Sandra Kurt
The Akron Beacon Journal took some of its precious editorial space on Sunday, when circulation numbers are higher and people have more time to read, to endorse Sandra Kurt for City Council. The Beacon Journal editorial board, endorsing Kurt over the person appointed to the seat when a vacancy occurred earlier this year, writes:
The overriding question is which one would make the most valuable contribution on this council, advancing not only the interests of the ward, but the city as a whole. In other words, which candidate possesses a set of skills not found on the council?
We recommend the election of Sandra Kurt on Sept. 8.
The board went on to describe her experience with “complex projects,” having been Goodyear’s “project manager for corporate facilities planning and operations analysis” in Akron for the past five years, and her support for regionalism. Although not mentioned in the editorial, Kurt is openly lesbian and has been endorsed by the Victory Fund, which supports openly LGBT candidates for public office.
Kurt would become one of the more prominent elected LGBT officials in Ohio should she win a place on Akron’s city council. Although Cleveland has an openly gay city council member, Councilman Joe Santiago failed even to receive the support of Cleveland Stonewall Democrats for his re-election bid. Columbus has not had an openly LGBT council member since Gov. Ted Strickland picked then Councilwoman Mary Jo Hudson to run the state’s Department of Insurance.
ON THE WEB: Sandra Kurt for Council
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found