David Richardson, who on Tuesday won
the Democratic primary to become Florida's first openly gay state
lawmaker, has stated that he will represent all the people in his
district when he heads to Tallahassee next year.
Richardson defeated three Democratic
rivals to win his primary, which was open to all voters because no
Republican registered in the race.
“I did not run as a gay candidate,”
Richardson told the AP, “and I'm not going to serve as the gay
legislator.”
The 55-year-old Richardson, a CPA from
Miami Beach, plans to sponsor legislation which would outlaw
workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. He added that
he wants to help craft the state budget.
Being gay, Richardson said, wasn't an
issue during the campaign.
“Not one person closed their door to
me because I'm gay,” he said. “Not one person brought it up.”
Two additional gay Democrats, Ian
Whitley from Key West and Joe Saunders of Orlando, won their
primaries and advanced to the General Election.