Stephe Koontz

Stephe Koontz is an American politician, and the first out transgender person to win a contested election in the U.S. state of Georgia.[1][2][3] She won a city council seat in the Metro Atlanta city of Doraville on November 7, 2017,[4] on what the Washington Post called "a "historic night for the nation’s transgender community", in which six openly transgender people won elections in the United States.[1] A 32-year resident and political activist in the city, she won by a narrow margin of six votes.[5]

Stephe Koontz
Member of the Doraville City Council
Assumed office
January 2018
Preceded bySharon Spangler

Koontz was invited to speak at the Georgia Alliance for Social Justice and Women's March "Power to the Polls" event on January 21, 2018.[2] She was also featured, with other history-making elected officials, in Human Rights Campaign's nationally distributed Equality magazine.[6] She was given the 2019 Allen Thornell Political Advancement Award by Georgia Equality for her promotion of non-discrimination ordinances across Metro Atlanta cities.[7]

In November 2021, she was re-elected to the Doraville City Council for another four year term, where she will continue to serve as the only openly transgender elected official in the Southeastern United States.[8] She was sworn in on June 26, 2022, as a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Municipal Association for 2022–2023 as the president of District 3 East, which covers the eastern half of metro Atlanta.[9]

Background

Koontz has lived in Doraville since 1985,[5] and retired before running for office. She had owned and managed a few auto repair shops and had worked as a church administrator. She was a director for the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta and a lieutenant governor for the North Atlanta Division of Kiwanis service clubs.[10]

References
  1. Eltagouri, Marwa (November 9, 2017). "Transgender people have been elected before. But they can finally let the voters know". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  2. Grinberg, Emanuella. "One year ago, she marched. This year, she's a councilwoman". CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  3. "Transgender America: 10 Best and Worst Moments of 2017". Rolling Stone. December 28, 2017. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Jarvie, Nina Agrawal, Dakota Smith, Laura King, Jenny (January 19, 2018). "After a year of Trump and outrage, this weekend's women's march will focus on electoral politics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    - "Meet 2017's newly elected transgender officials". NBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - "LGBTQ political candidates score historic victories across U.S." NBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Girard, Charles (November 8, 2017). "Meet the Transgender Americans Who Won on Election Day". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - "DeKalb County woman is Georgia's only transgender elected official". WGCL Digital. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - "Es vital que los latinos voten en todas y cada una de las elecciones (VIDEO)". Mundo Hispanico (in Spanish). February 2, 2018. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Beckwith, Cerys; Wu, Jay (November 9, 2017). "The Eight Trans Officials Who Made History Tuesday Night". Medium. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Allen, Samantha (November 8, 2017). "How LGBT Candidates Won So Big on Election Night". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Siperstein, Barbra Casbar (December 6, 2017). "Fighting Back and Preparing for 2018". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  4. "Mayor and City Council". The City of Doraville. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Hightower, Jim (March 6, 2018). "Jim Hightower: There's a Blue Wave Cresting in Statewide Elections". AlterNet. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
    - Julie Baret (November 9, 2017). "Un an après Trump, les États-Unis élisent 7 représentant-e-s trans". Têtu (in French). Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  5. Joshua Sharpe (November 9, 2017). "Doraville woman becomes Georgia's only transgender elected official". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  6. Simon, Carolyn (Fall 2017). "Our Time Is Now". Equality: 7 – via ISSUU.
  7. Capelouto, J. D. (July 6, 2019). "State's only transgender elected official recognized by LGBTQ rights group". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  8. "LGBTQ Vote". GLAAD. November 17, 2021. Stephe Koontz was re-elected to the Doraville, GA City Council where she will continue to serve as the only openly transgender elected official in the Southeastern United States.
  9. "Georgia Municipal Association Elects 2022–2023 Officers and Board of Directors". WRBL. July 8, 2022.
  10. Matt Hennie (September 6, 2017). "Meet the trans business owner running for Doraville City Council". Project Q Atlanta. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
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