Philadelphia voters urge city to make Office of LGBT Affairs permanent

On Nov. 3, voters in Philadelphia voted to support a recommendation that the Office of LGBT Affairs become permanent. Philadelphia is the second city in the United States, after Washington, D.C., to have a permanent Office of LGBT Affairs.

The office was created through an executive order by Mayor Michael Nutter in 2008. Now that it has been officially voted in as a permanent office, it cannot be simply dismissed by another mayor.

“Answering ‘yes’ to this ballot question ensures the Office will become a permanent fixture of our government and serve LGBT Philadelphians for generations to come regardless of changes, to the political landscape,” Director Helen Fitzpatrick wrote in an email.

“There is no guarantee that future leaders will be as protective of the rights of the LGBT community as City Council and this administration have been," said Rue Landau, executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, in the Committee on Law & Government, according to a transcript of the meeting. "Permanency will provide uniformity and clarity to the ongoing work of this important office so that Philadelphia can continue to be a leader in LGBT rights."

While making the office permanent may not have much of an effect on its day-to-day workings, the establishment of the office will bring security to its continued existence as well as serve as a step forward in LGBTQ rights.

LGBT Center Senior Associate Director Erin Cross said the decision will "affect the LGBT community in that our concerns would be given a permanent voice."

Philadelphia, while it does not have the reputations of New York or San Francisco, is “known as a very trans-friendly city” and “as a LGBTQ-friendly city too,” Cross said.

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