List of first openly LGBTQ politicians in the United States

Executive In addition to the politicians listed below, Jenny Durkan, who served as United States attorney for the Western District of Washington from 2009 to 2014, is believed to be the first openly gay United States attorney. Furthermore, in 2013, Demetrios Marantis became the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in a cabinet-level position in the Cabinet of the United States, serving in the Cabinet of Barack Obama as the acting United States trade representative following the departure of Ron Kirk. Legislative House of Representatives Senate ==State==

Overall firsts • First openly lesbian or gay candidate to run and win election anywhere in the United States - Kathy Kozachenko (Human Rights Party), Ann Arbor City Council, elected 2 April 1974; while the first openly lesbian and gay elected officials in the United States, Jerry DeGrieck and Nancy Wechsler, were elected to Ann Arbor City Council on 3 April 1972. They co-sponsored the nation's first anti-discrmination ordinance that applied to lesbian and gay people (Ann Arbor Human Rights Ordinance, 10 June 1972) and formally came out simultenously on 15 October 1973 to alert the City Council that the city attorney and Police Department were not enforcing the Human Rights Ordinance. • 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 transgender person elected to a state legislature – Danica Roem (D), Virginia House of Delegates; elected in 2018 (Althea Garrison (R) was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1992 but was involuntarily outed after her election, served from 1993 to 1995) • First openly transgender man elected to a state legislature – James Roesener (D), New Hampshire House of Representatives; elected in 2022. • First openly gay president of a city council – Harry Britt, President of the San Francisco City-County Board of Supervisors from 1989 to 1990. • First openly gay statewide official – Ed Flanagan (D), Vermont auditor of accounts; served four terms: first elected 1992, came out in 1995; was reelected. • 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). • Lieutenant governor – Josh Tenorio (D), Guam – elected 2018 • Secretary of State – Tony Miller (D), California – appointed in 1994; lost election in 1994 • State treasurer – Dale McCormick (D), Maine – elected (by the legislature) 1996 • State Corporation Commission – Jim Roth (D), Oklahoma – appointed in 2007, lost election for remainder of term in 2009 • First openly gay attorney general – Maura Healey (D), Massachusetts, elected in 2014 • First openly LGBTQ person elected to statewide office anywhere in the South - John S. Arrowood (D), North Carolina, elected to a full term on the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2018 (previously appointed to complete an expired term on the same court from 2007-2008). • First openly lesbian governors elected- Maura Healey (D), Massachusetts, and Tina Kotek (D), Oregon, both elected in 2022 • State legislative leaders: • Presiding officer: Minnesota sen. Allan H. Spear (D) – elected senate president 1993 • Speaker: Rhode Island rep. Gordon D. Fox (D) – elected speaker 2010 State officers by state Constitutional officers • Arizona: • Attorney general: Kris Mayes (D) – elected 2022 • California: • State insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara (D) – elected 2018 • Connecticut: • State comptroller: Kevin Lembo (D) – elected 2010 • Commissioner of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood: Beth Bye (D) - appointed January 2019 • Maine: • State treasurer – Dale McCormick (D), Maine – elected (by the legislature) 1996 • Michigan: • Attorney general: Dana Nessel (D) – elected 2018 • Oklahoma: • Oklahoma corporation commissioner: Jim Roth (D) – appointed 2007 • Oregon: • Secretary of State: Kate Brown (D) – elected 2008 Legislative officials • California: • Senate President pro Tempore: Sen. Toni Atkins (D) – elected 2018 • House speaker: