Washington, DC – Today, Equality PAC named Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA) to serve as an Equality PAC Board Member. He will replace Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA), who is retiring at the end of the 118thCongress.
“We are excited to welcome Congressman Scott Peters to the Equality PAC Board,” said Equality PAC Co-Chairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY). “Scott has always been an ardent defender of our community, fighting for full equality for LGBTQ Americans in San Diego and across the entire nation. Through multiple election cycles, Scott has helped us fundraise, recruit candidates, and has been one of our most consistent supporters, coming to numerous events and Equality PAC trips. He has become a member of this family and a strong ally of our community. Equality PAC will benefit from his years of experience in public service as we work to build a new pro-equality majority in the House of Representatives and pass the Equality Act. We want to thank Scott for agreeing to serve in this important position and look forward to working with him to advance our equality agenda.”
Before being elected to Congress in 2013, Peters served as chair of the San Diego Unified Port District – a major economic engine that produces tens of thousands of high-skill, high-wage jobs for San Diegans. Peters served at the Port after completing two terms on the San Diego City Council, where he was San Diego’s first City Council President, elected to the role three years in a row by his colleagues. Prior to entering public service, Peters had a 16-year legal career in private practice, specializing in environmental law. He worked as an associate at large law firms, as a Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Diego and had his own small law firm.
Peters earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and worked as an economist for the United States Environmental Protection Agency before attending New York University School of Law. He and his wife of 34 years, Lynn, are 30+ year residents of the now 50th District. They live in La Jolla and have a grown daughter and son.
Equality PAC’s mission is simple: to elect more LGBTQ+ persons to Congress — individuals who will have a seat at the table, impact the debate, and humanize the LGBTQ community’s concerns. All the funds we raise are used to elect and re-elect LGBTQ persons to Congress and secondarily support strong LGBTQ community allies who will proudly and unapologetically stand with us in the fight to pass the Equality Act and equal protection under our nation’s laws.
In the short time that Equality PAC has existed, Equality PAC has played an unmatched role in making history for the LGBTQ community, electing LGBTQ leaders at the federal level such as current House Members Sharice Davis (Kansas); Ritchie Torres (New York); Becca Balint (Vermont); Robert Garcia (California); Eric Sorensen (Illinois); Angie Craig (Minnesota); and Chris Pappas (New Hampshire), as well as former House Member Mondaire Jones (New York). Equality PAC has been instrumental in winning key races that have determined control of Congress because we know that without pro-Equality majorities, the progress our community has made and the civil rights and equal protections we have fought so hard for, and are still fighting for every day, remain in jeopardy.
