Wadsworth Ohio’s first non-binary City Council candidate, Angela “Gie” May, didn’t think she would win the November 4 election.
May thought that at most they would raise awareness of the Wadsworth Democratic Party in the largely Republican Medina County district and assist voters recognize an alternative to voting Republican. However, at the end of Election Day, Wadsworth voters chose May over incumbent Republican David Parish.
May won the Ward 4 alderman seat with a 13-vote majority. The results were close enough to require a recount, but May said Parish and the mayor congratulated them the next day.
“My opponent came up, shook my hand and said, ‘If you work as hard on the City Council as you did during the campaign, I know you will do a good job.’”
“Three Months of Very Long Days”
May’s campaign began with the distribution of promotional stress balls during a parade during the city’s Blue Tip festival, which celebrated the city’s history as a center of the match industry. May bought 1,200 balls which ran out at the end of the day.
May’s campaign manager, Leah Nichols, helped them prepare for the district canvassing. But May had the advantage.
“People in this neighborhood saw me walking my dog almost every day, so even if they didn’t know who I was exactly, they recognized my face,” May said.
The ward race played to May’s strengths, as she preferred one-on-one conversations to public speaking.
May said that during the speeches “people didn’t really see me”. “They just saw this nervous person trying to remember all the points.”
Conversations with individual voters gave them a chance to show that they were “a good person with sensible plans” and to be their “authentic selves”.
During three months of “very long days”, May promoted sheltered, walkable streets, controlling energy prices and connecting residents with city businesses through ward meetings.
On voting day, May was in disbelief when she heard the news Medina County Newspaper he called the race at 11 p.m. and asked for a statement the next day. May gave a victory and defeat speech, but no summary speech.
May did not feel comfortable declaring victory until the official results were announced, but the Gazette responded:
“‘No, you won. It happened.’ I asked, “Are you sure?”
May is one of the few non-binary elected officialsS
For May, winning the election showed that Wadsworth wanted to include more diverse voices in their leadership.
“There are so many of us who have different opinions and things that we can bring to the discussion to help balance the situation,” May said. “Perhaps Wadsworth felt much more comfortable around people who were not traditional, but he did not have someone who was able to work with them [because] “We all hid, retreated, and didn’t want to be that voice for fear of the Nazis showing up.”
Being one of the few non-binary elected officials in Ohio is “amazing,” May said. Their LGBTQ+ identity rarely came up during the campaign. They only provided their preferred name and pronouns before talking about their platform.
As we began the onboarding process for City Council, everyone showed respect and asked May for her preferred method of address. Despite going by the name Angela May, May prefers “Gie” and uses they/their pronouns.
May believes they got where they are because they lack fear “to a stupid degree.”
“I will do things that make me happy, not what society tells me.” May said.
Some voters were concerned that May would be unable to work with Republican council members – who still hold a majority despite May and one other Democrat winning the seat – which May said was “the furthest thing from the truth”.
“Someone like me has spent our whole life working and dealing with people who didn’t, maybe even wanted to understand me, but getting upset and being reactionary doesn’t help us achieve our goal,” May said. “You have to work in a way that people understand why it’s important and valuable, and I want to be part of that process.”
“I want to have this positive influence. I don’t want to have a negative influence. ” 🔥
START ACTION
- To read The Buckeye Flame’s recap of the November 4 LGBTQ+ official election, click here.
- To register to vote or check your eligibility to vote in Ohio, click here.
- To find the contact information for your Ohio State Representative, click here.
- To find the contact information for an Ohio senator, click here.