Rep. John Pérez (D) – elected 2010 • Colorado: • House speaker: Mark Ferrandino (D) (2012) • House minority leader: Mark Ferrandino (D) (2011) • Hawaii: • House majority leader: Rep. Blake Oshiro (D) – elected 2008, came out 2010 • Maine: • House speaker: Rep. Ryan Fecteau (D) – elected 2020 • Massachusetts: • Senate minority leader: Sen. Richard Tisei (R) – elected 2007, came out 2010 • Senate majority leader: Sen. Stan Rosenberg (D) – elected 2013, came out 2009 • Minnesota: • Senate president: Sen. Allan Spear (D) (1993) • Missouri: • Senate minority floor leader: Sen. Jolie Justus (D) (2012) • Oregon: • Senate minority leader: Sen. Kate Brown (D) (1998) • Senate majority leader: Sen. Kate Brown (D) (2003) • House speaker: Rep. Tina Kotek (D) – America's first openly lesbian House speaker (elected as Oregon's House speaker in 2012) • Rhode Island: • House speaker: Rep. Gordon D. Fox (D) (2010) • Vermont: • President pro tempore: Sen. Becca Balint (D) (2021) • Washington: • Senate minority leader: Sen. Ed Murray (D) (2012) • Wyoming: • House minority leader: Rep. Cathy Connolly (D) (2016) State legislators As of the 2020 elections, the legislatures of 49 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 state that has never had an openly LGBT state legislator is Louisiana. • Alabama: • Rep. Patricia Todd (D) – elected 2006 (female) • Rep. Neil Rafferty (D) – elected 2018 (male) • Alaska: • Rep. Johnny Ellis (D) – elected 1986, came out 2016 • Arizona: • Ken Cheuvront (D) – served in both the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate between 1994 and 2010 (male) • Paula Aboud (D) – elected to the Arizona Senate in 2006 (female) • Arkansas: • Rep. Kathy Webb (D) – elected 2006 • California: • 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. Mark Ferrandino (D) – appointed October 2007, became first openly gay man to serve in the General Assembly. • Sen. Lucía Guzmán (D) –elected 2010; first LGBT person to serve as president pro tem of the Colorado Senate • 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. • Connecticut General Assembly: • Rep. Joseph Grabarz (D) – Connecticut's first openly LGBT state legislator; first elected in 1988; came out in December 1990. • Rep. Evelyn Mantilla (D) – came out as America's first openly bisexual state official in 1997. • Delaware: • Sen. Karen E. Peterson (D) – came out 2013 • Sen. Sarah McBride (D) – first openly transgender state senator • Florida: • Rep. David Richardson (D) and Rep. Joe Saunders (D) – first openly gay Florida state legislators, both elected in 2012 • Georgia: • Rep. Karla Drenner (female) (D) – elected 2000 • Rep. Rashad Taylor (male) (D) – elected 2008, came out 2011 • Rep. Sam Park (male) (D) – elected 2016 • Hawaii: • Rep. Joe Bertram (male) (D) – elected 2006 • Rep. Georgette Jo Jordan (female) (Dem) – appointed January 2011; elected November 2012 • Rep. Blake Oshiro (D) – first House majority leader, came out 2010 • Idaho: • Female: Rep. (later Sen.) Nicole LeFavour (D) – elected 2004 • Male: Rep. John McCrostie (D) – elected 2014 • Illinois: • Rep. Larry McKeon (male) (D) – elected 1996 • Rep. Deb Mell (female) (D) – elected 2009 • Sen. Mike Simmons (male) (D) – appointed 2021 • Indiana: • Sen. J. D. Ford (male) (D) – elected 2018 • Iowa: • Male: Sen. Matt McCoy (D) – came out 2001 • Female: Rep. Liz Bennett (D) – elected 2014 • 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. • Kansas: • Susan Ruiz (female) (D) – elected 2018 • Brandon Woodard (male) (D) – elected 2018 • 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. • Kentucky: • Sen. Ernesto Scorsone (D) – came out 2003 • Rep. (later Sen.) Keturah Herron (D) – elected to House 2022, elected to Senate 2024 • Maine: • Sen. Dale McCormick (D) – elected 1990 • Maryland: • Del. Maggie McIntosh (D) – came out 2001 • Del. Richard Madaleno (D) – elected 2002 • Massachusetts: • Rep. Elaine Noble (D) – elected 1974 • Rep. (later Sen.) Jarrett Barrios (D) – elected to House 1999, elected to