A new voice for justice and the environment steps forward:
Durham County Democrats voted to appoint Morey to the House District 30 seat Thursday night. She is a permanent replacement for a vacancy created by the October death of Paul Luebke, 70, a Democrat who represented Durham for 25 years in the state House. Phil Lehman was appointed to the seat the night before the Nov. 8 election to fill the seat temporarily.
Five people were nominated to fill the two-year seat. Morey, 61, received a majority of votes from a subset of the Durham County Democratic Party that included precinct chairs and vice chairs and elected officials who live in the district.
While Judge Morey downplays her status as an openly-gay addition to the General Assembly, her selection (and Chris Sgro's) by local Democratic Party officers is not something that should be written off as "meaningless," or bone-throwing, or whatever other dismissive term comes to mind. We need more LGBT folks in office, not fewer, and this move needs to be part of any discussion that takes place on the value of the Democratic Party's approach to matters of equality. I'm not saying it should "wipe away" concerns, just that it be included in the discussion for the sake of perspective.
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