Virginia Elects First Black Openly Gay Mayor  

by Nick Langewis 

On May 6th, 2008 Lawrence Webb became the first openly gay black man to take public office in the commonwealth state of Virginia.

Virginia has long been a state that has voted and prided itself on being conservative. This is a complete and pleasant surprise to all of us in the Black LGBT community.

On July 1, Webb will be sworn into one of the three of the Falls Church Councilmember seats. Webb came in third place after Nader Baroukh and incumbent Robin Gardner. Webb beat out the next candidate by 39 votes.

In the past Webb has always been apart of the political arena. He became the first black student elected to serve as president of student government at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va.

Webb's love of Virginia --  and love of his partner, Clifton Taylor -- may be complicated by Virginia voters approving in 2006 arguably the most restrictive constitutional amendment of any state in the union, barring any and all recognition of same-sex couples, but not to the point that he would consider leaving, he says. After all, if he can win a local election as an openly gay man, he may be one of the keys to the state's progress.

''There are things that have made me think about moving to other states,'' Webb says. ''I've thought about it. But when all is said and done, I still love where I live. I still love Virginia.'' Webb adds that while his sexual orientation did not seem to be an issue with Falls Church voters, he's emphatic that race never was.

Instead, he thinks voters appreciated his endorsement by the nonpartisan Citizens for a Better City (CBC) group, as he plans to concentrate on measured, thoughtful development for the city. Webb also had a lot of support from some of our own LGBT organizations. The D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, with a mission to back qualified GLBT candidates for public office. The Democrat will also be also working as an assistant dean of administration at the University of Mary Washington.

Webb gives Metro Weekly this statement

"My agenda is to make sure that as we move forward with development, we're careful, making sure we bring the right sort of development. We're primed for the small, eclectic businesses, not necessarily the big-box stores. Boutique-type stores are more of a direction we could go in. Maybe bringing in some of the bigger retail -- but being very selective."