Senate 2003 • Rep. Althea Garrison (R) – elected 1993, first transgender person elected to a state legislature in the United States. • Sen. Cheryl Jacques (D) – elected 1993 • Michigan: • Rep. Chris Kolb (D) – elected in 2000 • Minnesota: • 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 • Rep. Leigh Finke (D) - elected in 2022. The first out transgender state legislator elected in Minnesota. • Mississippi: • Rep. Fabian Nelson (D) - elected in 2023 • Missouri: • Rep. Tim Van Zandt (D) – elected 1994; first openly gay person elected to the Missouri House of Representatives • Rep. Jeanette Oxford (D) – elected 2004; first openly gay woman in the Missouri House of Representatives • Rep. Zachary Wyatt (R) – elected 2010; came out 2012 and first openly gay republican in the Missouri House of Representatives • Rep. Tom Hannegan (R) – elected 2016; out when first elected and first openly gay when elected republican in the Missouri House of Representatives • Sen. Jolie Justus (D) – elected 2007; first openly gay person elected to the Missouri Senate • Rep. Randy D. Dunn (D) – elected 2012; first openly gay African American in the Missouri House of Representatives • Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove (D) – elected 2018; first openly gay African American woman in the Missouri House of Representatives • Sen. Greg Razer (D) – elected 2020; first openly gay man elected to the Missouri Senate • Montana: • Rep. Diane Sands (D) – appointed 1996 • Rep. Bryce Bennett (D) – elected 2010 • Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) – elected 2022; first openly transgender legislator in Montana • Nebraska: • Sen. Megan Hunt – elected 2018; first openly bisexual person elected to the Nebraska Legislature • Sen. John Fredrickson – elected 2022; first openly gay man elected to the Nebraska Legislature • Nevada: • Assemblyman (now Sen.) David Parks (D) (male) – elected 1996 • Senator Patricia Spearman (female) (D) – elected 2012 • New Hampshire: • Rep. Raymond Buckley (male) (D) – elected 1986 • Rep. Marlene DeChane (female) (D) – elected 1994 • Sen. David Pierce (D) – elected 2012, first open LGBT person ever elected to the New Hampshire Senate • Rep. Micah Kellner (male; bisexual) (D) – elected 2007 • Rep. Harry Bronson (male) (D) – elected 2010, first LGBT legislator elected from upstate New York • Sen. Jabari Brisport (male) (D) — elected 2020, first gay male legislator of Black African ancestry and from Brooklyn elected to NY Legislature • North Carolina: • Sen. Julia Boseman (D) – elected 2004 • Rep. Marcus Brandon (male) (D) – elected 2010 • North Dakota: • Rep. Joshua Boschee (D) – elected 2012 • Rep. Kate Brown (female; bisexual) (D) – appointed 1991; elected 1992, 1994 • Sen. Kate Brown (female; bisexual) (D) – elected 1996 • Rep. Tina Kotek (female) (D) – elected 2006; first openly lesbian speaker of the House • Pennsylvania: • Rep. Mike Fleck (R) – elected 2007, came out 2012 • Rep. Brian Sims (D) – elected (while out) 2012 • Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D), first gay person of color to serve in either house of the Pennsylvania state legislature. • Rhode Island: • Sen. William P. Fitzpatrick (male) (D) – elected 1992, ran as openly gay; statewide publicity after election • Rep. Mike Pisaturo (male) (D) – elected 1996 • Rep. Nancy Hetherington (female) (D) – elected 1994, came out in 2001 • Sen. Donna Nesselbush (female) (D) – elected 2010 • South Dakota: • Sen. Angie Buhl (D) (bisexual) – elected 2011, came out 2012 • South Carolina: • Rep. Jason Elliott (R) (male) – elected 2016 • Tennessee: • Rep. Torrey Harris (D) – elected 2020 • Texas: • Rep. Glen Maxey (male) (D) – elected 1991 • Rep. Mary Gonzalez (female) (D) – elected 2012; first openly pansexual elected official in the United States • Utah: • Rep. Jackie Biskupski (female) (D) – elected 1998 • Sen. Scott McCoy (male) (D) – elected 2005 • Vermont: • Rep. Ron Squires (D) – elected 1990 • Rep. Suzi Wizowaty (D) – elected 2008 • Sen. Ed