LA County LGBTQ+ Elected Officials Association holds inaugural member installations

Los Angeles City Hall is pictured. The Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Elected Officials Association held their inaugural installation earlier this month where they swore in members of the association. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Katy Nicholas
Aug. 25, 2024 3:21 p.m.
This post was updated Aug. 26 at 12:03 a.m.
The Los Angeles County LGBTQ+ Elected Officials Association held their inaugural installation of members Aug. 16, following the initial establishment of the board in April.
LACLEO was created earlier this year and includes all elected officials in LA County who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. In July, the board met to vote members into positions, followed by the swearing-in ceremony in a later meeting, said West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson.
According to Erickson, LACLEO was formed not only to encourage LGBTQ+ elected officials to support each other, but to show their queer constituents that they have representation in their local government.
Nikki Perez, the vice mayor of Burbank, said LACLEO focuses on gathering support for bills that promote access to better resources for the LGBTQ+ community.
This year, the association is focused on greater access to healthcare for transgender students and cementing certain basic human rights for LGTBQ+ citizens on a national scale, Perez said. The council has supported Proposition 3, a measure on this November’s ballot that would secure marriage rights in the California constitution, she added.
“You should have a right to decide who you marry – that is a conversation between you and your partner,” Perez said.
Perez said it is not an easy time in politics to openly identify as LGBTQ+, as she and many of her peers have received harassment and death threats due to their sexuality. Because of this, she added, organizing a space of people who understand policy and community needs – and serve as a support system – was long overdue.
LACLEO has been in the making for a while, Erickson said. However, while many of the members had met before the group was established, making a specific organization grants the group some credibility, he added.
Alton Wang, a member of the Board of Trustees at Pasadena City College, added that he hopes the association shows LGBTQ+ constituents that their voices make a tangible difference in the LA community.
“The needs of various communities differ and change depending on the circumstances. These are things that I know come from my own experiences as an Asian American person growing up here in LA but also as a queer person,” Wang said. “I think it really adds to the expertise to know how do we navigate, how do we build, how do we empower LGBTQ+ communities and our students.”
Erickson added that LACLEO hopes it can show students that there are people like them in the government, and if they choose to go into a career in government, there will be resources and support for them in the system.
With the upcoming election, the association is keeping LGBTQ+ issues at the forefront of voters’ minds, reminding them that certain rights that they may have in LA County are not guaranteed in other parts of the country.
“As a white cisgender gay guy myself who lives in West Hollywood, my life might not be as impacted as somebody who’s in the south who identifies as trans,” Erickson said. “This election does matter, because we will see negative results hurting people at most risk if we don’t do all that we can to get out the vote.”
Perez added that since the association is new, they are not yet focused on endorsing candidates. However, they are supporting other council members in reelection, especially if opponents are openly running against them because of their identity.
Erickson, Perez and Wang all said they are excited about what the future of LACLEO holds but also recognize that there is still a long way to go in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. LA County boasts 50 elected officials who identify as LGBTQ+ Perez said, but still has not seen a transgender elected state official.
“We need to mobilize. We need to be there for our peers,” Perez said. “A lot of us are the first LGBTQ+ elected officials in our city council, in our school board, in our entire city, in our community college district, right? So my hope is that all of us will look for who’s next because these positions aren’t forever. So who’s going to be next?”