Nancy Wechsler is an activist, writer, and former member of the Ann Arbor City Council, where she came out as a lesbian while serving her term. Elected to the City Council alongside fellow Human Rights Party candidate

Jerry DeGrieck Gerald (Jerry) C. DeGrieck is a public health manager and policy advisor in Seattle, Washington. He and Nancy Wechsler served together on the Ann Arbor City Council, 1972–1974, while they were graduate students at the University of Michigan. ...

, both Wechsler and DeGrieck

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

while serving, and are typically cited as the first openly LGBT elected officials in the United States.

Ann Arbor City Council

Wechsler and

were elected to the Ann Arbor City Council as members of the Human Rights Party on April 3, 1972. Political observers did not believe the third party had much chance of winning any seats, but the party's liberal platform appealed to young voters and beat university professors running as Democrats in the 1st and 2nd wards. At the time of the election, Wechsler was 22, a recent

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

graduate, and an employee of a local college bookstore. During her time in office, Wechsler worked together with DeGrieck to champion numerous progressive policies. These included banning discrimination in housing, employment, supporting efforts for prison inmates to unionize and public accommodations on the basis of sexual preference, formally declaring a

Gay Pride Week In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of ...

in Ann Arbor, and decriminalizing marijuana possession at the local level. In 1973, while serving on the council, Wechsler came out as a lesbian and DeGrieck as a gay man in response to an anti-LGBT incident at a local restaurant. The incident in question involved Wechsler and several lesbian friends being kicked out of the Rubaiyat when they were seen slow dancing and kissing. In 1974, rather than seek re-election, Wechsler moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts where she went on to become a writer and photographer for the '' Gay Community News'' among other publications. She also worked at political organizations including the Resist Foundation and the

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends ('' Quaker)-founded'' organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by ...

. Out lesbian Kathy Kozachenko was elected to fill Wechsler's seat on the council, becoming the first openly LGBT politician to win an election in the United States.

Personal life

Wechsler is a native of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. Before transferring to University of Michigan where she majored in General Studies, she attended a year of college at

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

References

American lesbian politicians American LGBTQ rights activists Politicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan American LGBTQ city council members American lesbian writers Michigan city council members Living people Human Rights Party (United States) politicians LGBTQ people from Michigan University of Michigan alumni Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan Women city councillors in Michigan Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{Michigan-politician-stub