While campaigning for John Pickhaver to become the first LGBTQ City Council member in El Segundo, California, a comment he received from a voter struck a chord with him.
One of his campaign volunteers was going door to door and received a donation. During the exchange, the donors also revealed that they are adult transgender parents and that their child has never felt welcome in their hometown.
That person’s experience crystallized a central tenet of Pickhaver’s campaign: to advocate for the city’s public support for Pride so that LGBTQ residents never experience such rejection again.
“I don’t want that to happen to future generations of children,” Pickhaver said. “And if that child were younger and had grown up with massive support from the city…all they have to see is a rainbow in the sky, and that means something.”
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Since beginning his career in public service and activism in the early part of the decade, Pickhaver has been instrumental in making literal rainbows in the sky a reality for the LGBTQ community in his hometown.
Pickhaver attended graduate school at nearby Loyola Marymount University and is currently an assistant coach for LMU’s cross country and track and field teams. He told OutSports in 2016 about his public coming out story as a personal response to the Pulse nightclub massacre.
Photo credit: Christian Gutierrez
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Four years later, Pickhaver became involved in nationwide protests calling for social justice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. After the police officers were charged with Floyd’s murder, Pickhaver pivoted to fighting for social inclusion on behalf of many marginalized groups in El Segundo, a beach town near Los Angeles International Airport. joined the advocacy group.
“Coming from a suburb of Philadelphia, I had this image of California where everyone was progressive and could get all these problems right, for lack of a better word, and my fellow community members. “I was surprised by the level of resistance, not just from the city itself, but from the City Council,” he said.
Soon after, Pickhaver led the charge for the city of El Segundo to officially recognize June as Pride Month. In 2021, the El Segundo City Council issued a proclamation saying so.
From there, Pickhaver went further, petitioning the city manager to light El Segundo’s iconic water tower in rainbow colors. Despite the backlash, Pickhaver persevered and ultimately won. On June 28, 2021, El Segundo lit up its Pride water tower for the first time in history.
It was originally planned to be lit in rainbow colors for that day only, but after an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from residents, El Segundo decided to keep the lights that way for the rest of the month.
“The water tower is like a beacon to remind people in our city that this community supports LGBTQ+ people. Even if you don’t have support at home right now, there is support in your city. “Know that there is. Or if you’re receiving support at home, it’s nice to see that recognized at the city level,” he said.
Photo by John Pickhaver
Since then, El Segundo residents and businesses have taken over the baton, and the city’s annual Gando Pride celebration has grown in size each year.
“It all started with that declaration. It’s important that we get the city to put words on paper that say this is what we stand for, and that we can use that to build something better.” Pickhaver said.
Pickhaver considered that moment his biggest victory, but he also recognized the limits to what he could accomplish at the activist level. In order to make an even bigger difference in the future, he decided to run for the city council himself.
As part of his campaign, Pickhaver wants to provide support to the El Segundo school district, to help young LGBTQ students find their identities, and to build housing units to help address the city’s severe shortage of housing units. We would like to further promote the construction of
He also wants to focus on leveling up Gundo Pride in the coming years and strengthening the city’s commitment to Gundo Pride at an official level.
“I think that resonates with people if they understand that this is happening in their community and that we’re trying to build on this. And for me, that’s what resonates with people. “The next step is to build on what we’ve already done and let people know that they’re welcome here and that El Segundo is a safe place for everyone,” he said.
Although he will become part of El Segundo’s history by becoming the first LGBTQ person to win a city council election, Pickhaver’s priority remains sending a clear message of acceptance to all LGBTQ residents in the city. It is.
“We don’t do events like this just to check a box and say we did it. We do this because it’s a matter of life and death for some people. “I’m doing it,” he said. “That’s an extreme, but even if you don’t go to that extreme, someone trying to accept themselves, trying to accept who they are, trying to be comfortable in their own home, in their own city, in their own school. When, it’s still pretty intense.
“And the more we create and support spaces and events, the safer our communities will be.”
For more information about John Pickhaver’s candidacy for El Segundo City Council, please see below. his campaign website.
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Source: Outsports – www.outsports.com
