November 08, 2017 - 12:52 PM
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Latest on Minneapolis electing a black transgender woman to its City Council (all times local):
2:50 p.m.
A black transgender woman who won a seat on the Minneapolis City Council says her election "provides hope" for young transgender people.
Andrea Jenkins tells The Associated Press that she is feeling elation, pride and "a deep sense of responsibility" after easily winning the race for a south Minneapolis seat.
Jenkins calls the election of a black transgender woman "a big deal." She says she was afraid that racism and transphobia would work against her, "and my community absolutely proved me wrong."
Victory Fund, a group that advocates for LGBT candidates, called Jenkins the first openly transgender woman elected to the city council of a major U.S. city.
Jenkins says her victory, and the election in Virginia of Danica Roem as the nation's first openly transgender state lawmaker, shows "People are saying no to hate and yes to love."
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9:15 a.m.
Minneapolis has elected a black transgender woman to its City Council in what advocacy groups say is a national first.
Andrea Jenkins easily won the race for a south Minneapolis seat Tuesday with roughly 73 per cent of the vote. Jenkins spent years as a policy aide to two previous council members in the same ward.
Victory Fund, a group that advocates for LGBT candidates, called Jenkins the first openly transgender woman elected to the city council of a major U.S. city.
She won the same night that Danica Roem became the nation's first openly transgender state lawmaker by winning a Virginia Statehouse seat. Roem defeated Bob Marshall, a longtime Republican delegate who sponsored legislation that would have restricted transgender bathroom use.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017