Openly gay candidate wins Miami Shores council seat
Thu. April 14, 2011 4:51 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
walters' signs defaced during campaign
Miami Shores, Florida -
Openly gay Jesse Walters has beaten incumbent Prospero G. Herrera II in Tuesday's election for Miami Shores council.
Walters received 681 votes, placing fourth, to win four of five Miami Shore council seats, the Miami Hearld reports. He edged out Herrera by just 69 votes and will serve a two-year term on the council.
Over the weekend the campaign several of Walters' campaign signs were defaced with graffiti that read "faggot" and "shit lover."
The 55 year-old Walters is openly gay. He and his partner of 23 years, David Traupman, are raising their 15-month-old daughter.
"It is important for me to take a strong stand to ensure this type of community-dividing intolerance is shown the door in Miami Shores," Walters posted on his campaign website after the incident.
Walters joins councilman Scott Galvin and Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora as an openly gay officeholder in Miami-Dade county.
Miami Shores with a population of 10,000 is home to Barry University and is where Anita Bryant's politics of hate once reigned.
Walters received 681 votes, placing fourth, to win four of five Miami Shore council seats, the Miami Hearld reports. He edged out Herrera by just 69 votes and will serve a two-year term on the council.
Over the weekend the campaign several of Walters' campaign signs were defaced with graffiti that read "faggot" and "shit lover."
The 55 year-old Walters is openly gay. He and his partner of 23 years, David Traupman, are raising their 15-month-old daughter.
"It is important for me to take a strong stand to ensure this type of community-dividing intolerance is shown the door in Miami Shores," Walters posted on his campaign website after the incident.
Walters joins councilman Scott Galvin and Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora as an openly gay officeholder in Miami-Dade county.
Miami Shores with a population of 10,000 is home to Barry University and is where Anita Bryant's politics of hate once reigned.