History Lesson
The First Openly Gay Person to Win an Election in America Was Not Harvey Milk
In Ann Arbor in 1974, Kathy Kozachenko took an early step toward LGBT power. 41 years later, she tells her story.
The decision was made, amazingly, with a shrug—and that may be one of the first reasons it has been all but buried by history. Frank Shoichet, the campaign manager, had this novel thought.
“Hey Kathy, I’ve got an idea,” the University of Michigan law student said to the 21-year-old English major who was about to announce her candidacy for a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council. “Why don’t we run you as openly gay?” Kathy Kozachenko, an apple-cheeked radical with long blonde hair and a little gap-toothed overbite, hardly blinked. “Yeah, OK, Frank,” the 21-year-old creative writing major replied. “Let’s do that.”