. We urge all our members to vote for these exceptional candidates.”
Additionally, Equality Pennsylvania endorsed five openly gay candidates seeking state legislative offices this year. Adrian Shanker, President of Equality Pennsylvania, stated, “In a state that has never seen an openly gay legislator, it is encouraging to see five well-qualified openly LGBT candidates seeking the opportunity to serve, and all in the same year!” The five candidates are: Roy Christ (Dauphin County), Jeff Dahlander (Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming), Chris Dietz (Dauphin), Kelly McEntee (Dauphin), and Brian Sims (Philadelphia County). Pennsylvania has never had an openly gay state legislator.
Endorsed Candidates:
Statewide:
Barack Obama, Incumbent, President of the United States of America
Patrick Murphy, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Eugene DePasquale, Auditor General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Central Pennsylvania:
Roy Christ, Pennsylvania House – 103rd District (Dauphin)
Jeff Dahlander, Pennsylvania House – 111th District (Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming)
Eugene DePasquale, Incumbent, Pennsylvania House – District 95 (York)
Chris Dietz, Pennsylvania House – 104th District (Dauphin)
Kelly McEntee, Pennsylvania House – 105th District (Dauphin)
Linda Small, Pennsylvania House – 93rd District (York)
Sarah Speed, Pennsylvania House – 47th District (York)
Gene Stilp, U.S. Congress – 11th District (Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Luzerne, Northumberland, Perry)
Rob Teplitz, Pennsylvania Senate – 15th District (Dauphin, York)
Lehigh Valley:
Leslie Altieri, Pennsylvania House – 138th District (Northampton)
Kevin Deely, Pennsylvania House – 131st District (Lehigh, Northampton)
Jackson Eaton, U.S. Congress – 15th District (Berks, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Northampton)
Joseph Hass, Pennsylvania House – 187th District (Berks, Lehigh)
Michael Schlossberg, Pennsylvania House – 132nd District (Lehigh)
Judy Schwank, Incumbent, Pennsylvania Senate – 11th District (Berks)
Philadelphia and Southeast:
Beth Alois, Pennsylvania House – 168th District (Chester, Delaware)
Sheamus Bonner, Pennsylvania House – 163rd District (Delaware)
Kathryn Boockvar, U.S. Congress – 8th District (Bucks, Montgomery)
Michelle Brownlee, Incumbent, Pennsylvania House – 195th District (Philadelphia)
Madeline Dean, Pennsylvania House – 153rd District (Montgomery)
Kelly Devine, Pennsylvania House – 150th District – (Montgomery)
Paul Drucker, Pennsylvania House – 157th District – (Chester, Montgomery)
Larry Farnese, Incumbent, Pennsylvania Senate – 1st District – (Philadelphia)
Joseph Frederick, Pennsylvania House – 143rd District (Bucks)
Vincent Hughes, Incumbent, Pennsylvania Senate – 7th District (Montgomery, Philadelphia)
Daylin Leach, Incumbent, Pennsylvania Senate – 17th District (Delaware, Montgomery)
Steve McCarter, Pennsylvania House – 154th District (Montgomery, Philadelphia)
Mark Painter, Pennsylvania House – 146th District (Montgomery)
Damon Roberts, Pennsylvania House – 186th District (Philadelphia)
Brian Sims, Pennsylvania House – 182nd District (Philadelphia)
Will Sylianteng, Pennsylvania House – 151st District (Montgomery)
Manan Trivedi, US Congress – 6th District (Berks, Chester, Lebanon, Montgomery, Chester)
Western Pennsylvania:
Missa Eaton, U.S. Congress – 3rd District (Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer)
Dan Frankel, Incumbent, Pennsylvania House, 23rd District (Allegheny)
Erin Molchany, Pennsylvania House – 22nd District (Allegheny)
Sean Wiley, Pennsylvania Senate – District 49 (Erie)
In addition to the above candidates, Equality Pennsylvania urges the community to support President Obama’s openly gay delegate candidates: Gary Van Horn (14th Congressional District), Mark Segal (1st Congressional District), Equality Pennsylvania’s President, Adrian Shanker (15th Congressional District). Equality Pennsylvania will offer additional endorsements in the Fall General Election.
Equality Pennsylvania is the statewide voice for LGBT Equality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and works collaboratively to establish a comprehensive network of individuals and organizations united in securing equal rights for the LGBT community. For more information: www.equalitypa.org. Equality Pennsylvania is a proud member of the Equality Federation.