List Of First Openly Lgbt Politicians In The United States
This is a list of the first openly LGBT people to have held political office in the United States.
No openly LGBT person has served as president or vice president of the United States or as a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. However, all 50 states have elected openly LGBT people to political office in some capacity, and 48 states have elected openly LGBT people to either or both chambers of the state legislature.
A total of three of the ten most populous cities in the United States have elected a total of three openly LGBT people as mayor: Lori Lightfoot (former Mayor of Chicago), Todd Gloria (Mayor of San Diego), and Annise Parker (former Mayor of Houston).
U.S. representative (first to voluntarily come out): Barney Frank (MA-4) – served 1980–2013, came out in 1987
U.S. representative (first out Republican): Steve Gunderson (WI-3) – served 1981–1997, outed 1994
U.S. representative (first Republican to voluntarily come out): Jim Kolbe (AZ-5) – served 1985–2007, came out 1996
U.S. representative (out when first elected, female): Tammy Baldwin (WI-2) – served 1999–2013
U.S. representative (out when first elected, male): Jared Polis (CO-2) – served 2009–2019
U.S. representative (out when first elected), first openly bisexual member of Congress: Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-9) – elected 2012
U.S. representative (out when first elected), first to succeed another openly gay officeholder in office: Mark Pocan (WI-2) – elected 2012, succeeded Tammy Baldwin
U.S. representative (out when first elected), first non-white and first Asian openly gay member of Congress: Mark Takano (CA-41) – elected 2012
U.S. representative (out when first elected), first Native American openly gay member of Congress: Sharice Davids (KS-3) – elected 2018
U.S. representative (out when first elected), first Black openly gay members of Congress: Mondaire Jones (NY-17) and Ritchie Torres (NY-15) – elected 2020
U.S. representative (out when first elected), first Latino openly gay member of Congress: Ritchie Torres (NY-15) – elected 2020
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) – elected 2012; out when elected
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) – served 1999–2013; out when elected
Rep. Steve Gunderson (R) – served 1981–1997; came out in 1994
Rep. Mark Pocan (D) – elected 2012; out when elected
Executive
Donald Trump was the first President to appoint an open member of the LGBT community to an acting position in the Presidential Cabinet, by making Richard Grenell the acting director of National Intelligence. Grenell's position was never put forward for Senate confirmation, and he served in that role for only three months. Pete Buttigieg was nominated by Joe Biden for the position of Secretary of Transportation and became the first openly LGBT Senate-confirmed Cabinet member following his confirmation on February 2, 2021.
First openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature – Elaine Noble (D), Massachusetts House of Representatives; Elected in 1974, served two terms starting in January 1975, open when elected.
First openly gay governor – Jim McGreevey (D), governor of New Jersey – came out 2004 (during the same speech in which he announced his resignation as governor). McGreevey was not out at the time of his election.
First openly gay governor elected – Jared Polis (D), was elected Governor of Colorado November 6, 2018 and married on September 15, 2021, while in office.
First openly bisexual governor and first person to be openly LGBT at time of taking office as governor – Kate Brown (D), governor of Oregon (ascended to office in 2015 after previous governor resigned, then elected in 2016 in her own right).
As of the 2020 elections, the legislatures of 48 states have had at least one openly LGBT member; the first out person to serve in each of those states is listed here. The sole remaining states that have never had an openly LGBT state legislator are Mississippi and Louisiana; Mississippi has, however, had legislators who came out as gay after the end of their term in the legislature, or were outed after their deaths.
Assemblywoman (later Sen.) Sheila Kuehl (D) – elected 1994 to House; elected to Senate in 2000 – California's first openly gay state legislator
The 2004 elections in California sent six openly LGBT people to the California State Legislature: four lesbians (Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, Senator Sheila Kuehl, and Senator Carole Migden, Senator Christine Kehoe), and two gay men (Assemblyman Mark Leno and Assemblyman John Laird).
Rep. John Pérez (D) – first openly LGBT person to serve as speaker of the California State Assembly (appointed 2010) Pérez was succeeded as speaker by Assemblywoman Toni G. Atkins (D) (elected 2014), the second openly LGBT person (and the first lesbian) to hold the post.
Rep. (later Sen.) Jennifer Veiga (D) – Elected to the state House in 1996; became Colorado's first openly LGBT state legislature when she came out in 2002; subsequently reelected and served as House minority leader in 2003 (first LGBT person to hold this post); later elected to the state Senate.
Rep. Mark Ferrandino (D) – appointed October 2007, became first openly gay man to serve in the General Assembly. In 2012, Ferrandino became Colorado's first openly LGBT speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives.
In 2012, the first major state race in which both major-party candidates were LGBT occurred when Pat Steadman (D) and Michael Carr (R) ran against each other in Colorado's 31st state Senate district.
