LGBT people are making political history around the world and right here in our own backyard.

Voters in Zurich recently elected Corine Mauch as mayor. Mauch is the first openly lesbian mayor of a major European city as well as the first female mayor of the largest city in Switzerland. Interestingly, Mauch is also the first mayor to have played in two rock bands. In the 1990s, according to OpEdNews.com, she played with The Hoover and with Fallacy.

Here in the United States, President Obama has appointed a number of LGBT people to positions of authority. The April issue of the Advocate has an article about many of the appointees, including far more in depth information than I can include here.

Appointees include:
• Anthony Bernal - Scheduler, Office of Dr. Jill Biden
• Jeremy Bernard - White House Liaison, National Endowment for the Humanities
• John Berry - Director-Designate, Office of Personnel Management
• Brian Bond - Deputy Director, White House Office of Public Liaison
• Ebs Burnough - Deputy Social Secretary, Office of the First Lady
• Michael Camunez - Domestic Policy Cluster Head, Presidential Personnel
• Brook Colangelo - Chief Information Officer, White House Office of Administration
• Jeffrey S. Crowley, MPH, Director of Office of National AIDS Policy
• Marisa Demeo - Associate Judge, DC Superior Court
• Fred Davie - Policy Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
• Fred Hochberg - Chairman-Designate, U.S. Export-Import Bank
• Shin Inouye - Director, Specialty Media
• Elaine Kaplan - General Counsel, Office of Personnel Management
• Brad Kiley - Director, White House Office of Management and Administration
• Kei Koizumi - Assistant Director for Federal Research and Development, Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Karine Jean-Pierre - White House Liaison, U.S. Department of Labor
• Kathy Martinez - Assistant Secretary of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor
• David Medina - Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the First Lady
• Alison Nathan - Assoc. Counsel, Office of White House Counsel
• Dave Noble - White House Liaison, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Mark Perriello - Director of Priority Placement, Presidential Personnel
• Campbell Spencer - Regional Director, Office of Political Affairs
• Nancy Sutley – Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
• Moe Vela - Director of Operations, Office of the Vice President

While President Obama’s hasn’t been able to make every LGBT person happy with how quickly he has moved on several key LGBT issues, including Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, he is certainly demonstrating that he can bring a diverse group of people to the table. President Obama has included far more LGBT members in his staff than previous presidents. With direct representation at many levels, it is far more likely that LGBT concerns will be heard and addressed.

Be on the lookout in coming months for profiles of some of these appointees.