Vivian Rodriguez had her plate full. As vice chair of the Orange County Democrats with a seat on the state LGBT Caucus, she wasn’t looking for a new post.
So, when Rodriguez began receiving calls a week before the election on Aug. 17 to ask her to run for State Democratic Hispanic Caucus President, she initially said “no.” There were already two candidates in the race.
Eventually, Rodriguez relented. By the day of the election, one candidate had dropped out to support her. In a close race, Rodriguez defeated the second candidate from Tampa 37-33, making her the first openly gay head of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus.
“I am humbled because the odds were against me,” said Rodriguez, who works as a constituent field representative for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Orlando). “A lot of people believed in me and they wanted a new face.”
Rodriguez, who served 21 years as a New York City Police detective, moved to Orlando in 2004 with her partner and their son after she retired. At one point in her career, she served on the security detail for former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and other diplomatic heads of state. She became involved in politics a few years ago.
As the new President of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus, Rodriguez was required to step down from the LGBT Caucus. She said she has many ideas for getting Hispanics active in elections, including putting together a website, educating voters and reinstating Lobby Days in Tallahassee.
“I want to involve people in elections who really believe in making changes for the better,” she said. “I am here to empower the community and I think that will be good for all of us.”
