Key West elects Florida’s first lesbian mayor

Teri Johnston was elected the mayor of Key West, Fla., on Tuesday night and will be the first openly lesbian mayor in The Sunshine State’s history.

Johnston, former Key West city commissioner, reportedly won with 6,635 votes, nearly doubling the total for Margaret Romero in the nonpartisan race.

{mosads}“Tonight Teri Johnston made history when voters elected her mayor of Key West,” Stratton Pollitzer, chair of Equality Florida Action PAC, told WLRN. “Teri is the first out lesbian candidate to be elected mayor of a Florida city, and her victory continues a proud Key West tradition of leading on LGBTQ equality. Teri has been an outstanding advocate of equality during her time on the Key West Commission and we are thrilled to now call her mayor.”

Johnston was able to run away with the race after outspending her opponent over seven-fold, spending $116,000 compared to $16,000 for Romero, according to The Miami Herald.

Johnston will also bey Key West’s first female mayor since the late 1990s and is only the second female mayor in the city’s history.