Tom Zerafa: The Activist, The Organist... The Mayor?

I have always been a big advocate of political advocacy and there are many things people in the GLBT community can do to get more involved in their communities.

Well, a good friend of mine, Tom Zerafa has decided to run for Mayor of Oak Park. Tom has been an activist for a long time. He was involved in ACT UP many years ago and with many charities today, including Triangle Foundation. He has decided to run because he wants a better community. That is why anyone running for office should run. His involvement in MoveOn and other progressive groups keeps his spirit alive. He truly is committed to justice and equality. That is why he is running.

Regardless of what anyone thinks our current mayor (who has appointed me twice to the Oak Park Ethnic Advisory Commission), this is less about who people should support and more about the fact that a friend of mine is running for office. He is actually doing something about his community.

Mayor Gerald Naftaly has been the mayor of Oak Park for many years and he has done good things, but a major issue for me has been the lack of a human rights ordinance. Triangle Pride PAC will be surveying the candidates for mayor this summer and we will be able to tell who will really advocate for GLBT equality.

I have not financially supported either candidate but this is a race to watch. There other other races in Michigan with openly gay candidates, like Flint, but I live in Oak Park and so this is close to home for me. In fact, Triangle Foundation has nearly 250 supporters in Oak Park, and I plan on doing a meet the candidate event in my home before fall. Stay tuned.