Kate Brown Just Became America’s First-Ever Openly Bisexual Governor

[niyad]

Kate Brown Just Became America’s First-Ever Openly Bisexual Governor


Kate Brown was sworn in Wednesday morning as Oregon’s 38th governor, making her the first openly bisexual governor in the US.




Brown is replacing John Kitzhaber, also a Democrat, who announced his resignation last Friday. Kitzhaber and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, were the center of a large controversy that led to state and federal investigations looking into allegations of influence peddling. Brown has worked in Oregon politics since 1991, when she began her run as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives. She was later elected to the state’s Senate and most recently served as their Secretary of State.

“Few are better prepared to lead the great state of Oregon than Kate Brown,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said following the news. “She’s a known commodity to Oregonians with a distinguished record of service of over two decades. And while she’ll make history as the nation’s first sitting openly LGBT governor, the more important truth is that she’s supremely capable of leading the state to better days ahead.”

Brown has a lot of work to do after the political drama under Kitzhaber, but her inaugural speech Wednesday promises transparency and hard work. “We must work together to address these and other real problems in real time,” Brown said, “to strengthen Oregon’s recovery from the recession; to improve access to quality education and health care, and create more living-wage jobs in every single corner of the state.”

Brown’s election represents a victory for women and LGBT folks, who are underrepresented in gubernatorial positions as well as in all levels of national and state leadership. Women currently hold only 24.2 percent of all available elected state positions in the US, and only 22 percent of Americans have an openly LGBT elected official representing them at any level. Only five other women in America are currently serving as governors alongside Brown.

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http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/02/19/kate-brown-just-became-americas-first-ever-openly-bisexual-governor/

[guillaumeb]

1. I cannot wait

for the right wing pushback. Haters everywhere will use this as another example of America's decline.

[niyad]

2. you are, sadly, correct.

[Chakaconcarne]

3. Good.... Let them...

and we can continue to advertise their intolerance. I believe we are on the cusp of Americans becoming intolerant of their intolerance.

[guillaumeb]

4. the haters

do not seem to realize that on marriage equality and LGBTG issues the country has experienced a tidal wave of change and the haters are the debris washed up on the shore.

I believe that on issues of economic inequality the 99% are slowly gathering into another wave. No matter what the GOP says at this point about economic inequality I think they will also be debris washed up on the shore.

No one can turn back the clock.