When Pittsburgh Republican mayoral candidate Thomas West sat down with City Cast Pittsburgh, he thought he was offering voters a “different” vision for the city. What he actually gave us was a masterclass in how being gay doesn’t excuse selling out your community.
West, the owner of Trim, a gay men’s fashion boutique in Lawrenceville, wants voters to believe that he stands for “opportunity” and “entrepreneurship.” But don’t let the thong bikinis and Nasty Pig socks fool you, West openly admitted to voting for Donald Trump in 2024, citing “policy reasons.”
When asked by City Cast Pittsburgh’s Megan Harris who he voted for in the 2024 Presidential election, West initially tried to dodge the question. “That’s private, right?” West said, followed by 4 minutes of rambling before admitting, “I vote for policy… I voted for Trump.”
Policies, he says, that align with his vision for business success. But let’s be very clear: Trump’s policies are directly responsible for attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, from banning trans healthcare access to fueling a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination nationwide. Voting for Trump is voting for systemic violence, and no amount of gay branding can cover that up.
Thomas West’s candidacy shows exactly why representation alone is not liberation. It’s not enough to simply be queer especially when your politics actively harm the most vulnerable members of our community.
In his answer, West leaned heavily on his identity: he’s gay, he’s played in Stonewall Sports leagues, and he’s a member of the Three Rivers Business Alliance. But this performative participation doesn’t erase the fact that he aligns himself with a political movement fueled by white supremacy, queerphobia, and authoritarianism. It’s pinkwashing conservatism, and Pittsburgh deserves better.
He paints a familiar conservative sob story: claiming he “can’t speak his mind” without facing “blowback,” blaming “socialism” and “big government” for all of Pittsburgh’s problems, while conveniently ignoring the actual reasons people are leaving the city, like underfunded schools, a lack of affordable housing, and decades of urban abandonment.
West doesn’t want to dismantle systems of oppression; he wants to buy a slightly nicer seat at the table. He dreams of a Pittsburgh that works for entrepreneurs like himself, not for the working-class queer kids trying to survive, not for Black and brown communities fighting disinvestment, not for trans youth terrified of what the second Trump administration could mean for their safety.
When pressed by Harris that Trump’s policies negatively affect a community West is a part of, West deflected. “I don’t appreciate this, the conversation, where we’re going right now. This is about the City of Pittsburgh,” West said, cutting off the topic. Megan Harris has asked each of the Pittsburgh mayoral candidates who have sat down with City Cast Pittsburgh about their 2024 Presidential vote.
In the end, Thomas West is just another candidate hoping that being gay is enough to distract us from the damage he’s willing to inflict. But queer Pittsburgh sees through that act. We deserve leaders who fight for liberation, not just lip service. We deserve more than a pink-tinted version of the same old right-wing agenda.
Thomas West is proof that representation without solidarity is meaningless, and Pittsburgh needs solidarity now more than ever.