Rep. Leslie Herod (D) – elected 2016; first LGBT African-American to be elected to Colorado's state legislature.
Rep. Brianna Titone (D) – elected 2018; first openly transgender woman to be elected to Colorado's state legislature.
Norman Jesse and Dan Johnston, who were first elected to the state house in 1967, were not out during their careers in politics, but came out in retirement and revealed that they had been a couple.
Rep Stephanie Byers (D) – elected 2020; first openly transgender person to serve in the Kansas Legislature; first transgender Native American person elected to public office.
Sen. Allan Spear (D) – elected 1972, came out December 1974
Rep. Erin Maye Quade (D) – elected in 2016, ran for lieutenant governor with Erin Murphy in 2018 and is the first LGBTQ person to be endorsed on the ticket of a major Minnesota political party
Rep. Karen Clark (D) – elected 1981, out when first elected and was the longest serving openly lesbian member to serve in a state legislature in the United States
Sen. Paul Koering (R) – elected 2002; came out 2005; re-elected in 2006
Sen. Scott Dibble (D) – elected in 2000, out when first elected
Rep. Susan Allen (D) – elected in 2012, out when first elected and first openly lesbian Native American woman to win office in any state legislature
First openly bisexual member of a city council: Marlene Pray, joined Doylestown, Pennsylvania, council in 2012, resigned 2013 (also first openly bisexual office holder in Pennsylvania).
First openly gay City Council Speaker: Christine Quinn (elected 2006)
First openly gay married couple to serve elected public office together for the same municipality (Borough Council): Thos Shipley and Joe DeIorio, Roselle Park, New Jersey, 2018.
Ron Galperin was the first openly gay citywide elected official in Los Angeles when he was elected City Controller in 2013. Galperin was re-elected to a second term in 2017.
Robert F. Gentry was elected mayor of Laguna Beach, in 1982, becoming the first openly gay mayor in California and the first openly gay elected official in southern California.
Danny Wan was appointed member of the Oakland City Council in 1999, and elected in the post in 2002, becoming the city's first openly gay politician.
Ron Oden was elected mayor of Palm Springs in 2003; he became the first openly gay black man elected mayor of an American city and was the first openly gay mayor of Palm Springs.
Mike Gin was elected mayor of Redondo Beach in 2005, becoming the first openly gay Asian-American mayor elected in the US and the first Republican gay mayor elected in California.
Todd Gloria was elected mayor of San Diego in 2020, becoming the first gay and first person of color to serve as mayor of the 8th largest city in America as well as the first Native American and Filipino-American to serve as mayor of a city of more than one million people.
Christopher Cabaldon was elected mayor of West Sacramento in 1998 and came out in 2006, making him the first openly gay Filipino elected as mayor in the US. As of 2016, he is the longest-serving LGBT mayor.
Evan Low was elected mayor of Campbell in 2009, at the age 26, making him the youngest gay mayor (and the youngest Asian-American mayor) nationwide at the time. Low was reelected in 2013.
Bao Nguyen was elected mayor of Garden Grove, in 2014, at the age 34, making him the first gay mayor and first Vietnamese mayor of Garden Grove, as well as the youngest mayor in Orange County. He also became the first Vietnamese Democratic mayor in the United States.
Gerrie Schipske, was elected to Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees, 1992–1996, served as president, and was elected to Long Beach City Council, 2006–2014, in each case becoming the first openly lesbian elected official.
Gary Miller was elected to the Robla Elementary School District Board in 1987 and became the first openly Gay local elected official in Sacramento and Sacramento County. Miller won re-election many times and served on the board from 1987 to 2006. Mr Miller was also the first openly Gay local elected official in Placer County where he won a seat on the Roseville City School Board in 2008, won re-election in multiple races, and served until 2020.
Connecticut
Pedro Segarra was the first openly gay mayor of Hartford. Segarra, the former president of the city council, became mayor in 2010 after his predecessor Eddie A. Perez resigned from office. Segarra won a full term in the 2011 election.
The first openly gay elected official was John Brady as Sussex County Register in Chancery(chief clerk of court) in 2000. Brady also served as The Sussex County Recorder of Deeds and Sussex County Clerk of the Peace (Marriage Bureau Chief Official) before retiring after 14 years of Service
The first openly gay mayor in Delaware was John Buchheit of Delaware City (elected 2011).
J.P. Sasser – mayor of Pahokee; came out in 2006, while in his third term in office
Ken Keechl – first openly LGBT person to serve on the Broward County Commission (elected 2006), and to serve as vice mayor (2008) and mayor (2009) of Broward County (mayor and vice mayor are chosen by vote on commissioners)
Cathy Woolard was elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1997, becoming the first openly LGBT elected official in the state of Georgia. She went on to become council president.
