Philly Elections in a Week

I don't usually go political here, but I got a surprise in the political propaganda that was shoved under my door yesterday.

As most of you know, I originally moved to Philly 12.5 years to go to law school.  After my first year of law school, I interned at the office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia in the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.  We handled the prosecutions of domestic violence, rapes, crimes against children, and elder abuse.

Two of the people running for judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas are people I worked for that summer - one of them is Christopher Mallios, Junior.

Chris was someone I greatly admired and respected.  Not only was an out gay man, but he was very open about it.  While I was out in law school, I wasn't confident enough to be out during my internship, but I watched him closely, and I considered him a role model.  Last night, I looked up the questionnaire he submitted to Liberty City, and (as I suspected) he has continued to be unashamedly openly gay during his campaign.

I actually emailed him last night (expecting that he would not remember me), but I wanted to let him know that I remembered him because of the impact he had made on me.  And I wanted to let him know that he had my support.  He wrote me back this morning, and his kind words meant a lot to me.

I think the City of Philadelphia would greatly benefit from someone like Chris on the bench.  If you don't agree with me, that's fine.  But don't forget to vote, anyway.