Ohio’s out elected LGBTQ+ officials respond to latest developments in Biden-Harris presidential campaign

Reggie Harris

Cincinnati City Councilmember

I am incredibly grateful to President Biden for his leadership, courage, and steadfast commitment to this country. I fully support the President’s decision to exit the race. He did what was best for our country. 

President Biden’s term has had a profound impact on Cincinnatians. His leadership has brought billions of infrastructure dollars to our city, bolstering our development. His support for housing has directly contributed to many of the housing and zoning projects I led as a council member. And his unwavering support of the LGBTQ community in the face of violence and discrimination has been a beacon of hope for many. 

Now, more than ever, we need to unite as a party to defeat Donald Trump. Every race on the ballot is critical, and we must be clear-eyed about what’s at stake. Our unity is our strength, and it’s what will lead us to victory.

This is why I fully support Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. VP Harris is the moment! Her intellect, tenacity, and acumen are precisely what we need to defeat Donald Trump. And I cannot wait to elect her as the first Black woman President of the United States of America. 

Robert E. Schleper, Jr

Chagrin Falls School Board Member

The Democratic Party has not been proactive about building a bench with the next generation of leaders, and we need to change that in the coming years. I am thrilled with President Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris as his successor, and believe she is what we need to move our nation forward. Vice President Harris has my full and unequivocal endorsement and support.

Aurelio V. Diaz

Mansfield City Councilmember

My reactions to Biden dropping out of the presidential election, and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris was a huge curveball that I didn’t expect to see. I really feel that Vice President Harris has been underutilized during this Administration,  and I think that many voters will not be confident seeing her as a victorious candidate as a result. I am still very unsatisfied with the two party system, and I quite honestly am not too fond of the options that voters are presented with.

Meagan S. McBride

Tiffin City Schools Board of Education Member

Watching the RNC was devastating. As I listened to Senator Johnson, Rep MT Greene, and the former President use homophobic and anti-trans language, my heart sank to hear such openly hateful and dangerous language. I feel that President Biden showed true leadership in his choices to pull out of the race and endorse Vice President Harris. I am hopeful that Vice President Harris will advocate and fight for the LGBTQ+ community, which is needed now more than ever.

Micah McCarey

Athens City Councilmember

I’m incredibly grateful for President Biden’s thoughtful leadership decision and endorsement of VP Harris. Voting for LGBTQ-affirming candidates at the national, state, and local level is essential. My dismay over legislators in our Ohio State House rolling out anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is part of what motivated me to run for the 95th District seat in our Ohio House of Representatives this November. I’ll be proud to be on the ballot with Kamala Harris.

Damon Sherry

Bowling Green City Councilmember

As of July 22nd, Vice President Harris has now secured enough delegates to become the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, and with the historical outpouring of donations and support for her I am optimistic about the future of the United States. 

Vice President Harris has been and continues to be a strong ally of LGBTQ+ Americans and she has my full endorsement for the Office of the President of The United States.”

Cindy Strebig

Lakewood City Councilmember

President Joe Biden put the people of our country before his own ego. He must be recognized and celebrated for this historic and selfless act.  His endorsement of Vice President Harris has energized Democrats and set up the debate that I want to see, the prosecutor vs. the felon. 

Anthony Gomez

Cuyahoga Falls School Board Member

I feel a special connection to Kamala Harris as we were both proudly born in Alameda County, California – home of Oakland! She first held elected office in San Francisco where Harvey Milk himself was elected and served. She gets us as LGBTQ+ folks. She will advocate for us more than any president ever has before. I’m excited at the historic opportunity to elect her. As LGBTQ+ electeds we often get to make history within our communities and it is exciting to be part of this historic election. We WILL elect our first female president. And with Congress and the Presidency we will codify Obergefell once and for all. 

Charmaine McGuffey

Hamilton County Sheriff

I am 100% with and behind Vice President Kamala Harris. She is a leader whose time has come to empower all people who believe in fair and equitable treatment for themselves and others. She is the leader who will ultimately preserve our democracy.

Nick Komives

Toledo City Councilmember

I am feeling hopeful and excited to have a reinvigorated Party. The energy is electric. We will stop Trump and the Republican attacks on LGBTQ people and all minorities. 

Rep. Jodi Whitted

Ohio State Representative, House District 28

Everything is at stake. I believe that the LGBTQ+ rights that have been fought for and established the past 50+ years will not survive another Trump presidency. Additionally, it is not just the presidency at stake, but the future of our SCOTUS. 

