Appleton, WI’s Gypsy Vered Meltzer identifies as both transgender and a man. On Tuesday the residents of Appleton elected him to the city council. Gypsy expects that there will be people uneasy with his election, but is determined to keep that from distracting him from the job at hand. Meltzer defeated Barney Lemanski for the seat by a vote of 295-199.
I can see some push back, but I hope they’ll get over it. I hope things don’t go that route. I don’t want to lose focus on the issues and increasing communications between the city and its residents.
–Meltzer
Fair Wisconsin identifies Meltzer as the first openly transgender person to hold office in Wisconsin.
This election is an historic moment for Wisconsin in having the first openly transgender official. I’d hope we’d see an increase in the number of elected officials from the transgender community across the state.
–Katie Belanger, Fair Wisconsin president
Every time a trans person succeeds in anything related to the public, it is a step forward. It’s an acknowledgment that we’re just like everyone else and it shouldn’t be the issue by which we’re judged.
–my friend Loree Cook-Daniels, FORGE