The historic significance of his winning bid for the District 5 City Council seat isn’t lost on Steve Kornell. But that’s not really the focus of the city’s first openly gay city councilman.
Kornell won his district with nearly 60% of the vote, trumping rival Angela Rouson on Nov. 8.
“I think the citizens would rightfully get angry with me for talking about [being the city’s first openly gay politician] before I even take office,” Kornell said. “I’m truly focused on getting in there and doing the best job I can do and make the citizens of the city proud that they elected me to the position.”
Kornell says his successful bid came from starting early and reaching out to all segments of the community. He admits he was relatively unknown at the beginning of the campaign, but by talking about his experience in the community he won
over voters.
“The work I’ve done in the community for the past 20 years mattered to voters,” Kornell said. “They saw my accomplishments and they saw I was out there working already. My experience had a strong influence I think.”
Kornell never ran on a “gay” platform but never avoided questions about his sexuality. In January he was asked if he was gay during a debate and he said he was. His campaign then posted the video on YouTube, and Watermark featured it here.
“I didn’t avoid the gay label but I made it very clear that it’s not what the campaign was about,” Kornell said. “I was happy to answer the question in that debate. But it’s not like I introduce myself by saying, ‘Hi, I’m Steve and I’m gay,’ just as Angela never introduced herself by saying, ‘I’m Angela and I’m straight.’”
Kornell, who is single, held several fundraisers at Georgie’s Alibi in St. Petersburg and was endorsed by the Pinellas Stonewall Democrats. He knows the LGBT vote was influential in his win, but also said every community supported his bid for office.
“We had a great outreach program,” Kornell said. “I want to thank the entire community for trusting me in this position.”
In other election news, Bill Foster defeated Kathleen Ford in the mayoral race with 53% of the vote. Foster, who has said he would not support St. Pete Pride, has reached out to the LGBT community in recent months and even held a forum with LGBT business leaders at Georgie’s Alibi in September.
Jeff Danner, a long-time supporter of LGBT issues in St. Petersburg, easily won another term in District 8 with more than 70% of the vote.
Kornell, Foster and the other winning candidates will take office on Jan. 2.
