Well check out El Cerrito, as the Contra Costa County city will have an LGBTQ majority on its city council as of Tuesday night, the first ever such majority in the Bay Area and only the third ever in state history.
If you follow any of the doings of the BART board of directors, you’ll know outgoing board member Rebecca Saltzman as someone who will often wear BART ticket earrings or a ridiculous BART holiday sweater. Saltzman’s term on the BART board is now over (she’s not the one who handed out MAGA hats at her last meeting, that was a different director), but Saltzman has earned a something of a promotion, as she won a seat on the El Cerrito City Council in last month’s election.
Saltzman is openly lesbian, and one of the other seats on the city council up for grabs was won by openly gay father William Ktsanes. And with two out LGBTQ members already sitting on the El Cerrito City Council, KTVU points out that El Cerrito will have an openly gay city council majority once those two new members are sworn in Tuesday.
Join me next Tuesday, December 17 at 6 pm for my swearing in to the El Cerrito City Council.
— Rebecca Saltzman (@RebeccaForEC) December 11, 2024
We'll make history! Once William Ktsanes and I are sworn in, the El Cerrito Council will have an openly LGBTQ+ majority, a first for the Bay Area (and just the third in California). pic.twitter.com/denXcwF0y6
According to Saltzman’s office, this will be the first-ever LGBTQ city council majority in the Bay Area, and it’s only the third time there’s ever been a majority queer city council in the history of the state of California.
It’s not a typo, William Ktsanes really does spell his name “Ktsanes,” saying it’s “pronounced with a soft ‘t’ and missing a vowel that was lost when my grandfather arrived alone at Ellis Island as a young immigrant from Greece.” He and Saltzman will join openly gay councilmembers Gabe Quinto and Carolyn Wysinger, whose seats were not up for reelection this year, to make a four-seat LGBTQ majority on the five-member council.
Current council member Lisa Motoyama, who was reelected in November, is not gay but described in a press release from Saltzman as a "straight ally."
And in an additional milestone, the new openly gay El Cerrito City Council members will be sworn in Tuesday night at 6 pm by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vicky Kolakowski, who is the first transgender Superior Court Judge in the United States.
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Image: (Left) Rebecca Saltzman via Facebook, (Right) William Ktsanes via Facebook
