Another rainbow ceiling shattered this week when Worcester, Massachusetts voters elected Thu Nguyen to Worcester’s city council, making Nguyen the first out, nonbinary elected official in Massachusetts. According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, there are only nine out nonbinary elected officials in the entire United States.
Nguyen will also be the first Southeast Asian American to serve on Worcester’s city council.
“Thu shattered a rainbow ceiling in Massachusetts and will join a growing number of nonbinary elected officials serving across the nation. Their victory proves voters look beyond gender identity and will elect the LGBTQ Victory Fund,” Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement.
“Thu’s experiences – as a person of color, nonbinary person and refugee – will bring a unique and critical perspective to the city council and it will lead to more inclusive legislation,” Parker said.
Reports Worcester’s Telegram & Gazette:
“Nguyen said the campaign provided young people space to experience and engage with politics. They were people who have never been invited in and never imagined they would be.
“They said they were beyond grateful for voters’ confidence Tuesday night. Nguyen said a big part of their campaign was looking at how government can be holistic and that resonated with people.
“‘I never really took the campaign to be about me,’ Nguyen said. ‘It was about the community, and a political re-imagination.’ …
“Nguyen said there have been multiple generations of Southeast Asian Americans in the city without representation in city government.
“‘That’s a huge gap we needed to fill,’ Nguyen said.
“Nguyen said their victory was [also] a victory for the LGBTQIA community and showed how inclusive and loving Worcester could be.”
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