May 8, 2008
Falls Church Elects Virginia's First Openly Gay Black Official
Voters in the city of Falls Church made history this week as Lawrence Webb became the first openly gay black man elected to public office in Virginia.
Webb announced his candidacy last fall and was up against several other candidates for the three open City Council seats in Tuesday's general election. He won a seat by a margin of 39 votes with all precincts reporting. Nader Baroukh and Robin S. Gardner won the other two open seats.
In a statement, Webb said, "I also hope my election opens the door for others to get involved in public service. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or black or both. What matters is your dedication to building a better community, and your willingness to work hard at it. I’m glad the people of Falls Church agree."
Although this marked Webb's first bid for public office, he also serves on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission and was appointed by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner to the board of the Department of Correctional Education. Webb is currently an assistant dean of admissions at the University of Mary Washington.
Photo courtesy Vote Falls Church.
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Ahhh, but is he left-handed???
It's about time. Falls Church has been electing closeted gay Black mayors for years.
thuuuuuuper!
FABulous!
Why are all VA politicians named Webb and Warner?
all the silly kidding above aside, congratulations to mr. webb. good luck to him, and may he be remembered for his good work and competence, as that's what any elected official should aspire towards.
Why do I all of a sudden have a hankering for Sherbet??
Somehow, someway, this will be tied to the illegal immigrant issue.
Something like that?
Best of luck to Mr. Webb. He's a brave man for holding public office in a state where I'm not even totally sure slavery is illegal yet.
Virgin-i-aye? Are you kidding? Ok, this must be a joke on someone. I bet they are going to let him into the office, and lock the door and then just give him weggies all day. Or it is some sort of sick twisted right-wing sacrifice... The conservative compound at the center of Fairfax County has run out of the "blood of a gay black man" to keep Cheney's vampire heart going.
Mr. Webb (are they all related in VA?) you are a brave man. Congrats.
I just got an email...turns out he was sworn in on a Qur'an! And in kindergarten he wrote an essay about how he wanted to be Virginia's first gay -black elected official when he grew up.
I'm actually seriously concerned about this guys safety.
He's obviously liked enough by those in NoVA, but those that live a lil' further south may have a problem with him. You pick which one.
I have a feeling that he may be a target of some sort. And I guarantee his home number isn't listed.