Jalen McKee-Rodriguez becomes first openly gay Black man to be elected to any office in Texas – KENS5.com

SAN ANTONIO — Election results show Jalen McKee-Rodriguez has been elected to represent District 2 for the San Antonio City Council, making him the first openly gay Black man elected to any office in Texas history. 

McKee-Rodriguez defeated the incumbent, Jada Andrews-Sullivan, with 63 percent of the vote compared to Andrews-Sullivan’s 37 percent. The 26-year-old previously worked for Andrews-Sullivan. 

“A lot of people said that District 2 wouldn’t be ready for a candidate like me. Would District 2 be ready for a young gay candidate? Is Texas ready for a gay Black man to be elected anywhere and to any position? And so I think what we proved and what the community proved is that everyone deserves representation and if you have the right motives and if you have the right passions and if you’re a good listener, the people will trust that,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “I hope this opens doors for a lot of people.”

The math teacher said the first thing he plans to do while in office is create a more equitable budget. 

The KENS 5 team reached out to Andrews-Sullivan for comment, and her campaign declined to make a statement at this time. 

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a non-profit organization working to achieve equality for candidates in the LGBTQ community made the following statement:

TFN PAC, the political arm of the Texas Freedom Network released the following statement following Saturday’s election results:

“Jalen and Teri represent a new generation of leaders that have been making gains across the state. They ran bold, unapologetic campaigns based on progressive values, and they won. We are excited to see Jalen and Teri take their seats on the council and to see them deliver for San Antonians on issues like the climate crisis, police accountability, housing and much more. We congratulate them both on their emphatic victories tonight.”

For full election results, click here.