Ben Ku was elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in 2018, becoming the first openly LGBT official to be elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
Stephen Wimberly was elected to the Fulton County Democratic Committee in 1990, becoming one of the first openly LGBT elected committee members. Stephen ran the campaign as an openly LGBT man, running unopposed. Stephen was a board member with "LEGAL" Legislate Equality for Gays And Lesbians, a group dedicated to change politics from within.
Hawaii
Tim Riley was elected to the Waianae neighborhood board in February 2019.
Illinois
Lori Lightfoot, was elected Mayor of Chicago in April 2019, making her the first openly gay mayor of Chicago and making Chicago the largest US city ever to elect an openly gay mayor.
Indiana
Pete Buttigieg, first major political party candidate for president; before that mayor of South Bend – publicly announced that he was gay in 2015, while in his first term in office; first openly LGBT executive official in Indiana.
Veronica Pejril – Indiana's first transgender elected official, Greencastle city council, elected 2019.
Board of Education: Tim Nickerson, elected 1997, First openly gay person elected at any level in NH. Others previously elected came out after his election
Eddie Sundquist, elected 2019, is the first openly gay mayor of Jamestown, New York.
Daniel L. Stewart - First openly gay elected mayor in New York State history:1999-Plattsburgh, NY. 3-terms
First openly gay council member of city council Plattsburgh, NY 3-terms
First executive branch appointed chairman of a state correctional regulatory over-site agency, NYSCOC. Served 4 Governors, (R) and (D)
North Carolina
Wake County (NC capital county, incl. Raleigh)
Commissioner Greg Ford, first openly gay county commissioner in Wake County and first openly gay board chairman (elected 2019) and vice chairman (elected 2018) in North Carolina. Elected in 2016. Reelected in 2018.
Carrboro
Mayor Michael R. Nelson, elected 1995 (first openly gay mayor elected in NC)
Chapel Hill
Town councilman Joe Herzenberg, elected 1987 (first openly gay elected official in the South)
Tyler Titus, a transgender man, became the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Pennsylvania when he was elected to the Erie School Board in 2017.
Joel McDonald, member of the Virginia Beach School Board, elected 2012. First openly gay candidate to be elected in Hampton Roads.
Lawrence Webb, elected member of Falls Church City School Board, Virginia. First openly gay elected African American in Virginia in 2008 to Falls Church City Council. Current member of the Falls Church City School Board.
The first openly gay judge in the United States was Stephen M. Lachs, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1979. Before leaving office in 1981, Brown appointed three more gay and lesbian judges to the California courts, including the nation's first openly lesbian judge, Mary Morgan, who served on the San Francisco municipal court.
In 1994, Thomas R. Chiola became the first openly gay judge in Illinois (and the first openly gay elected official in Illinois) when voters elected him to the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Deborah Batts was the nation's first openly LGBT federal judge. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote in 1994. (Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California served from 1989 to February 2011 but did not come out until April 2011, after his retirement.)
Batts was the sole openly LGBT judge on the federal bench for seventeen years, until Barack Obama appointed a series of gay and lesbian judges to the district courts: J. Paul Oetken (Southern District of New York, 2011); Alison J. Nathan (Southern District of New York, 2011); Michael W. Fitzgerald (Central District of California, 2012); Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro (Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2013); Pamela K. Chen (Eastern District of New York, 2013); Michael J. McShane (District of Oregon, 2013); Darrin P. Gayles (Southern District of Florida, 2014); Staci Michelle Yandle (Southern District of Illinois, 2014), and Judith Ellen Levy (Eastern District of Michigan, 2014).
Obama also appointed the first openly LGBT judge of a federal court of appeals, Todd M. Hughes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The first openly LGBT justice of a state supreme court was Rives Kistler, appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court in 2003, and retained by voters the following year. The next gay or lesbian state supreme court justices were Virginia Linder (Oregon Supreme Court, 2006); Monica Márquez (Colorado Supreme Court, 2010); Barbara Lenk (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2011); Sabrina McKenna (Supreme Court of Hawaii, 2011); Beth Robinson (Vermont Supreme Court, 2011). In 2017, Paul Feinman became the first openly gay judge to sit on the New York Court of Appeals.
Benjamin Cruz of Guam was the first openly gay judge of a territorial supreme court; he came out in 1995 and was appointed to the Supreme Court of Guam in 1997. Cruz served as associate justice from 1997 to 1999 and as chief justice from 1999 until his retirement in 2001.
The first openly bisexual judge in the United States is Mike Jacobs, a state court judge in DeKalb County, Georgia, who came out publicly in 2018.
State judge of compensation claims: Rand Hoch, Flagler, Seminole and Volusia counties, Florida – appointed 1992
Superior Court judge Victor Carlson, 3rd Judicial District State of Alaska at Anchorage – appointed 1975 served until 1985 when he lost a retention election that was held in the shadow of his coming out.
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