Lori O. Trent

Upper Arlington Board of Education Member

Everything is at stake for the LGBTQ+ community and quite frankly everyone in America. We have a choice to keep moving forward or not. We must listen to our younger generations and understand that the world they envision may be very different from some of ours. Let’s engage them, listen to them, and trust them. This is a time for unity, compassion, and acceptance, not hatred and lies. 

Robert E. Schleper, Jr

Chagrin Falls School Board Member

Everything is at stake. Trans people are being murdered, LGBTQ+ suicide rates have skyrocketed, and our young people are being attacked in schools. In our communities, we’re seeing attacks both legislatively and socially.

As an openly gay elected official, candidate for office, and community member, I am alarmed by what I am seeing happening in my state and my county. Most importantly, I’m a father and a husband, and the implications of what I am witnessing deeply concerns me. Our lives are at stake. Our families lives are at stake. Our livelihoods are at stake.

Every facet of the lives of LGBTQ+ Americans is being called into question. We see the attacks on our fundamental freedoms, and the push toward vanquishing our community. The choice couldn’t be clearer in November. No candidate will be perfect, and no individual will check every box. What LGBTQ+ folks must ask themselves is what a Harris administration means for their lives as opposed to a Trump administration.

Russell Balthis

Cuyahoga Falls City Councilmember

So much is at stake. With Roe v. Wade we saw how rights held by Americans for nearly 50 years could so quickly be taken away.  There is no question marriage equality is at risk, and JD Vance is openly opposed to marriage equality and both Trump and Vance are very hostile towards transgender Americans.   

We all need to talk to our friends and family about the importance of this election and the need to elect pro-equality, pro-freedom, and pro-democracy candidates, which include Vice President Harris and Senator Sherrod Brown.

Bobby McDowall

Mogadore City Councilmember

Aside from the future of our democracy, Donald Trump and his GOP allies have been using our community as a punching bag for years. Trump and his allies have terrorized the trans community with their rhetoric and actions. The Legislature passed a bill to deny children access to medication necessary to treat gender dysphoria.

Representative Gary Click has said he wants to ban gender affirming health care for all trans individuals, including adults. Donald Trump appointed hundreds of far-right judges to lifetime positions in the federal judiciary. These judges have rejected constitutional challenges to these laws and used their positions of power to overturn regulations from the Biden administration to protect trans kids in schools.

The Biden Administration has used executive action and federal rulemaking to protect the LGBTQ+ community. Joe Biden pushed for the codification of marriage equality and successfully got a bill through a closely divided Congress. Kamala Harris will continue the work and progress of the Biden administration. Trump will use the powers of the Presidency to harm our community.

Malia Lewis

Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District Board of Education Member

This is very personal to me. My wife and I are worried about what a second Trump term would mean for our family. We have begun re-writing our wills and other documents with an eye towards the very real possibility that the federal government might dissolve our marriage.

Project 2025 is a (very long) road map towards a dystopian future society in which we would lose our rights and freedoms as women, as lesbians, as non-christians, as parents of Black people. I worry about my young adult children’s futures should Trump regain office, enough to lose sleep at night.

And then when I think about all the LGBTQ people who are younger than me, the kids whose futures are even more uncertain, I get very very scared and depressed. Young people need stability, support, and love in order to reach their full potential. Not chaos, vindictiveness, and constraints.

Rep. Jodi Whitted

Ohio State Representative, House District 28

First and foremost we need to VOTE. Talk to your neighbors about voting and make sure they are registered and have a way to the polls. We need to advocate for our LGBTQ+ candidates at the top of the ballot and also down ballot. Contact your local Democratic club or county headquarters. Find out what they are doing and how you can get involved and be active. This is our government and now, more than ever, we need to protect it.

Reggie Harris

Cincinnati City Councilmember

We need all Ohioans to register their friends and family to vote. We need all Ohioans to knock on doors, give what they can, and bring as many people as possible into democracy by organizing rides to the polls, phone banking, and spreading the word about the Republican’s vile Project 2025 and the devastating impact it will have on our country. No role is too small, and every effort matters!

Robert E. Schleper, Jr

Chagrin Falls School Board Member

LGBTQ+ Ohioans must fight like they have never fought before. Our community is used to fighting for our fundamental freedoms, and this is no different. Tell every single person you know to vote. Republicans turn out to vote. Let’s make sure Democrats are doing the same. Talk to everyone you know that has a sense of apathy about this election. With the potential candidacy of Kamala Harris for president, we are seeing a new sense of hope and urgency surrounding the election. Seek out ways to move the needle however you can.

