National LGBTQ Organization Says Yacobellis Offers Vision, Experience, Leadership
MONTCLAIR, NJ (March 24, 2020)—The LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization working to elect LGBTQ candidates to public office, has endorsed Peter Yacobellis for Montclair Township Council. The endorsement signals the Victory Fund’s confidence that Yacobellis, a former official with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration and long-serving LGBTQ+ rights activist, is well-positioned to be elected to an at-large council seat in Montclair’s municipal elections May 14.
“LGBTQ Victory Fund is pleased to endorse Peter Yacobellis for Montclair Township Council,” said Houston Mayor Anise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “Local governments urgently need leaders with Peter’s kind of vision, energy and experience. His dedication to public service, his experience in government, and his commitment to inclusivity, sustainability and accountability will ensure the Montclair Council has the leadership it needs to provide a thriving, 21st century community for all of its residents,” Parker said.
“I am extremely grateful and honored to have the support of the Victory Fund,” Peter Yacobellis said. “I was once denied the chance to serve my country under the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, so I understand what it feels like to be marginalized without a voice. I decided to seek to serve my community as a council member so that I can be a voice and advocate for all residents of Montclair. I will make sure our government is in touch with the values and needs of our diverse community and is well prepared for the challenges of the future,” Yacobellis said.
ABOUT THE VICTORY FUND
The LGBTQ Victory Fund is the only national organization working to elect LGBTQ candidates to public office at all levels of government. LGBTQ people remain severely underrepresented in government nationwide – holding just 0.15 percent of elected positions despite representing at least 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, according to Gallup. Victory Fund will promote Yacobellis’ endorsement among its hundreds of thousands of supporters nationwide. For more information, visit victoryfund.org.
ABOUT PETER YACOBELLIS
A former Cuomo administration official, Peter worked to pass marriage equality in NY and ran the administrations’ rent stabilization office and Super Storm Sandy command center. He has been at the forefront of his generation’s fight for LGBTQ rights. As the former Finance Director of Garden State Equality, Peter helped lead New Jersey’s many equality efforts. Among many other initiatives, he helped organize the 2009 march on Washington that led to the reversal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy and the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill; launched Trevor NextGen–the largest LGBTQ volunteer network in the New York Metro area—in response to the death of Tyler Clementi; and chaired the Trevor Project’s Board of Directors Government Affairs committee. Peter studied business management and political science at Adelphi University and has a graduate certificate in environmental sustainability from Columbia University. He is a former brand and marketing director with American Express and is currently the director of human resources and facilities for Amicus Therapeutics, which develops treatments for children living with extremely rare diseases.
For more information about Peter Yacobellis, visit peterformontlciar.com or follow him at https://www.facebook.com/pyacobellis