Kathy Kozachenko | |
|---|---|
| Ann Arbor City Council, Second Ward (Michigan) | |
| In office 1974–1976 | |
| Preceded by | Nancy Wechsler (HR) |
| Succeeded by | Earl W. Greene (D) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1953 (age 71–72) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party | Human Rights Party |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Kathy Kozachenko (born 1953) is an American politician who was the first openly LGBT candidate to successfully run for political office in the United States.[1] Kozachenko ran on the ticket of the Human Rights Party (HRP), the local, left-wing third party, which had already succeeded in winning two Ann Arbor, Michigan, council seats in 1972.[2]
Biography
Born in Alexandria, Virginia,[1] Kozachenko moved around during her youth. From Toledo, Ohio, she would eventually make it to Plymouth, Michigan. She joined the Human Rights Party (HRP) in the early 1970s. Kozachenko is of Ukrainian descent.
Kozachenko was an out student at the University of Michigan,[3] where she received support for her progressive agenda, which included a fine of no more than five dollars for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Another part of her platform included "a ceiling on the amount of profit a landlord could make from rents on a building".[3]
Running solely against a liberal Democrat, the 21-year-old Kozachenko was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council on April 2, 1974. She won the seat "representing the city's second ward by fifty-two votes".[4][1][5][6]
Kozachenko's HRP predecessors on the city council, Nancy Wechsler and Jerry DeGrieck, had both come out during their first and only terms on the city council, thus becoming the first openly LGBT public-office holders in the United States; however, neither Wechsler nor DeGrieck ran for office as an openly lesbian/gay individual.[2]
Political career
On April 2, 1974, she was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council, representing the Second Ward.[7] Her win was important because she became the first openly lesbian/gay candidate to successfully run for and win public office in the United States.
During her two-year term [8] (1974–1976), Kozachenko focused on progressive issues central to the HRP platform. Her campaign focused on enforcement of Ann Arbor’s Human Rights[8] Ordinance, which protected gay and lesbian residents from discrimination in housing and employment. She also supported workers rights, the United Farm Workers boycott, and the increasing of funding for social service programs. She continued to be a vocal promoter of economic justice even though her campaign for rent control eventually failed at the elections.
In her second year on the council, Kozachenko had the swing vote.[8] She utilized this position to negotiate increased funding for social services. She also attempted to introduce legislation to overturn a law she believed was used to unfairly arrest student protesters, but the bill did not pass.
References
- ^ a b c Friess, Steve (December 11, 2015). "The First Openly Gay Person to Win an Election in America Was Not Harvey Milk". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ a b Compton, Julie (April 2, 2020). "Meet the lesbian who made political history years before Harvey Milk". NBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ a b Faderman, Lillian (2015). The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle (1st ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 393–394. ISBN 978-1451694116.
- ^ Campbell, Jane; Carilli, Theresa, eds. (2013). "11. First But (Nearly) Forgotten: Why You Know Milk But Not Kozachenko, by Bruce E. Drushel". Queer Media Images: LGBT Perspectives. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Lexington Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-0739180280.
- ^ "Kathy Kozachenko: LGBTQ Rights in Michigan". Michiganology. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ "It Happened at Michigan — Breaking barriers and making gay rights history | The University Record". record.umich.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- ^ LGBTQHP (2025-01-23). "KATHY KOZACHENKO: Interview". THE LGBTQHP. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
- ^ a b c Costa, Chrissy (2024-10-24). "Kathy Kozachenko: Her-story". QBurgh. Archived from the original on 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
