Despite the large number of openly gay residents in Broward County, there haven't been all that many that have been elected to public office. We all remember Jim Stork and John Fiore serving as mayor of Wilton Manors and Craig Sheritt and Gary Resnick currently serve on Wilton Manors' City Commission. And, of course, Dean Trantalis served on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. But currently the highest-ranking openly gay elected official in Florida is Broward County Commissioner, Ken Keechl.
"I don't view myself as a gay county commissioner, just as I don't view myself as a gay Democrat. I view myself as a county commissioner who happens to be gay and a Democrat who happens to be gay," Keechl told the Gay Democratic Caucus in West Palm Beach last March.
When asked if a gay elector should vote for a gay candidate simply because the candidate is gay, Ken replied, “No. There are gay candidates who would be bad public servants. And there are straight candidates who have always been there for us and supportive of our issues.”
Even in high school, Keechl wanted to be an attorney. “I knew that the process of being accepted into law school would be competitive and difficult,” he told Hotspots. “So I decided to major in an area where I thought I could get good grades: American history.” While studying law, Keechl put activism on the back burner to concentrate on his studies.
However, he says, politics and activism were always in the back of his mind. He tells about a friend of his who was fired for being a homosexual and the friend had no recourse. This is when Ken found out that a person could be fired for being gay in Florida.
When Keechl found out that gays and lesbians could not adopt in this state, it started to re-spark his activist urges. He realized that the Democratic Party wasn't a guarantee on gay rights issues, but he did realize that the Democrats were more open concerning AIDS issues and job discrimination.
After graduating from law school Ken and his partner moved to Fort Lauderdale, where his partner was diagnosed with having AIDS. Again, politics were put on hold while Ken worked at his new job and tended to his partner's needs. Back then very little was known about AIDS and there were no treatments for the disease. Ken's partner died in the mid-'90s.
Ken then became politically active again. He became a member of the Human Rights Campaign Fund and volunteered his time at the Stonewall Library as well as the Democratic Party. In 2005 Ken Keechl became the head of the Dolphin Democratic Club and decided to run for Broward County Commission in 2006. “I had been a trial attorney for twenty years” Keechl told Hotspots. “While I enjoyed being an attorney, I wanted to serve the public. I thought I could do a better job than the County Commissioner in the seat, so I decided to run against him.” This is the single accomplishment of which he is the most proud.
Since becoming a County Commissioner, Keechl has been an advocate for pet adoption for the Humane Society, protecting the remaining “green spaces” in our county from development and adding transgender protection to the Broward County Human Rights Ordinance. He also led the Broward County Commission to condemn anti-gay statements made last year by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle.
“Our community has made so much progress in the last fifteen years. My election would have been extremely improbable fifteen years ago. Our community is coming into its own. For the most part, we are now being judged on merit; not on the basis of who we love. Being gay was never a negative issue in my race.”
Keechl has also been chosen as “Best Politician in Broward” by New Times, who referred to Keechl as a “bright spot” in the Broward County Commission.
Upon his election to County Commission, Keechl resigned his law firm so he could devote himself full-time to his commission seat, feeling that the people in the county he represents deserve his full-time attention. His focus while in office also includes hurricane preparedness and responsible development.
Keechl's election to County Commission has inspired the gay community. “Don't limit yourself. You can have anything you want in life if you really, really want it,” is Ken's message to the community.
