From Seattle to Chicago — and of course South Bend — openly gay mayors are increasingly becoming prominent figures in American politics.
Currently, there are 38 openly gay mayors across the country, according to the Victory Fund, an advocacy group working to elect LGBTQ politicians. One of which is Jane Castor, the mayor of Tampa. Castor was elected in April with an overwhelming 72 percent of votes, becoming the city's first openly gay mayor.
"I want to be remembered as a good mayor, not necessarily the first LGBT mayor," Castor told Cheddar. "However, the significance and the responsibility of that distinction is not lost on me."
Castor was born and raised in Tampa and served for 31 years in the city's police department, working her way up to become the agency's first female police chief before running for mayor.
"That I was an openly gay woman never came up during the campaign," she said, adding that the non-issue response to her sexuality illustrates how "open and forward thinking" Tampa is.
Castor's election came just a few weeks after the unprecedented victory of Lori Lightfoot, who became the first black woman and first first openly gay person to be elected as the Mayor of Chicago.
"Both LGBTQ people and women face tremendous obstacles in running for public office, but Jane's victory shows lesbian candidates can win citywide office with a strong record of public service and policy priorities that align with their constituents," Annise Parker, the president and CEO of Victory Fund and the former mayor of Houston, said in a statement. Parker was the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city.
Castor joins the ranks of LGBTQ mayors serving across the country, including Satya Rhodes-Conway of Madison, Wisconsin, Jenny Durkan of Seattle, Dean Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale, and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a rising 2020 presidential candidate.
"The LGBT leaders that we have in politics are really going to change the face of, not only the community, but the nation," Castor told Cheddar.
Lesbian women in particular seem to be having a moment, Parker said, noting that the U.S. is "on-track to make 2019 the Year of the Lesbian Mayor."
