Although the elections from 2016 may not have had the outcome that everyone expected, 2017 is very telling of a hopeful future in diverse politics. As those in younger generations begin to grow up and realize the power they have over politics, the voting outcomes have become vastly different. Not only has there been swapping of parties in states which were primarily Republican before, but there has also been a rise in electing individuals who are not just the stereotypical politician. This election was one that gave much hope for a future of a better government and showed the change in society as we move forward.
Philadelphia elected a civil rights attorney as their new District Attorney, an environmentalist beat a candidate backed by oil and gas companies, and refugees are now holding positions in local government.
Bob Marshall of Virginia (the self-proclaimed “chief homophobe” of the state who authored the bill trying to keep transgender people out of public bathrooms) was defeated by Danica Roem, a transgender woman in this year’s election. Roem will be the first transgender woman in a United States Statehouse. This just goes to show that even with the top people in our government trying to create laws to limit transgender individual’s rights, the people are beginning to fight back — and winning. Andrea Jenkins, a transgender woman of color, was elected to Minneapolis’s city council after winning 73% of the vote against her three opponents. This marks the first transgender person of color to be elected to office in the entire country!
People of color also won big in the polls last Tuesday. Montana, which is considered to be a very conservative state with both their house and senate representatives being republican, but their capital city Helena elected Liberian refugee Wilmot Collins, the first African American mayor in the state’s history. Duluth, Minnesota also made history by electing the first person of color to ever be on their city council.
These political changes have also hit home, Erie PA elected Tyler Titus the first ever transgender person elected to office in Pennsylvania. Titus, 33, was elected onto the Erie School Board amid their struggles with the consolidation of the entire district.