Primary Candidate Forum Recap

from NW PA Pride Alliance 

On Thursday, April 16, NW PA Pride Alliance Inc and the Mental Health Association of Northwestern PA (MHA) jointly held a candidate forum at MHA's office, 1101 Peach St, Erie PA. The forum addressed both LGBT and mental health related issues. 

Candidates attending included Elvage Murphy for Erie County Court of Common Pleas, John Morgan for Millcreek Supervisor, and Nathaniel Strasser for Magistrate, 5th Ward, as well as Erie City Council candidates Sonya Arrington, Gary Grack, Bob Merski, Rebecca Styn, Richard Wagner, and Jon Whaley. Trish Catalano, candidate for Erie County Council District 5, also participated. About 30 voters attended. 

Thanks go out to Diana Ames for coordinating, Kelly Kidd for moderating, Matthew Robison for taking photos, Season Crannell, Rita Wheeler, LuAnn Gossett, Bill Grove, Lenny Ginnery, Michael Mahler, and Michael Mooney for support. 

About the Author

Michael Mahler

Michael Kenton Mahler (He/Him) has been the editor of Erie Gay News since it was founded in December 1992. He is also a founding member of NWPA Pride Alliance. He serves on the Governor's Commission for LGBTQ Affairs and is active with Aging with Pride and the Erie County HIV Task Force. He became the first LGBTQ person to be fully out in May 1992 when appearing on local TV coverage. Michael currently works as a software developer for Erie Custom Computer Applications.