Bangor in Wales is the first town in history to elect a non-binary mayor. Owen Hurcum, 23, genderqueer and agender, came out two years ago. While they were unanimously elected into office by the Bangor Council last year, they weren't able to take office until Monday due to the pandemic.
Hurcum also stated that "[Representation] is more than just putting on the chain, but I'm glad to have received thousands of positive messages from Non-Binary people the world over saying what it means to see me in this role."
After Hurcum moved to Bangor five years ago, they fell in love "within a week… and tied to throw myself into the city's culture."
Before being elected mayor, Hurcum served as deputy mayor for a year, and was a city councilor for four years before that. Their interest in politics began while attending university, and they even ran for Senedd, the Welsh Parliment, in the spring, but dropped out in March due to the Welsh Plaid Cymru providing a platform to people who would promote transphobia. In particular, Hurcum singled out Senedd member Helen Mary Jones, who describes herself a "gender-critical feminist." According to Hurcum, Jones retweeted media from transphobic accounts that had previously sent them "verbally abusive" messages.
"She has made no effort to learn about our community and why her retweets are so damaging," Hurcum wrote on Twitter in March.
via NBC
Jones later issued an apology and closed her Twitter account, according to the BBC.
