PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is the largest U.S. city that has never elected an openly LGBTQ member to its City Council, and some local Democratic insiders are pushing the party to change that.
“Philadelphia and Pennsylvania are usually first in something,” said Mark Segal, who is the editor of Philadelphia Gay News and a close friend of Democratic Party leaders. “This is something that we’re last at.”
The endorsement of the Democratic City Committee, which is made up of the city’s dozens of neighborhood-based ward leaders, can be crucial in Council races. In a crowded 2019 race for the five at-large Council seats open to Democrats, all five winners were backed by the party.
