These days, with the (despicable) Orange Man in the White House, good news for our LGBTQA+ Community may be slowing up/disappearing, so we feel it makes it more important than ever that QUEERGURU celebrates the progress we are still making.  Like the fact that Erica Deuso made Trans History, when she was  elected as a Pennsylvania Mayor…. in her words “We pulled off something that would have been unthinkable in Chester County just a few years ago.”

Voters in Downington, Pennsylvania, elected Erica as mayor on Tuesday night, making her the first out transgender mayor in state history amid a night of major wins for pro-LBGTQ+ Democrats across the country. On Wednesday, the Mayor-Elect wrote on Facebook “Being elected as Pennsylvania’s first openly transgender mayor is deeply meaningful, and I carry that responsibility with pride and humility,”  Her victory made her the fourth known trans person to become mayor of a U.S. city. “I hope it reminds anyone who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or underestimated that your voice matters, and that you belong in the room where decisions are made.”

Deuso reportedly did not shy away from talking about her identity when pressed. According to the  Inquirer a local newspaper, some on social media spread anti-trans talking points about Deuso and even tried to unearth her deadname — an effort that, according to Deuso, succeeded only in identifying her father. Her opponent in the May Democratic primary, Barry Cassidy, posted a link on Facebook to a press release from the Independent Women’s Forum — an anti-trans group that has pushed for trans women to be banned from women’s sports — earlier this year with the message “I am a firm believer in Title 9[.]” (Deuso briefly went on the offensive in October, posting screenshots of misogynistic X posts attributed to Bryant; per the Inquirer, Bryant alleged that “90%” of those posts were fake and generated by AI, which Deuso uses frequently on Instagram, but did not specify which.)

In a statement  from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis on Wednesday, “Today’s election results make one thing clear: Americans are rejecting divisive politics that target LGBTQ people and instead demanding leadership that focuses on the issues that matter for all Americans, including affordability, family, and freedom”