Last night, amongst a slew of wins for progressives around the state, was a first for Madison: an openly trans woman was elected to the city council. In a tight race where she won by only 54 votes, Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford was elected as a Madison Alderperson for District 15, which includes residents in the Glendale, SASY, and Worthington Park neighborhoods, according to the City of Madison website. Martinez-Rutherford has spent time as both an entrepreneur and comedian, two skills that have uniquely adapted her to a role in politics. It was the recent transphobia and homophobia snaking their way through politics and regular society that pushed her to run for office. “While strides have been made in LGBTQIA+ representation and social recognition, public backlash is a usual result of such progress,” according to a Madison365 article from this past January. “Seeing the shifts in public opinion and experiencing such a shift personally in Madison served as fuel for Martinez-Rutherford to stand up to those derogatory voices.”

In commenting on the election win last night, Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford told Our Lives, “I’m so honored to be the first openly transgender woman elected to office in Madison. It’s more important than ever to have people who have experienced housing and food insecurity and employment discrimination at the table when making decisions. With the increasingly vile anti-trans rhetoric and bills that have been making their way throughout our government, I knew it was time for me to step up. I look forward to serving all of Madison and advocating for those of us who work hard just to make ends meet and for those who are under-represented in our city.”