Georgia Equality Endorses Alex Wan for Atlanta City Council President

The Board of Directors of Georgia Equality is pleased to endorse Atlanta City Councilperson Alex Wan in his pursuit to become Atlanta City Council President.

Wan was first elected to the City Council District 6 post in 2009 and is the first Asian American and first openly gay man to serve on Atlanta City Council. As a member of the City Council, Alex has helped strengthen the city’s non-discrimination policy regarding gender identity and co-sponsored City legislation opposing the Georgia Legislature’s efforts to implement a so-called religious freedom act (RFRA).

“Through his work these past seven years on City Council and his many years of broad community activism and engagement in the greater Atlanta community, Alex has demonstrated that he is the best candidate to lead City Council as its President,” says Jeff Graham, Executive Director of Georgia Equality. “We are proud to endorse him in his bid for this crucial position, especially at a time when the new City Council President will need to work with a new Mayor and a Council on which nearly half the members will be new. Atlanta and our community has made great strides under his leadership and we look forward to his continuing, collaborative leadership and fiscal stewardship.”

Alex has a long history of working with and raising funds for a variety of HIV/AIDS related programs, and served for several years as the director of development for Jerusalem House, one of Atlanta’s most important providers of HIV-related housing. We feel this experience will be critical in the coming years as the City of Atlanta confronts the challenge of providing quality affordable housing to People Living with HIV/AIDS and other low-income members of LGBTQ communities.

With a proven track record of leadership and action, his time as Chair of the Finance Committee led to a balanced city budget, and his broad experience will enable him to be a voice for LGBT Atlantans across the city. His long standing relationship with LGBT communities in Atlanta, as well as the work he has done on behalf of LGBT Atlantans has prepared him for the office of City Council President in a way that none of the other candidates are prepared. Georgia Equality looks forward to supporting his candidacy and helping to spread the word that Alex is the right candidate for the job.

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Founded in 1995, Georgia Equality is the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization working to advance fairness, safety, and opportunity for Georgia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied communities. Additional endorsements in municipal races will be issued before the start of early voting.