CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Keith Durbin, a Nashville accountant, made history Thursday, becoming Tennessee's first out gay elected official by winning a seat on the Nashville city council, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund said Friday.
Durbin, for five years president of the city's venerable Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood association, ran unopposed for the seat in Nashville's District 18.
Though unopposed (his predecessor left due to term limits), Durbin spent Election Day at the precinct, standing under a tree with his mother, Geraldine Durbin of Paducah, Ky., where he grew up, The Tennessean newspaper blogged Thursday. He said, "I'm running for office to represent people, and I want them to know who I am."
"Political office was not an end in itself," Durbin, 40, told Gay.com. "My activism in the neighborhood created a lot of relationships, and that was the springboard. It created a space in which people could see me work and say, 'That's Keith,' not 'That's Keith, the gay person.'"
He describes Belmont-Hillsboro, built in the 1890s and largely regentrified, as "vibrant" and "really cool." Vanderbilt and Belmont universities are both in his district.
"I appeared before the council many times on planning and zoning things, and you can see how a single person, working with others, can really make a difference."
Durbin lives with his partner, human resources executive Gary Bynum--a fact he mentioned on his Web site. He said his goals on the council were to be "a strong voice for neighborhood interests, to emphasize top-quality education for our children, to encourage continued economic vitality of our Hillsboro Village and 12South business districts, and to work closely with Vanderbilt University and Belmont University as good neighbors." (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM