Gerald (Jerry) C. DeGrieck is a public health manager and policy advisor in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He and

Nancy Wechsler Nancy Wechsler is an activist, writer, and former member of the Ann Arbor City Council, where she came out as a lesbian while serving her term. Elected to the City Council alongside fellow Human Rights Party candidate Jerry DeGrieck, both Wechs ...

served together on the Ann Arbor City Council, 1972–1974, while they were graduate students at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. In 1973, they simultaneously became the first openly gay elected officials in the United States.

Ann Arbor City Council

DeGrieck and Wechsler were elected to the Ann Arbor City Council as members of the Human Rights Party on April 3, 1972. Political observers did not believe the third party had much chance of winning any seats, but the party's liberal platform appealed to young voters and beat university professors running as Democrats in the 1st and 2nd wards. At the time of their election, Wechsler was a 22-year-old history student at

, the first student member of the city council, and DeGrieck was a graduate student. In 1973, DeGrieck and Wechsler became the first openly gay male and openly lesbian elected officials in the United States when they came out together, at a press conference held in response to a homophobic incident at a local restaurant. After finishing his term in 1974, DeGrieck moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, where he went on to work for Seattle's Gay Pride Week and eventually became a public health manager and policy advisor to the City of Seattle. He is currently Regional Health Administrator in the King County Department of Public Health.

Personal life

DeGrieck had a daughter, born in 1981, with a lesbian friend. He has not been as engaged in politics since the birth of his daughter.

References

Gay politicians American LGBT rights activists Politicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan Politicians from Seattle American LGBT city council members Michigan city council members Living people Human Rights Party (United States) politicians LGBT people from Michigan LGBT people from Washington (state) University of Michigan alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{Michigan-politician-stub