Philadelphia Mayoral Candidate Jim Kenney announced several endorsements from multiple leaders in the LGBT community today, including State Rep. Brian Sims, the first openly gay State Legislator in Pennsylvania.

“Jim Kenney has been a tireless advocate for the LGBT community for nearly 25 years,” said State Rep. Sims. “From the fight for domestic partner benefits in the 1990s to transgender health care in 2013, Jim has never abandoned the fight for equality even when it was politically unpopular. I look forward to working with him to stop LGBT discrimination in our schools and throughout Philadelphia.”

In addition to Sims, Kenney also earned the endorsements of Kathy Padilla, who has been a key leader of passing LGBT legislation in the Philadelphia area, including the passage of Philadelphia’s 2002 Trans Rights Bill and Jim Kenney’s 2013 LGBT Equality Bill.

Other Kenney endorsements from the LGBT community have come from Philadelphia FIGHT Deputy Director Mike Marisco, Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club board member Stephanie Hayes, Stimulus Productions Co-Founder and Producer Amber Hikes, Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, who is the co-founder of Philly AIDS Thrift and Sharron Cooks, the Founder at CEO of Making Our Lives Easier.

“I am honored to have the endorsement of Rep. Sims and this incredible group of leaders,” said Kenney. “Without their help, we never could have made Philadelphia one of the most LGBT-friendly cities in the country. As Mayor, I will continue to make sure that equality is not just a buzzword, but a way of life in Philadelphia’s schools.”