PGN Nov. 11-17, 2011 edition

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Meshell’s coming back out

Family Portrait: Quincy Greene

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DOMA repeal efforts gain momentum

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Nov. 11-17, 2011

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Vol. 35 No. 45

Out, ally candidates produce victories at polls By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com This week’s municipal election saw little fanfare but resulted in several victories for LGBTs and allies throughout the region. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas will now have three openly LGBT judges, as out attorney Barbara McDermott finished first in her race, joining Dan Anders and Ann Butchart on the bench. McDermott captured 8.54 percent of the vote, leading the pack of 11 Democrats who were all elected to the bench. Out lesbian Marlene Pray was elected to the Doylestown Borough Council, surviving a rumored Republican write-in campaign to become the borough’s first openly LGBT member. The borough is now led by all Democrats. Openly gay Republican Norristown attorney Daniel Clifford was unsuccessful in his bid to join the Montgomery County Court of

Common Pleas, finishing fourth out of four candidates competing for two seats, which both went to Democrats. Out Republican Tony Simao also lost his race for Bethlehem City Council. In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter won re-election in a landslide over Republican challenger Karen Brown. Dennis O’Brien will be one of the new Republican at-Large members in City Council, with David Oh leading the votes for the second seat. At press time, Oh led Al Taubenberger by 176 votes with 97 percent of precincts reporting. Councilman-at-Large Bill Green led the five Democratic at-Large incumbents, who were all re-elected. Republican 10th Distrist Councilman Brian O’Neill, the only Republican with a district seat, defeated Democratic challenger Bill Rubin, who managed to capture 40 percent of the vote. Democrat Bobby Henon will now represent the 6th District, forPAGE 6

OCCUPY RITTENHOUSE: About 300 protesters geared up to provide an unwelcoming welcome to presidential candidate Mitt Romney during his trip to Philadelphia last Friday. Led by members of Occupy Philadelphia, the protesters marched from Dilworth Plaza to The Rittenhouse Hotel, where a fundraiser for the antigay Republican was being held. Romney entered the front doors of the hotel after the demonstrators moved to the back of the building to await his arrival. Photo: Scott A. Drake

LGBT orgs conflict over future of youth program

Penn State hit with sex-abuse scandal By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The former longtime defensive coordinator for Penn State University’s football team was arrested over the weekend after a grand jury indicted him on dozens of charges stemming from alleged sexual abuse SANDUSKY o f s e v e r a l young boys. Jerry Sandusky, 67, is accused of fondling and engaging in oral and anal sex with eight boys throughout a 15-year period. Sandusky retired in 1999 after 23 years with the university’s football team. The abuse is alleged to have happened both during and after his time at PAGE 14

By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com

GROWTH SPURT: Virginia Austin (center), practice manager at Mazzoni Center Family and Community Medicine, and Mazzoni Center executive director Nurit Shein (right) review plans for the practice’s expansion effort currently underway. The behind-thescenes tour Nov. 3 gave community members a preview of the renovations, which include the addition of six new patient rooms, bringing the practice’s total to 14, and the refurbishing of the reception and office space. Photo: Scott A. Drake

The leadership of two statewide LGBT groups have been in talks in the past few weeks over the future co-existence of both organizations’ youth programming. The Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition is pressing Equality Pennsylvania to shutter its Student Network Across Pennsylvania program, from which PSEC developed. Six months ago, students involved with SNAP broke from Equality PA to launch the independent, student-run PSEC. Jason Landau Goodman, PSEC executive director, asserted that the similarity of the missions of the two entities has become problematic. “We literally came from this program but this program is now

being used to duplicate our work,” Landau Goodman said. According to its mission statement, SNAP, launched in 2007 and revived last year, provides “resources and opportunities” to enable members to become “involved” and “educated” about the LGBT-rights movement and to “enact change” on campuses and in communities through leadership development. P S E C ’s m i s s i o n s t a t ement describes that it provides “resources and support” to LGBT youth and schools, works for “social support and coordinated campus-community organizing” for LGBT rights and strives for Pennsylvania to respect diversity issues, with the “primary focus” being on local, state and federal safe-schools legislation. Ted Martin, Equality PA executive director, PAGE 2


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