Kathy Kozachenko, 1st openly gay elected official in U.S., on 50 years of LGBTQ rights
At 21, University of Michigan student Kathy Kozachenko made history by becoming the first openly gay elected official in the nation. Now, she fears for the future of LGBTQ rights.
It’s been 50 years since a 21-year-old University of Michigan college student became the first openly gay person elected to public office in the U.S. Kathy Kozachenko, now 71, served only a single term on the Ann Arbor City Council, but she opened a door to LGBTQ representation in politics when the community was rapidly gaining visibility in American society.
Even though she shattered a long-impenetrable lavender ceiling, Kozachenko is not a household name, unlike her contemporary Harvey Milk, who was elected to public office in California three years after her victory. But she has spent her decades out of elected office closely following politics, including the current rise in anti-LGBTQ state policies and rhetoric, which she called “more dangerous” than some of the challenges her generation overcame.
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