First openly gay man elected to San Antonio city council

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Jalen McKee-Rodriguez has made history as the first openly gay man to be elected to the San Antonio City Council.

Jalen McKee-Rodriguez defeated incumbent Jada Andrews-Sullivan in the race for District 2 runoff on Saturday night, capturing 63 percent of the vote, says KSAT.

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According to Equality Texas, McKee-Rodriguez is also the first openly gay Black man elected to any office in Texas history.

"I vow to be that leader who is going to be working hard every single day," McKee-Rodriguez told KSAT Saturday night.

Andrews-Sullivan, who won her only term in office in 2019, said Saturday night, "We did our best for our community and we’re thankful for the opportunity."

McKee-Rodriguez is a former teacher who previously worked for Andrews-Sullivan as a communications director. KSAT reports that he resigned from his position in 2019 because of retaliation he faced after telling her about issues with another staff member’s treatment of him as an openly gay man, which Andrews-Sullivan denied.

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KSAT reports that while McKee-Rodriguez is the first openly gay man to be elected to City Council, Elena Guajardo was the first openly gay person elected to City Council in 2005.