Tag: Ritchie Torres

Posted on

LGBTQ Candidates Win Across The Country Making History In Their Races

L-R Ritchie Torres, Sarah McBride, Torrey Harris, Michele Rayner (images via campaigns)
There were over 574 LGBTQ candidates on ballots across the nation on Tuesday night. Here are just some of the results that will send these community leaders to represent us. Colorado: Brianna Titone overcame an onslaught of vile transphobic ads to win her election for Colorado State House, District 27. Also, David Ortiz won his race for District 38 in the State House, becoming the first bisexual candidate elected to the Colorado state legislature. An advocate for his fellow disabled veterans, he’ll also be the first wheelchair user elected to the legislature. Delaware: Sarah McBride won her state senate race, making her the first and only openly transgender state senator in the U.S. and the country’s highest-ranking transgender official. Florida: Shevrin Jones became the first openly LGBTQ person ever elected to the Florida State Senate. Michele Rayner won her race for the Florida House making history as the first openly Black queer women ever elected at any level. Georgia: Kim Jackson won her race for the Georgia state Senate, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person elected to that chamber. Kansas: Stephanie Byers was elected to her state house seat in Kansas making history as the first trans person of Native American heritage to be elected to any state legislature. New York: Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones were elected in New York, making them the first openly gay, black members of Congress. Jabari Brisport won election to the state senate from Brooklyn’s 25th District. He will be the first openly queer person of color to join the New York Legislature.” Ohio: Charmaine McGuffey, who is openly gay, won the Hamilton County Sheriff’s race and will be the county’s first female sheriff. Oklahoma: Mauree Turner became the first openly non-binary person ever elected to a state legislature in the United States, winning their race for the Oklahoma House. Tennessee: Torrey Harris, who is bisexual, became the state’s first openly LGBTQ legislator. Texas: Ann Johnson won her race for House District 134 in the Lone Star state. Ann will join a growing number of LGBTQ women in the state House and help them pass pro-equality legislation. Vermont: Taylor Small became the first out transgender person ever elected to the Vermont state legislature. (source: Victory Fund)

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 25, 2020

Tom Goss in ‘Amsterdam’ (photo: Mark Nickels)
Some news items you might have missed: • JoeMyGod: In a money-beg email, virulently anti-LGBTQ Brian Brown solicits donations for his woeful National Organization for Marriage declaring conservatives should support Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court because “It will mean that religious liberty will be restored to its rightful place as a foundational constitutional right, and that the fake “rights” that are constantly demanded by the left – including special rules for homosexuals and the so-called transgendered – will no longer see the light of day.” Oh no, no hate there… • Out Music: The sensual music video for Tom Goss’s “Amsterdam,” is a beautifully shot wet and sexy romp. He wrote the song four years ago while in Holland, when he had a transformative sexual experience that still reverberates to this day. “It started in the shower,” recalls Goss. “We were kissing and holding each other tightly, with water pouring down over us. I had this overwhelming feeling of peace and acceptance of who I am, like I was being baptized in a whole new way.”

• Reuters:A federal appeals court ruled in favor of allowing the House of Representatives’ lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s diversion of funds to pay for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to proceed. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like MetroWeekly featuring Ritchie Torres, who will likely become the first gay Afro-Latino elected to Congress. • AP: In the Midwest, the virus is now landing squarely in places where there is strong resistance to masks and governors have been reluctant to require face coverings. Oklahoma and Missouri are regularly recording 1,000 new cases a day, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson [photo], a staunch opponent of mask rules, tested positive this week. Kansas and Iowa are also witnessing a spike in cases. And South Dakota and Idaho are seeing sky-high rates of tests coming back positive.

Posted on

New York: Two Out Black Candidates Win Primaries, Set To Make History

L-R Mondaire Jones, Ritchie Torres (images via campaigns)
New York City Councilmember Ritchie Torres won the Democratic primary for New York’s 15th Congressional District, defeating virulently anti-LGBTQ opponent Rubén Díaz Sr. and putting him on track to become the first openly LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress. The seat is one of the safest in the country for Democrats, almost guaranteeing Torres will win in November. He will join Mondaire Jones, who also won his primary for New York’s 17th Congressional District last night in a safe district, in becoming the first two Black openly LGBTQ members of Congress when they win in November. Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about Torres’ and Jones’ primary victory:

“Voters in the Bronx rejected the politics of bigotry and instead put Ritchie on track to become the first openly LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member of Congress. At a time when our country is divided and we confront the realities of racism and police brutality, it is essential we have a voice like Ritchie’s fighting to turn the demands of protesters into legislative change at the federal level.

“Richie and Mondaire have shattered a long-standing political barrier with their primary wins, putting them on track to becoming the first two openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress. Black LGBTQ people – like all LGBTQ people – are severely underrepresented at every level of government, but this gives hope that we are moving toward building a U.S. Congress that is more representative of the people it serves.”

Posted on

Out NYC City Councilman Hopes To Be First Gay Latinx Elected To Congress

New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres

New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres, the first LGBTQ official elected in the Bronx, has announced he will run to represent New York’s 15th Congressional District in 2020.

The seat is being vacated by Democrat Rep. José E. Serrano, the longest serving Hispanic congressman in the country, who is retiring because he has Parkinson’s disease.

Torres, currently the youngest member of the City Council, would be the first openly gay member of Congress who is either Latinx or Black.

In a May interview with GayCityNews leading up to his campaign announcement, Torres said that he would prioritize housing and healthcare should he be elected to Congress.

Making the race even more interesting, Torres will be running against longtime homophobe (and Democrat in name only) New York City Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr.

Díaz, a former state senator, has been an opponent of same-sex marriage for years, and once attended a protest of an AIDS walk in drag as part of a “March for Morality.” He has been quoted as saying New York City is “controlled by the homosexual community.”

The controversial 76-year-old politician has defended his positions saying his family is “full of gays.” He has a lesbian granddaughter.

But Torres says Díaz’s virulently anti-LGBTQ record is something to spotlight.

“To have an elected official attack the quality and dignity of LGBT people sends a message to young people who are thinking of taking their own life as they struggle with their identity,” Torres told the New York Times.

“The council member has a right to hold whatever beliefs he wants, but he is running in the wrong primary,” Torres said. “He should be running in the Republican primary.”

The 31-year-old has already received several high profile endorsements including The Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates, and as well as the Equality PAC — the political branch of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus — which is made up of more than 150 members of Congress.

You can check out the campaign announcement from Torres below. The Democratic primary will take place in June 2020.