Staten Island
elects gay state legislator

Voters in Staten Island, N.Y., elected the borough's first openly gay official Monday in a special election, TheNew York Times reports. Matthew Titone, a 46-year-old Democrat, has been selected for the state assembly seat representing the island's north shore, which is the more liberal district of Staten Island, New York City's most conservative borough. He took the seat of late assemblyman John Lavelle, who died of a stroke in January at age 57.

Titone ran against Kelvin Alexander of the Independence Party, who would have been the borough's first black assemblyman, and Rose Margarella, who would have been the first Republican elected for the district. Titone won by more than 1,000 votes over second-place finisher Margarella, who took 1,846 votes. Alexander took 1,122 votes.

Titone is a lawyer and son of a former judge on New York's court of appeals. He ran unsuccessfully for the state senate last year. (The Advocate)