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

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]

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. 1 2 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. 1 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. 1 2 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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