Erie Area LGBTQ+ Leaders Endorse Joe Schember for Mayor
(March 19 - Erie, PA) Today, many leaders of LGBTQ+ organizations in Erie County released the following statement in support of the re-election of Erie Mayor Joe Schember.
"We, as LGBTQ+ leaders from across the Erie region, are proud to endorse Erie Mayor Joe Schember for re-election. From the beginning of his term, he has acted as one of the foremost local elected officials supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
Upon assuming office in 2018, Schember was the first Erie Mayor to march in the Erie Pride Parade that June and the second (since Rick Filippi in 2003) to speak at the Erie Pride Rally in Perry Square. In 2019, the last Erie Pride celebration before the Covid-19 pandemic canceled events for 2020; Mayor Schember again marched in the Pride Parade and spoke at the Pride Rally.
In 2018, Mayor Schember created the first City of Erie LGBT Council to advise him on fairness and equal treatment of LGBT persons. This council has met quarterly every year and helped the Mayor and his staff implement initiatives throughout the city and its municipal government. This work has resulted in the Human Relations Campaign's (HRC) Municipal Equality Index (MEI) scorecard for Erie, rising from 34 out of a possible 100 points in 2018 to 80 in 2020.
In 2018 and continuing each year, in another first for an Erie Mayor, Schember has also permitted the Pride Flag to fly over City Hall during the annual Pride Parade and Rally. Also, he allowed the crosswalk across South Park Row to Perry Square, on the west side of State Street, to be painted in the Pride colors.
The Mayor has been a strong proponent of ending discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons. In June 2019, Mayor Schember championed a ban on conversion therapy which passed City Council unanimously, and in 2021, he publicly called for Congress to pass the Equality Act. He also wrote Erie's federal delegation members and urged them to vote for the Equality Act. He has consistently advocated for all, expressing his dream to live in a community where everyone feels welcome and valued for their unique skills, talents, and perspectives regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender, age, color of skin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or who you love.
For all the reasons mentioned above, we are proud to endorse Mayor Joe Schember for re-election and ask that Democratic voters select him as their nominee this May 18.
Signed,
Dr. Will Koehler, former president of the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality (GEAE)
Alex Sphon, president of NWPA Pride Alliance, Inc.
Leah Manino, City of Erie LGBT Council
Caitlyn Strohmeyer, Founder and former president of TransFamily of NWPA
Dale Allegier, former vice president of GEAE
Leroy Oglesby, City of Erie LGBT Council
Kim Conti, president of LBT Women of Erie
Rev. Dr. Richard McCarty, former president of GEAE
Kevin Seeker, City of Erie LGBT Council
Lucy Reyes, City of Erie LGBT Council
Kyle Hannon, vice president of GEAE
Cody Empey, Treasurer of GEAE
Mike Pruzinsky, former Secretary of GEAE
Rex Apps, Board of Director of NWPA Pride Alliance, Inc.
Tammie Johnson, City of Erie LGBT Council
Emily Crofoot, City of Erie LGBT Council
Bob Howden, former president and founding member of GEAE
Deb Bartle, Board of Directors of GEAE
