Rue Landau makes history as Philadelphia's 1st openly LGBTQ+ council member
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The firsts in Philadelphia's 2023 general election weren't just confined to the mayor's office. Tuesday night, the City of Brotherly Love extended that love to Rue Landau, who will be the city's first openly LGBTQ+ council member.
Landau, a Democrat, was elected to an at-large City Council seat, one of five Democrats who took seats in the seven-member group.
Landau has made history before. In 2014, she and her wife Kerry were the first same-sex couple in Pennsylvania to get a marriage certificate after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act. Changes to state law soon followed.
Tuesday night, a photo from HughE Dillon showed Landau celebrating with Kerry at a victory party at Cockatoo in the city's Gayborhood.
Congratulations History has been made with the first Woman Mayor @PeopleforParker and the 🌈first LGBT Council person @Rue_Landau !! Here with her wife Kerry and son tonight at her victory party ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Tf1HmadHDq
— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) November 8, 2023
Landau thanked the city in her social media posts.
"Philadelphia, what an honor," Landau said on X. "From the bottom of my heart: thank you."
The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helped elect Landau, celebrated her victory.
"Rue's victory today is a cause for celebration for Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ community, who will be represented in City Hall for the first time," Annise Parker, the fund's President and CEO and a former mayor of Houston, said in a statement Tuesday. "Voters spoke loudly and clearly - Philadelphians want to make progress and they trust Rue to bring their voices to the Council. We're excited to see Rue take office and get to work making Philadelphia a more equitable city for all."
With 94% of the vote counted, AP reports Landau had over 166,000 votes, making her the third-place vote-getter in the seven-seat race.
We caught up with Landau at her polling place yesterday. She and Kerry showed up in matching Landau shirts.
"I can't wait to get to work," Landau said after voting Tuesday.
Who is Rue Landau, Philadelphia's 1st LGBTQ+ City Council member?
Landau is a former director of the city's Commission on Human Relations and Fair Housing Commission.
In a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans seven-to-one, a win in the May primary election was cause for celebration for Landau.
"It's hard to believe that it is 2023 and we're just now getting a seat at the table," Landau told CBS News Philadelphia's Howard Monroe in May.
"I want to focus on community-led solutions to our neighborhood problems," Landau said in May. "We have to fully fund our schools, our rec centers our libraries. We have to provide opportunities for our young people."
"My platform has always been public safety, neighborhood reinvestment and making housing affordable to everyone in Philadelphia," she said on Tuesday.
"Most people believe in the beauty of Philadelphia," Landau added in May. "Most people I met know that Philly is the greatest city in America and we have so much potential and we have to all come together."
Thomas, Gilmore Richardson, Ahmad elected to Philadelphia City Council at-large seats; Working Families Party could claim more seats on Council
Continuing a decades-long trend in Philadelphia, Democrats performed well in 2023's at-large races, winning the maximum five seats.
Nina Ahmad, a former deputy mayor in Jim Kenney's administration, was voted into Council for the first time. She is the first council member of South Asian descent.
Incumbents Isaiah Thomas and Katherine Gilmore Richardson led the pack with over 170,000 votes apiece. Jim Harrity was also re-elected with over 140,000 votes.
Two of the at-large seats are reserved for independents and members of minority parties. As of Wednesday morning, AP projects the Working Families Party candidate Kendra Brooks will win one of those seats, and her WFP running mate Nicolas O'Rourke is leading the Republican candidates.
Only 2 City Council district races a contest in Philadelphia
Eight of Philadelphia's 10 Council district races had candidates running unopposed. These candidates all won their races:
- Mark Squilla, District 1, Democrat (incumbent)
- Kenyatta Johnson, District 2, Democrat (incumbent)
- Democrat Jamie Gauthier defeated independent challenger Jabari Jones, winning 87.1% of the vote in District 3
- Curtis Jones Jr., District 4, Democrat (incumbent)
- Jeffery Young, District 5, Democrat (first time)
- Mike Driscoll, District 6, Democrat (incumbent)
- Quetcy Lozada, District 7, Democrat (incumbent)
- Cindy Bass, District 8, Democrat (incumbent)
- Anthony Phillips, District 9, Democrat (incumbent)
- Republican Brian O'Neill defeated Democratic challenger Gary Masino, winning 61% of the vote in District 10.