Kyle McIntyre was born in, and has spent most of his 27 years, in Upper Darby Township, just west of Philadelphia. And it was shortly after getting his Master’s in Public Policy from Temple University that he became inspired — some would say radicalized — into political activism, which, perhaps inevitably, led him to the path he is on now.
McIntyre is running his first campaign as an openly gay candidate for Upper Darby Township Councilperson-at-large.
After college, he worked for a few years in local Democratic politics, serving as an organizer for the Biden campaign. However, it was the George Floyd murder that kicked his activism into high gear.
“Then a lot happened around George Floyd, remember?” he says, recalling the nationwide protests inspired by the 2020 incident where Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a white police officer. The outrage over Floyd’s murder sparked some of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history, amplifying the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We didn’t really have much in the way of protests out in Delco or in Upper Darby, even though we were such a diverse community,” McIntyre said. “We started with a few Facebook posts, then we formed a group chat, and then, with a few people I knew, we organized a protest, and Delco Pride just took off from there.”
McIntyre remembers how relatively oppressive Delaware County in general, and Upper Darby specifically, was in the early days of his activism (less than a decade ago). “My graduating class of 900+ only had three openly gay students — and this was in 2016, a year after gay marriage was legalized. So, it was pretty oppressive. Not as oppressive as times past, I know, but still pretty bad.”
“And that was the motivating factor that got me involved in politics,” McIntyre said. “I was one of those three people who was out. And I had the belief that politics could be a force for good. When you have people that care about their community, that want to do good work, that want to fight based on their values, and with integrity — the world can get better. So, I went into politics. Sometimes I think it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done, and sometimes I know it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
McIntyre launched his campaign for township council in January, after quickly gaining the endorsement of the local Democratic Party.
“For me, running for office means more than just keeping the potholes filled, and keeping the lights on, keeping people safe and making sure they aren’t speeding, clean the parks, clean the bathrooms — that kind of stuff. That stuff is important, but that’s not all there is. There’s more than just getting by— there’s getting ahead.”
“Maybe it’s just naturally a queer kind of existence that we live in,” McIntyre muses, “that kind of philosophy that’s almost by nature for a lot of LGBTQ politicians, at least that I know, that there’s always this insatiable drive for, not stability, but progress. Not for survival, but to thrive.”
McIntyre is optimistic about winning his race. There are two at-large seats open on the council, and there are two other candidates competing with McIntyre, one being Republican (which he doesn’t want to discuss), and one is a former Democrat running as an independent with a problematic history.
But McIntyre also points to an evolution of the community that has happened over the last few years. Four years ago, it would’ve been more competitive. Upper Darby and Delaware County as a whole have undergone this tidal shift in the last decade. And now, I think the last few holdouts [of majority conservatism] in Delaware County are Broomall and Ridley. A lot of our residents have moved to Upper Darby from Philadelphia, and with that comes a lot of our politics — which is good.”
McIntyre defines his platform as “the three A’s”: affordability, accountability and accessibility.
“For Upper Darby, that means making sure that the people who live in our township can stay in our township,” McIntyre said. “We are dealing with the rising cost of living, as everywhere is, but we’re looking at how the rising tide of gentrification is creeping up the el. It’s not a matter of if it will reach us, but when. And when that gentrification reaches 69th Street, we want to make sure that we have a zoning code that protects our residents in their homes.”
As an openly gay man running for public office, McIntyre admits that that makes him a target for homophobic attacks. While such attacks are not as common as they once were, he concedes that it does happen. But he shrugs it off.
“Comes with the territory,” he says dismissively.
When asked to say succinctly, in just a few sentences, why he thinks people should vote for him. What makes him different, other than being gay? What makes him better? After a long, thoughtful pause, McIntyre replied, “They should vote for me, not because I know what I’m doing, not because I’m able to get things done, they should vote for me because I’m just like they are.
“I’m scared about our future. I’m scared about the seeming decline of opportunity and lack thereof, frankly, of a future. We used to be optimistic about the future. That’s what keeps you going — that’s what drives you forward. That’s why they should vote for me, because I understand that, I can feel that. I’m not someone who’s going to sit here and pretend that this is not a terrifying time to be alive.”
Related