QUEER QUOTE: Sheila Kuehl Sworn In As LA County's 1st Openly Lesbian Supervisor!

Sheila Kuehl was sworn in as one of the newest "five little kings" of Los Angeles County on Monday December 1. Kuehl won a hard-fought election over Bobby Shriver on November 4th and becomes the first openly LGBT member of the powerful body, which is the head of the executive and legislative branch for Los Angeles County, a municipality with nearly 10 million residents (more than several states).

Kuehl, 73, was sworn in by her sister, Sacramento Superior Court judge Jerilyn Borack. Here's a  short excerpt of her remarks which will serve as today's Queer Quote:

And that brings me to this moment. After a two-year job interview, overseen by very talented people, and with all of your help, it brought together this amazing coalition on which we build. And this unique, this sprawling county speaks hundreds of languages and dialects that encompasses the richest and the poorest in America. To have the chance to assemble an outstanding team, to work as change-agents, through connection, through collaboration.
People say to me, what’s your agenda? OK, here’s my agenda: I want children, every child in the county—actually more, but we’ll just start with the county—I want them to be safe. I want them to be healthy. I want them to be educated. I want them to be able—without barrier—to fulfill their potential. That is a big job for the county. 

I want us to be connected from one end of the county to the other. I want you to be able to live wherever you want to live, that you can afford. I want you to work wherever you want to work. I want you to come down here and see a play. Or whoever, wherever you want to enjoy art, culture, food. I want you to be able to hop on a train, hop on a bus, hop on your bike—I don’t care what it is. It’s not a war between bikes and trains and cars and buses. It’s a system. And that’s what we’re going to make. 

And I don’t want there to be any more homeless people.

Go read the whole speech for yourself. It's really very, very good.

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb for the picture and story.