Support elected officials that are out or are allies. When you vote in November, vote down the entire ballot. It is shocking to me that many people will go into the voting booth and only vote for the top of the ticket and nothing else. You’re already voting, finish your entire ballot! The rest of us down ballot need your support at the local and state levels as well. Finally, don’t lose hope. Bullies respond to strength, and when we galvanize our community and collaborate with other disenfranchised communities, we win. Push back, fight hard, and remember who you are.

Russell Balthis

Cuyahoga Falls City Councilmember

We all need to talk to our friends and family about the importance of this election and the need to elect pro-equality, pro-freedom, and pro-democracy candidates, which include Vice President Harris and Senator Sherrod Brown.

Aurelio V. Diaz

Mansfield City Councilmember

I would encourage LGBTQ+ Ohioans to think outside the two party system because it creates limitations and divisiveness. When I speak to residents in Mansfield regarding local leaders and local candidates, I strongly encourage them to study their words and promises, but most importantly, do your homework. Look at the track record of each candidate, figure out what they’ve accomplished for communities other than their own, ask questions, and analyze their character.

Bobby McDowall

Mogadore City Councilmember

First, vote. Make a plan to vote and encourage your friends and family to do so. When you vote, be sure to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. Every election, from President down to local judicial elections, are incredibly important.

Senator Sherrod Brown and congressional Democrats like Emilia Sykes and Marcy Kaptur have been steadfast allies of the LGBTQ+ community. We need to support them and make sure they are re-elected. We need to elect more Democrats to our state legislature to fight against the anti LGBTQ+ bills being pushed by the GOP. Partisan control of the Ohio Supreme Court is on the line. The Court hears a lot of important cases, including a case challenging the ban on gender affirming medical care. 

Second, talk to your friends, family, and coworkers about the election and what it means to you. Tell your people what this election means for you and the LGBTQ+ community. Tell them what it feels like when an entire political party goes after you and your community with the power of the government. Tell them that children are being targeted and forced to flee the state to receive necessary medical treatment.

Having one-on-one conversations with people who know you and care about you is the most impactful thing you can do to help our community and persuade someone to vote for the candidates who will protect the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, if you can afford it, please consider donating to your favorite Democratic candidate. Our campaigns are fueled by small-dollar donations, and even a $5 donation is helpful to a local candidate. As a former candidate for State Representative, I know first hand how difficult it is to raise the funds necessary to get your message out to voters. Anything you can afford to give will go a long way.

Malia Lewis

Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District Board of Education Member

Queer folks in Ohio must work in whatever way we can to register voters, get out the vote before or on election day, and talk about what is at stake. We have had a rough past few years fighting anti-LGBTQ legislation in Columbus; it is understandable that we feel tired. But we have to find the energy to work on this upcoming election. We have to rally around Kamala Harris, Sherrod Brown, and state supreme court judges Forbes, Stewart, and Donnelly in order to maintain our civil liberties.

Brittney Klockowski 

Weston Village City Councilmember 

It is imperative that we show up and show out in November to vote for Kamala Harris. The outpouring of support and donations that have come to her in the first 48 hours alone of her campaign for presidency have filled me to the brim with hope that we can achieve one of the biggest goals of any person in the LGBTQ+ community’s mind’s: stopping Project 2025. The rhetoric contained in that horrific plan would bring oppression to our community on immense levels. 

Cindy Strebig

Lakewood City Councilmember

Project 2025 and another Trump presidency would be devastating for our LGBTQIA+ Community.  We must support Vice President Harris financially and with volunteer hours. I hope to see you all knocking doors, writing postcards, and making calls in support of this campaign.

Ross Widenor

Munroe Falls City Councilmember

If any of my fellow LGBTQ+ Ohioans doubt how high the stakes are this November, I would ask them to educate themselves on the content of Project 2025 and the policy blueprint it lays out, including specifically eliminating marriage equality and intensifying attacks on transgender youth. I would encourage them to explain to their family and friends how these positions directly affect our lives, and most importantly, to double check that their voter registration is up to date and make a plan to vote.

Kyle Herman

Stow City Councilmember

LGBTQ+ Ohioans are canaries in the coal mine — when our rights are threatened, all rights are threatened. We need to help candidates at all levels who will defend from the politicians trying to incite hate groups against us. And we need to help Rank the Vote Ohio grow support for Ranked Choice Voting so that all politicians will be forced to win a broad majority instead of simply pandering to extremists to win partisan primaries.