Kathy Kozachenko is an American politician who was the first openly LGBT candidate to successfully run for political office in the United States. Kozachenko ran on the ticket of the Human Rights Party (HRP), the local, left-wing third party, which had already succeeded in winning two Ann Arbor, Michigan, council seats in 1972.
Toni Gayle Atkins is an American politician who served as the 51st president pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2018 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 69th speaker of the California State Assembly from 2014 to 2016 and the California State Assembly majority leader from 2012 to 2014. She represented the 39th State Senate district from 2016 to 2024, encompassing most of San Diego.
Jack E. Wagner is an American Democratic politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He served as Pennsylvania Auditor General, and previously served in the State Senate and Pittsburgh City Council.
Denise Eger is an American Reform rabbi. In March 2015, she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America; she was the first openly gay person to hold that position.
The Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus is the South's oldest civil rights organization dedicated solely to the advancement of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. It was founded in 1975, and is the largest LGBTQ political organization in the city of Houston and Harris County. It is known locally simply as "The Caucus". The Caucus is nonpartisan and endorses candidates on the basis of their support for LGBTQ rights, regardless of political party or candidate's sexual orientation.
James Cappleman is an American politician and a former member of the Chicago City Council. He was elected to the Council in 2011 as the alderman for the city's 46th ward, which includes parts of the Uptown and Lakeview neighborhoods. He won re-election in 2015 and 2019.
Christopher Steven Seelbach is an American politician. He made history in 2011 when he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the Cincinnati City Council. On May 20, 2013, the White House named Seelbach a national Harvey Milk "Champion of Change" for his commitment to equality and public service.
Mark Allan Segal is a social activist and author. He participated in the Stonewall riots and was one of the original founders of the Gay Liberation Front where he created its Gay Youth program. He was the founder and former president of the National Gay Newspaper Guild and purchased the Philadelphia Gay News. He has won numerous journalism awards for his column "Mark my Works," including best column by The National Newspaper Association, Suburban Newspaper Association and The Society of Professional Journalists.
Ritchie John Torres is an American politician from New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Torres is the U.S. representative for New York's 15th congressional district. The district covers most of the South Bronx and is the poorest congressional district in the United States by median income as well as one of the smallest districts by area in the country, covering only a few square miles.
Sarah Elizabeth McBride is an American activist and politician who is the U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Delaware Senate from January 2021 to January 2025, representing the state's 1st senate district. Prior, she was the national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign from 2016 to 2021. McBride is the nation's highest ranking openly transgender elected official and the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress.
Helen Gym is an American politician. She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Philadelphia City Council. She was first elected to Council in 2015 and served until 2022, when she resigned to run in the Democratic primary of the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election. Gym finished in third place behind Cherelle Parker, who won the nomination, and Rebecca Rhynhart.
1959 Philadelphia's municipal election, held on November 3, involved contests for mayor, all seventeen city council seats, and several other executive and judicial offices. Citywide, the Democrats took majorities of over 200,000 votes, continuing their success from the elections four years earlier. Richardson Dilworth, who had been elected mayor in 1955, was re-elected over Republican nominee Harold Stassen. The Democrats also took fifteen of seventeen city council seats, the most seats allowed to any one party under the 1951 city charter. They further kept control of the other citywide offices. The election represented a continued consolidation of control by the Democrats after their citywide victories of the previous eight years.
Malcolm Kenyatta is an American politician from the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the Pennsylvania state representative for the 181st district since 2019. He was the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Auditor General in the 2024 election, losing to incumbent Republican Timothy DeFoor.
Kendra Nicole Brooks is an American politician and activist. Brooks, a member of the Working Families Party (WFP), won a citywide at-large seat in the election to Philadelphia City Council on November 5, 2019. The council has seven at-large seats that go to the highest overall vote-getters with two seats reserved for a minority party. Brooks's initial 2019 election was the first time a third party candidate won the minority party seat since its inception in 1919, through the creation of the modern Philadelphia City Council. Brooks won reelection to Philadelphia City Council in 2023.
Nina Ahmad is an American scientist, politician, and women's rights activist from Pennsylvania. She was elected in 2023 to be an at-large member of Philadelphia City Council and is the first person of South Asian descent to serve on the council.
Jessica L. Benham is an American politician and disability rights activist serving as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 36th District. She is the first openly LGBTQ+ woman and first openly autistic person elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. She cofounded the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy in 2014.
Katherine Gilmore Richardson is a Democratic politician and at-large member of the Philadelphia City Council. Gilmore Richardson was first elected to an at-large seat in 2019, becoming the youngest Black woman to serve on the city council. On January 2, 2024, she became both the youngest ever and the first At-Large member elected to serve as Majority Leader.
John C. Anderson was a member of the Philadelphia City Council from 1979 to 1983. Although it was not widely known at the time, Anderson, a Black gay man, was the first person from the LGBTQ community to serve on the council. As of October 2022, he remained the only one.
The 2023 Philadelphia City Council elections was held November 7, 2023 for elections of all seats in the Philadelphia City Council. The Democratic Party maintained its super-majority on the council. The election took place on the same day as the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election and other local elections in the Commonwealth.
