Transgender Candidate Becomes First-Ever Elected In Pennsylvania
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ERIE, Pa. (KDKA/AP) - A western Pennsylvania school board has a new, openly transgender member.
The Erie Times-News reports Tyler Titus won one of four open seats on the Erie School Board on Tuesday.
The Victory Fund, a political action committee dedicated to electing openly LGBT people, says 33-year-old Titus is the first openly transgender person ever elected in the state of Pennsylvania.
"Tyler Titus shattered a lavender ceiling in Pennsylvania today – and his victory will resonate well-beyond state boundaries. Trans people remain severely underrepresented in our politics and government, and now more than ever we need trans voices like Tyler's in the halls of power. This is a historic night for trans candidates across the country – and Tyler is part of a vanguard of leaders who are determined to be part of the conversation on issues that affect their lives," Victory Fund President and CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills said in a statement.
Titus is a clinical therapist and Democrat who won a write-in Democratic nomination in May.
Titus isn't the only transgender candidate elected to public office Tuesday.
In Virginia, a transgender candidate defeated an incumbent lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would have restricted which bathrooms she could use.
Democrat Danica Roem will be the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature in the United States.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)