Gianmarco Negri has made history to become the first transgender mayor. After the landslide win against his far-right opponent, Gianmarco will be the mayor of the small town Tromella, near Milan.
Italy's crime rate against homosexuals and trans people have recently increased. The election coincides with Negri's winning campaign slogan " CambiaMenti per Tromello’. This was a play on words between ‘Changes for Tromello’ and ‘Changing Minds for Tromello.’
Upon the election of Negri, Fabrizio Marrazzo, the spokesperson for LGBT and right for Gay Center said,
We are hopeful that the coming elections will see more gay, lesbian and trans candidates elected for a more inclusive Italy.”
“We recently launched the #vototrans (#transvote) campaign, aimed to raise awareness on trans folks who are discriminated by the voting lists system in Italy,” continued Marrazzo “Trans people are often forced to queue in lists that don’t correspond to their gender identity: trans women have to queue in men’s lines and vice versa. Because of this system, many trans people chose not to avail of their right to vote.”
Before even running for the position the Mayor spoke once on news site ,Love Me Gender, saying,
“I’ve always felt like a man. I tried to repress my being a woman several times, but four years ago I took the first steps to transition...I don’t know if I consider myself a symbol for the battle of our rights, but I try and do my part.”
We wish Mayor Gianmarco Negri the best of luck.