Wagga gets first gay councillor
Constituents of the regional centre of Wagga Wagga have voted in the first openly gay council member to serve in Western NSW, with the election of Greens member Ray Goodlass.
With 217 first preference votes to his name, Goodlass has won himself not only a position on the Wagga Wagga council, but a place in history as the first gay person to be elected to a council in the state’s west.
Goodlass in his campaign made strong pledges to work with other Greens members in other councils, to push for the nationwide adoption of council registers for same-sex couples.
The Greens State MP Lee Rhiannon offered her heartfelt endorsement for Goodlass as a councillor in a statement which read, Councillor Ray Goodlass will be a great asset on Wagga Wagga City Council.
As a strong Greens campaigner and a candidate for the party in recent elections, Cr Goodlass brings a wealth of experience on a range of social justice and environmental issues to his council position.
This is great news for the Greens now we just need more Greens elected to all levels of government.
Thats awesome news for wagga. well done.
No openly gay or lesbian person has ever won a seat in the house of representatives in any parliament in Australia. (which isn’t to say there haven’t been gays and lesbians in parliament…)
Actually, Hank, Ray was also preselected as the Greens candidate for the federal seat of Riverina in the last election. He didn’t win, but he got a pretty good slice of the vote.
Congratulations Ray. But it’s still a shame that gay candidates are usually only offered at council level, and so rarely get the nod for state or federal seats.