Elaine Noble
| Elaine Noble | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 6th Suffolk district |
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In office January 1, 1975 – January 1, 1979 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 22, 1944 New Kensington, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Florida |
Elaine Noble (born January 22, 1944) is an American politician and LGBT activist who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for two terms starting in January 1975. She was the first openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature. She served two terms as representative for the Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston.
Noble gained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boston University and went on to study at Boston University, Emerson College and Harvard University. Before entering politics she worked as a speech instructor and an advertising manager. She was involved in LGBT rights activism in Boston.
In 1974 she was elected to the state House of Representatives with 59% of the vote. She has described the campaign as "very ugly": it included her windows being shot in, her car being destroyed, her campaign headquarters having their windows broken and her supporters suffering serious harassment. Nevertheless, she was successful and was sworn into office on New Year's Day 1975 by governor Michael Dukakis. Her election made her the first openly LGBT candidate elected to a state-level office in the United States; the second, after Kathy Kozachenko, to be elected to office; and the third openly LGBT elected official overall (Kozachenko's predecessors, Nancy Wechsler and Jerry DeGrieck, having come out while in office but not publicly known to be lesbian and gay at the time they were elected).
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