Flanagan (D) – elected 2005 • Rep. Taylor Small (D, Progressive) – elected 2020; first openly transgender Vermont legislator • Virginia: • Del. (now Sen.) Adam Ebbin (D) – elected 2003; elected first state senator 2011 • Del. Dawn Adams (female; lesbian) (D) – elected 2017 • Del. Danica Roem (D) – elected 2017; first openly transgender person to be elected to a state legislature in the United States. • Del. Joshua G. Cole (D) – elected 2019; first LGBT person of color and first openly bisexual legislator in VA • Del. Rozia Henson (D) – elected 2023; first gay black man elected to the Virginia legislature. • Washington State: • Rep. (later Sen.) Cal Anderson (D) – appointed 1987 • Rep. Laurie Jinkins (female) (D) – elected 2010 • West Virginia: • Rep. Stephen Skinner (D) – elected 2012 Territorial legislators • District of Columbia • Jim Graham • David Catania • Guam: • Sen. Benjamin Cruz (D) – elected 2008 ==Local==

Nationwide firsts • First openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital: David Cicilline, Providence, Rhode Island (2002) • First directly elected openly gay mayor in the U.S.: Gene Ulrich, Bunceton, Missouri (1980) • Largest city (in the country) with an openly lesbian mayor: Lori Lightfoot, Chicago, Illinois (2019) (Formerly held by Annise Parker, Houston, Texas (2009)) • Largest city with an openly gay male mayor: Ed Murray, Seattle, Washington (2014) • First openly gay president of a city council: Cathy Woolard, Atlanta City Council President from 2002 to 2004. • First openly gay person (male or female) elected to public office (city council): Kathy Kozachenko, Ann Arbor, Michigan (1974) • First openly gay man elected to a U.S. city council (incumbent): Jim Yeadon, Madison, Wisconsin (1977) • First openly gay or lesbian elected official in California: Harvey Milk, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; elected 1977, assassinated in 1978 by Dan White shortly after White killed Mayor George Moscone. • First openly gay black person elected to public office in the United States: Keith St. John, elected to Albany, New York common council in 1989. • First openly gay Hispanic person elected to public office in the United States: Ricardo Gonzalez, Madison, Wisconsin (1989) • First openly transgender member of a city council: Joanne Conte (Arvada, Colorado) – trans woman, served on Arvada City Council from 1991 to 1995. Also the first openly transgender person elected to any office in the United States. • 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. By state • Alaska • Mayor of Anchorage: Austin Quinn-Davidson, 2020 • Arizona • Tempe • Mayor: Neil Giuliano, 1994–2004 • California • 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. • Vivian Romero was the first openly gay citywide elected official in Montebello when she was elected city councilmember in 2013. She was also the first openly gay female Mayor in 2018. • 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. • John Laird was elected mayor of Santa Cruz in 1983. • 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. • Joe Mosca took office as mayor of Sierra Madre in 2010, becoming the first openly gay mayor in the San Gabriel Valley. By 2010, there were four openly gay mayors in Los Angeles County: Mosca, John Heilman of West Hollywood, Mitch Ward of Manhattan Beach, and Mike Gin of Redondo Beach. • 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. • Shannon Moon was elected as Sheriff-Coroner of Nevada County California in 2018 She claimed the title as the first openly gay sheriff in California history. She is currently serving as of 2024. • 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. • Daryl Justin Finizio was the first openly gay mayor of New London (elected 2011). • Delaware • 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). • Florida • Richard A. Heyman – elected mayor of Key West in 1983, becoming the first openly LGBT mayor in Florida and one of the first openly LGBT mayors in the United States (Robert F. Gentry of Laguna Beach, California, and John Laird of Santa Cruz, California, were both elected the same year). • 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) • Craig Lowe – first openly LGBT mayor of Gainesville (and of any north Florida city); elected 2010 • Teri Johnston – first openly lesbian mayor of Key West and first openly lesbian mayor in Florida in 2018. • Justin Flippen – first openly gay mayor of Wilton Manors in 2018. • Dean Trantalis – first openly gay mayor of Fort Lauderdale in 2018. • Jane Castor – first openly lesbian mayor of Tampa in 2019. • J. Tyler Payne – first openly gay mayor of Treasure Island, Florida in 2021. • Georgia • 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. • 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. • Iowa • Bill Crews – mayor of Melbourne; came out while in office (reelected 1995) • Kansas • Longest-serving LGBTQ elected official: Henry Schwaller, elected 1999 – city commissioner, Hays, Kansas • Mayor: C.C. Smith (female), elected 2017 – Linn Valley, Kansas • Phillipe Cunningham elected in 2017, first openly transgender black man elected to a city council in the United States • Richard Carlbom- First openly gay mayor of a city in Minnesota. He served as the mayor of St. Joseph from 2005 to 2007. • Mary Moriarty elected 2023, first LGBT Hennepin County attorney • Mississippi • Pike County • Board of Supervisors: Justin Lofton, elected in 2023, first out LGBTQ county supervisor in the state of Mississippi • Southaven • Mayor: Greg Davis (came out in 2011) • New Hampshire • Nashua • 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 • New Jersey • Chatham Borough • Mayor: Bruce Harris, elected 2011 • Maywood • Mayor: Tim Eustace • New Mexico • Santa Fe • Mayor: Javier Gonzales • New York • 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) • Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, elected 2009 • Raleigh • Raleigh city councilman: Saige Martin, elected 2019 • Oregon • Portland • Sam Adams • Silverton • Stu Rasmussen (transgender) • Pennsylvania • Erie • 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. • Rhode Island • Providence • Mayor: David Cicilline, elected November 2002, assumed office January 2003 • South Carolina • Laurens • Mayor (Any City): Nathan Senn, first openly gay mayor; elected 2019, assumed office March 2019, re-elected 2023 • Texas • San Antonio • Councilman (District 2): Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, elected June 5, 2021, assumed office June 15, 2021 • Mayor: Gina Ortiz Jones, elected and assumed office in June 2025 • Houston • Mayor: Annise Parker, elected 2009, assumed office January 2010 • Kemp • Mayor: Matthew Ganssle, elected 2009, assumed office May 2009 • New Hope • Mayor: Jess Herbst, appointed 2016, came out as transgender 2017 • Utah • Willy Marshall, a member of the Libertarian Party, became the first openly gay mayor in Utah when he was elected mayor of Big Water in 2001. • Virginia • Joe Cobb, first openly gay Mayor of the City of Roanoke, Virginia, elected in 2024, and first openly gay Vice-Mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, serving July 1, 2018 - December 31, 2020 and January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2024. • Jay Fisette, elected member of Arlington County Board, Virginia, as openly gay in 1997. Served until 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. • Washington • Seattle • Mayor: Ed Murray (male) • Mayor: Jenny Durkan (female) • West Virginia • Harpers Ferry • Mayor: Joe Anderson (2011–2013) • Wisconsin • Satya Rhodes-Conway – mayor of Madison. ==Judicial==

National State and municipal 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. 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). 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 • Transgender judge: Victoria Kolakowski, Superior Court of Alameda County, California – elected 2010 • 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. ==See also==