PGN kicks off our 40th year with a look back at 1976 PAGE 15
Drag yourself out to the Mummers Parade
Our favorite photos from 2015 PAGES 18-19
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Jan. 1-7, 2016
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 40 No. 1
People of the Year: Mike Barry and Allison Ruth By PGN Staff Mike Barry and Allison Ruth may not be names everyone in our community knows, but they’ve been the primary players in prosecuting someone whose name most know: Kathryn Knott. Barry and Ruth, both assistant district attorneys with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, handled the high-profile gay-bashing case for more than a year. Knott, Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams were part of a group of 15 people who verbally and physically assaulted gay couple Zachary Hesse and Andrew Haught Sept. 11, 2014, in Center City. By all accounts, the victims were the primary focus throughout Barry’s and Ruth’s work this past year. They negotiated plea deals with Harrigan and Williams that were satisfactory to Haught and Hesse and walked the victims through each step of the process when Knott chose to take her
case to trial. They expertly sifted through and presented the facts of the case in a digestible and credible way that ensured convictions. This case has the potential to shed serious light on the state’s lack of a hate-crimes law, and Barry and Ruth’s leadership — and focus on the real impact of the crimes committed Sept. 11, 2014 — have been influential in that effort. Investigators and the D.A.’s Office contend that Harrigan made an antigay comment toward Haught and Hesse that set off a melee in which all three defendants verbally and physically attacked the couple. Knott, Harrigan and Williams were arrested about two weeks after the incident, and Barry and Ruth were assigned to the case from the start. It was a high-profile case from the onset but, in an interview last month, Barry told PGN he’s comfortable with such cases; he prosecuted former police officer Frank Tepper for a 2009 murder and Mustafa Ali
for the 2008 double murder of two retired cops. He took the sharp public scrutiny in the gay-bashing case in stride. “It was tough because so many people felt so strongly about this case, every move we made was met with some response but that’s part of being a public servant,” he said. Nellie Fitzpatrick, assistant district attorney and director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, said Barry and Ruth come from prosecutorial backgrounds that made them natural fits for this case. “I think it was very important for prosecutors to be working on this case who have high levels of experience dealing with high-profile crimes,” she said. “Mike certainly is no newcomer, and for that matter neither is Allison, to handling high-profile matters in the city.” Barry, a native of Northeast Philadelphia, is the son of a late police PAGE 12
BARRY TALKING TO REPORTERS AT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER DEC. 18 Photo: John Kopp/Philly Voice
Two more LGBTs added to top Kenney team
Budget delay hitting LGBT groups By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com
By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com
Philadelphia organizations serving the LGBT community continue to provide programs and services despite that though they are owed, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state in the six-month stalemate that continues over the budget. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced at a news conference Dec. 29 that he would veto parts of the $30.3-billion spending plan advanced last week by the Republican-controlled legislature. He added he would release more than $23.3 billion in emergency funding for basic education, state-corrections institutions and medical assistance. It’s not yet clear when dispersal of those funds will begin. Health organizations like Mazzoni Center and Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance have been invoicing the state for services that are normally funded. Sue Daugherty, chief operating officer of MANNA, said her organization has sent invoices each month that amount to nearly PAGE 17 $200,000 in awaited payments.
Mayor-elect Jim Kenney this week appointed a lesbian and a gay man to two new top posts. Anne Fadullon will serve as director of the Planning and Development Cabinet starting Jan. 4. Voters established the new cabinet in the City Charter in November to combine and oversee the city divisions of development services, housing and zoning and planning. “Having the planning and implementation functions together is great so they can inform each other,” Fadullon told PGN. “It’s great to have wonderful plans, but if we can’t ultimately implement them, we don’t want them to just sit on the shelf.” Jeff Guaracino will become president and CEO
PRINCIPLED PERFORMANCES: More than 150 people celebrated at the ninth-annual community Kwanzaa event Dec. 26 at William Way LGBT Community Center. The event paid tribute to the seven principles of Kwanzaa through live performances by Ashley Phillips, Nikki Powerhouse and Rasta Boi Punany. It was co-sponsored by the Strength Alliance and featured collaboration from a number of groups, including Philadelphia Black Pride, The Attic Youth Center, Men of All Colors Together, The COLOURS Organization and Unity Fellowship of Christ Church. Photo: Patrick Hagerty
of Welcome America Inc., the official producer of Philadelphia’s Independence Day celebrations. Under the Kenney administration, the nonprofit is charged with expanding its focus to create citywide events year-round. “The opportunities are boundless,” Guaracino told PGN. “The first step will be to plan what will hopefully be a tremendous Fourth of July celebration and re-engage stakeholders. It will precede the 2016 [Democratic National Convention], kicking off the national attention for the city.” Kenney said Fadullon and Guaracino each have decades of experience, making them ideal candidates. Fadullon has worked in real-estate development, legislative policy and project management, which Kenney called instrumental PAGE 17