Significant victory for the Transgender community in the US!
https://www.advocate.com/politics/2017/11/07/trans-woman-andrea-jenkins-elected-minneapolis-city-council
Trans Woman Andrea Jenkins Elected to Minneapolis City Council
he's the first transgender person elected to a major city's governing body and the first trans person of color elected to any office in the U.S.
Andrea Jenkins has won election to the Minneapolis City Council, making her the first trans person elected to a major city’s governing body and one of the first out trans people of color elected to any office in the United States.
Jenkins won in the city’s Eighth Ward, where she had been a policy aide to departing Council Vice President Elizabeth Glidden. The Minneapolis Star Tribune had endorsed her, saying she was highly qualified and well prepared for the office. She bested three other candidates. Jenkins is a Democrat; the race is officially nonpartisan, but candidates can identify with a party label. She had the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota, and of Victory Fund. She won more than 70 percent of the vote in her ward, according to the Star Tribune.
As an aide to Glidden and previous Eighth Ward council member Robert Lilligren, Jenkins worked to revitalize the neighborhood with small businesses and arts venues, and helped organize a Trans* Equity Summit. She emphasized, however, that revitalization must not come at the expense of poor people.
During the campaign, she said her priorities include developing affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, addressing youth violence as a matter of public health, and supporting minority artists. She is a historian with the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota as well as a poet, prose author, and performance artist who has received numerous grants for her work.
Vicroty Fund president and CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills released this statement: “Andrea Jenkins shattered a glass ceiling tonight – becoming the first out trans woman ever elected to the city council of a major U.S. city. Andrea ran on improving the lives of constituents in her ward, but the significance of her victory for the trans equality movement is undeniable. Americans are growing increasingly aware of trans equality and people, and this win will surely inspire other trans people to run for office and further inclusion in their communities.”
A trans man, Phillipe Cunningham, and a cisgender lesbian, Jillia Pessenda, are also running for council seats in Minneapolis. Results in their races are still to come.
Virginia Elects Its First Openly Transgender State Lawmaker
Democrat Danica Roem defeated the Republican who wrote the anti-trans bathroom bill.
Danica Roem wins the Virginia delegate race.
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Democrat Danica Roem defeated Virginia Del. Bob Marshall (R) on Tuesday, becoming the first openly transgender state lawmaker in Virginia.
Roem is now delegate-elect for Virginia’s 13th House of Delegates district, which includes outer suburbs of Washington.
The voters of Virginia’s 13th District chose Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump by 14 percentage points in the 2016 election, giving Roem favorable odds going into the election.
Roem’s historic victory, which was called about an hour after polls closed, elated LGBTQ advocates. The outcome was that much sweeter because Marshall co-sponsored a 2006 Virginia constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage that prompted LGBTQ activists to dub him “Bigot Bob.” Marshall, who once referred to himself as Virginia’s “chief homophobe,” also introduced the bill that would have banned transgender public school students from using the bathrooms of their choice.
Tonight voters chose a smart, solutions-oriented trans leader over a divisive anti-LGBTQ demagogue – sending a powerful message to anti-trans legislators all across the nation,” Aisha Moodie-Mills, president of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said in a statement. “Danica defeated ‘Bigot Bob’ Marshall not because she is transgender, but because she presented a positive vision for her constituents that will improve their lives.”
Roem ran in one of 17 GOP-held districts where Clinton prevailed in 2016. Her early win suggested that Democrats were on their way to a good night at the polls.
Roem ran on a platform of improving the state’s infrastructure, including State Route 28, raising teacher salaries, and championing LGBTQ and immigrant rights.
Although many civil rights groups have hailed Roem as the country’s first openly transgender state lawmaker, Stacie Laughton, an openly transgender woman, won a seat in New Hampshire’s legislature in 2012, but Laughton resigned before taking office.
In Massachusetts, closeted transgender woman Althea Garrison won a seat in the legislature in 1992. A conservative newspaper subsequently outed her for having been a man.
Tyler Titus wins seat to become first transgender person elected in Pennsylvania
Tyler Titus is the first openly transgender person to be elected in Pennsylvania. (Facebook)
Tyler Titus, a candidate for Erie School Board, on Tuesday became the first openly transgender person elected to office in Pennsylvania.
The 33-year-old father of two boys successfully campaigned for one of four open seats on the board.
Titus is a licensed professional counselor who works in public and private schools throughout Erie.
Victory Fund President and CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills released the following statement about his win:
"Tyler Titus shattered a lavender ceiling in Pennsylvania today - and his victory will resonate well-beyond state boundaries. Trans people remain severely underrepresented in our politics and government, and now more than ever we need trans voices like Tyler's in the halls of power. This is a historic night for trans candidates across the country - and Tyler is part of a vanguard of leaders who are determined to be part of the conversation on issues that affect their lives."
Pennsylvania was one of at least three states with historic wins Tuesday night.
Danica Roem defeated an incumbent who introduced a "bathroom bill" to become the first openly transgender woman elected in Virginia.
And Andrea Jenkins won 73 percent of the vote against three opponents to be elected to Minneapolis city council in Ward 8. She's the first transgender person of color to be elected to any office in the U.S.
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