Philadelphia Elects First Openly LGBTQ Council Member

Philadelphian voters have recently made history by electing the city’s first openly LGBTQ+ council member. Rue Landau, a Democrat, accepted her at-large Philadelphia City Council position earlier this month.

This is only the latest in a series of notable firsts by Landau. In 2014, she and her wife Kerry Smith were the first same-gender couple to get a marriage license in Pennsylvania immediately following its legalization. And while there have been closeted council members in the past, Landau was also the first candidate to be nominated for city council while publicly out. Back in the May primary, she was the third highest vote earner which all but guaranteed her a position on the council.

However, this victory was a long time coming. Before now, Philadelphia was the last major U.S. city with no LGBTQ+ representation on the city council. “Philadelphians want to make progress,” says Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund (which endorsed Landau’s campaign), “and they trust Rue to bring their voices to the Council.” That long-awaited progress has slowly but surely grown in the City of Brotherly Love.

Just a couple weeks ago, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed an executive order protecting the privacy of individuals seeking gender-affirming care. While there have undeniably been rough patches in the city’s queer past, Landau’s historic victory marks a major win for the LGBTQ+ community.

Of course, Landau is no stranger to activism. She was the director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and the Fair Housing Commission for over a decade. She has also worked with many legal and activist organizations including ACT UP, Community Legal Services, and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union.

What are Landau’s plans now that she’s a council member? In her own words, she wants to focus on “community-led solutions to (Philadelphia’s) neighborhood problems.” This includes increased funding for schools and libraries, as well as increasing communication between the city and its residents.

And of course, she hopes that she can use her position to help open the door to more LGBTQ+ leaders in the future. As she said at her victory celebration, “Without a doubt, I am the first, and I absolutely will not be the last.”

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