Austin Elects
First Lesbian Council Member

Randi Shade was elected Saturday to become Austin's first openly gay elected city council member. Shade beat incumbent Jennifer Kim with 64% of the vote to win the Place 3 seat. She was endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

"I knew it would be an uphill battle to run against an incumbent," Shade said to the AustinAmerican-Statesman on Sunday. "But we built a broad coalition of support, and I think people are ready for a change."

Shade accused her opponent of being ineffective and inaccessible, criticizing her for sending misleading automated calls, according to the Victory Fund. Kim countered by saying that Shade failed to list fund-raisers on her campaign finance reports.

"I'm the most independent member of the council, and I'm proud of that," Kim said in the article. "This has been the greatest honor of my life, to serve the people of Austin." (The Advocate)