When the time came to run for re-election to the Riverside, Ohio, City Council, Zachary Joseph hesitated.
Although he loved his time as an elected official, he knew he wanted to do more than support the 25,000 people in the Dayton suburb.
“With the knowledge and skills that I learned as a councilmember, I knew I could make an impact across all 88 counties in Ohio, especially in a fight for Pride and equality,” he said.
After networking on a snowy night in February with a few other out LGBTQ+ elected officials about the need for more LGBTQ+ advocacy work in Ohio, Joseph started thinking more deeply about launching a new initiative, possibly through the Democratic Party’s Pride Caucus.
He then surfed around on his computer and made a surprising discovery: The url OhioPride.org was up for grabs.
“I couldn’t believe it wasn’t taken, and I immediately knew that I wanted to create something new for Ohio,” Joseph said.
Enter: the Ohio Pride Political Action Committee (PAC).
Joseph, who ultimately decided against another council run, said the goal with the PAC is to do the electoral work and build political power for LGBTQ+ equality that many other organizations can’t do due to their nonprofit status. This includes endorsing pro-equality candidates, campaigning in direct support of pro-equality issues and ballot measures and running independent expenditure campaigns to oppose anti-equality incumbents.
Additional initiatives include an Ohio LGBTQ+ legislative tracker – in partnership with The Buckeye Flame’s LGBTQ+ Legislative Guide – and an LGBTQ-related scorecard to grade every Ohio state lawmaker on floor votes, bill sponsorship and public statements.
“We want to do our part to hold legislators accountable so that they aren’t operating in a vacuum and Ohioans will then have the information they need to choose who to support,” Joseph said.
The PAC is non-partisan and has a Board composed of LGBTQ+ leaders and out elected officials from across the state, including Ross Widenor (Munroe Falls City Council), Chrisondra Goodwine (Dayton Public Schools Board of Education) and Arienne Childrey (formerly St. Mary’s City Council and current candidate for the Ohio House).
The PAC has set an initial target of recruiting 1969 founding members, a number specifically chosen to evoke the year of the Stonewall Rebellion that kicked off the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
“The goal is to organically grow this network and have support from across the state with different elected officials, different notable members of the community and just different everyday people who sign on to say, ‘Yes, I support this cause,’” Joseph said.
The Ohio Pride PAC will hold a launch event with speakers on May 22 at the Columbus Statehouse. The date coincides with Harvey Milk Day, an intentional choice of dates to commemorate one of the country’s first out LGBTQ+ elected officials.
“The vibe of Harvey Milk is perfect to announce something new and exciting, and something that should have existed for a long time,” Joseph said. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- Learn more about the Ohio Pride PAC by clicking here.
- RSVP for the Ohio Pride PAC Launch Day at the Ohio Statehouse by clicking here.
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