Kate Brown, Oregon's secretary of state, will replace Democratic governor John Kitzhaber, and become the U.S.’s first openly bisexual governor. Governor Kitzhaber is stepping down from office in the midst of an ethics scandal about his fiancee working as a consultant for the state.
Brown has been the Secretary of State for Oregon since 2008. She lives in Portland with her husband and two step-children. Before becoming Secretary of State, she worked for years in the state legislature and was known for supporting LGBT issues and finance reform.
She wrote an essay about her bisexual identity for the anthology, Out and Elected in the USA, which documented LGBT politicians from 1974-2004. In her essay she describes her "very public coming out as a bisexual," when The Oregonian published reports about her sexuality. She said that moment meant, "I had to face the inevitable and let those around me know."
Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown is the highest ranking openly bisexual elected politician in th http://t.co/JyWtC3ts
— Sparkle Morton (@willowpagan333)
December 19, 2012
Meet Kate Brown, Our New Governor http://t.co/c5Jveht5dT @ORDems @Oregon_GOP #orpol #orleg pic.twitter.com/K7TTbBrr4Z
— GoLocalPDX (@GoLocalPDX)
February 16, 2015
In a blog post, Alexandra Bolles, a leader in GLAAD, an advocacy group for LGBT issues in the media, wrote, "As an openly bisexual woman and advocate for LGBT equality, Brown is bringing visibility to the bi community like never before … As an established politician, she (like first openly LGBT Senator Tammy Baldwin) is modeling the heights that LGBT woman can reach in shaping the nation's culture."