Anthony Niedwiecki wins in Oakland Park, Fla.

Wed, Mar 11th 2009, 08:57
Law professor and LGBT rights activist Anthony Niedwiecki won his election for Oakland Park, Fla. City Commission, beating his opponent by a margin of 66-34. Because he received the most votes in this election he will become vice-mayor of the city next year and mayor the year after that.

“I’m excited and humbled by it all,” he told the Sun-Sentinel. “We ran a good campaign. “We will move forward with a new fresh voice … and will make sure that we are doing whatever we can to reach out to the residents.”

Anthony, a Victory Fund endorsee, is an outspoken LGBT rights advocate. In addition to assisting in efforts to remove anti-gay Fort Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle from office, he also co-founded the national LGBT organization Fight OUT Loud, which supports victims of anti-gay discrimination.

Most personally, he and his partner took in a foster son who was left homeless by the state because he was deemed “unadoptable” because of his HIV-positive status. Together, his family traveled to Tallahassee to testify in front of the State Senate in an effort to overturn the ban on adoption by gays and lesbians.