Rue Landau, Bella Vista resident and former executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, is likely to become the first openly LGBTQ city councilmember.
Landau, who has received endorsements from Working Families Party and the LGBTQ Victory Fund, finished in the top five of Democratic primary candidates on Tuesday.
If elected in November, Landau will make history, as Philadelphia is the largest U.S. city that has never elected an openly LGBTQ member to its city council.
But this wouldn’t be the first time that Landau set a precedent. In 2014, Landau and her wife Kerry were the first same-sex couple to obtain a marriage license in Pennsylvania.
“Philadelphia is long overdue for LGBTQ+ representation on City Council. Rue dedicated her entire career advocating for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities, and we know she will continue that work in City Hall,” Kevin Levy and Andrew Slom, Chair and Vice Chair of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association, wrote in a statement.
