Michael dithers

by Michael Mahler

Congratulations to Caitlyn Strohmeyer on being appointed to the advisory board for the Erie County Human Relations Commission! I believe that makes her the first transgender person to serve in that capacity. Caitlyn does a lot of good for our community.

The teaser for the Voters Guide is in the print edition this issue. We listed everyone in this print edition who responded and also those who did not respond. Because of the historically large number of candidates for this election, we had to have the text of the responses online, which has been posted for a while now. Read the full version here! Please review the responses when you vote on May 16. Although it was definitely a challenge to deal with this many candidates, it is an excellent sign that there is so much robust participation in our democracy.

This issue was challenging to get out for other reasons. On the Friday of layout weekend, we had a computer crash. Fortunately, thanks to Dropbox and Carbonite, we don't appear to have lost anything substantial, but it is going to take a while to get back to full functionality. I would like to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am for Deb Spilko, my co-editor. I know that the technical problems made things difficult, but she was unfailingly calm, reasonable, and understanding. We have been working together on this project for almost 25 years, and I think that one of the reasons that we have lasted this long is that we have mutual respect. I would also like to thank those of you who offered help or comfort. I am continually grateful for all of the wonderful and understanding people in our community!

And be sure to check out the new shirts for this year's Pride events by NW PA Pride Alliance!