aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Michelle Bruce update. And gay Republican elected in GA.

Michelle Bruce is the transgender politician in Riverdale, Georgia now facing a lawsuit for fraud. The City Council has decided to go ahead with the runoff despite the lawsuit:

The Riverdale City Council voted unanimously Monday to move forward with a runoff election despite a pending lawsuit asking a judge to halt the race.

But the real decision will be made Dec. 3 - a day before the election - when a Clayton County Superior Court judge will decide whether a transgender Riverdale City Council member lied to voters when she ran as a woman. That allegation, along with accusations of voting machine tampering and improper campaigning, could push the election back even further. [...]

Bruce says she became the first transgender elected official in the United States when she took her seat on the Riverdale council in 2003.

The National Center for Transgender Equality said they have seen gender disputes arise in custody battles and insurance claims, but never in an election.

“There is nothing to hide. She is who she is,” said Mara Keisling, the center’s executive director. “She has served for four years and never lied to the people.”

On Monday night, Bruce and the rest of the council voted to move forward with the Dec. 4 runoff election. Several residents and council members at the meeting encouraged citizens to support Bruce.

Also in today’s AJC, Georgia’s first openly gay Republican elected:

Brian Bates is a 36-year-old business owner in charge of Doraville’s annual Police Appreciation Day.

He’s active in his neighborhood association and staunchly supports popular police Chief John King, who became a major issue in elections earlier this month.

So Bates’ victory in a race for city council didn’t come as a major surprise in this town of about 10,000 residents. But, it was, in fact, groundbreaking.

Bates is now the state’s first openly gay Republican elected to office — a development that has gained the attention of politicos and pundits across the country.