Historic city council has most LGBTQ members ever. Here's why that matters.

Ali Brown thinks her sexuality is the least interesting thing about her.

She feels pretty much the same way about the other three Indianapolis City-County councilors who are openly members of the LGBTQ community.

"None of us won because of that," Brown said. "None of that was part of (anything) groundbreaking or anything like that. It was just something that was."

Even so, others are definitely taking notice. Not only is Brown the first openly self-described queer woman to be elected to the City-County Council, she is also part of an unprecedented LGBTQ representation in Indianapolis.

With the reelection of Zach Adamson — the first openly gay man on the council — and the addition of new councilors Brown, Keith Potts and Ethan Evans, there are now more members of the LGBTQ community serving on the City-County Council than ever before.

And while that may not translate into any particular policy push — Marion County already has among the most progressive LGBTQ policies in the state — it is meaningful to a community that sees their election as an opportunity to ensure that voices in the LGBTQ community will be heard.

"The only expectation we have is that they listen to our community and provide a voice to the issues important to our community," said Chris Handberg, executive director of Indy Pride. "Whereas in the past, we have not had easy access to lawmakers and politicians and leaders to be able to provide some of that."

Providing a voice may be the most this new cohort can do for a community whose battles more frequently — and contentiously — arise not in the council chamber but in the statehouse. Take, for example, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that LGBTQ advocates saw as permission for discrimination based on sexuality.

The four councilors, all Democrats, are also part of a historic Democratic supermajority in a state with an overwhelmingly Republican legislature.

That juxtaposition was a strong theme at a meet-and-greet with the four councilors this week hosted by the Damien Center and Indy Pride.

"In regards to the state, they have been in the past one of the main roadblocks to passing important legislation with regards to LGBTQ equality," District 4 Councilor Ethan Evans told the crowd on Tuesday.

A symbolic presence

There are a few statewide LGBTQ issues on the minds of the community, including a more expansive hate crimes statute that offers better protections for victims of crimes committed on the basis of gender, gender identity or age.

There's also the repeated desire for a statewide human rights ordinance that discourages discrimination against LGBTQ people across Indiana — something that Indianapolis, along with other cities, have taken up on their own.

Other topics — quality health care, a conversion therapy ban and proper accommodations for transgender people — also are part of the community's legislative wishlist.

And while the council's local control over some issues may be limited, the representation is a symbolic victory for some.

"It sends a big message to our colleagues down the street in the statehouse that the LGBTQ community should not be taken for granted, and they are all around us," said District 2 Councilor Keith Potts. "We're your neighbors, your colleagues — and now, for four of 25 districts in the city of Indianapolis, we're your elected officials."

Local issues

Although much of the current LGBTQ policy agenda is aimed at the statehouse, advocates and councilors alike say there is still room for local action.

Chris Paulsen, CEO of the Indiana Youth Group that works with LGBTQ youth, believes youth homelessness, which is disproportionate among LGBTQ youth, is one local topic the council might be able to address.

"Youth homelessness is huge and something that the city doesn't fund a lot," Paulsen said. "I don't know that they've truthfully been asked to fund it in the past. But that's a conversation we'll be having also."

Councilors still have their individual hopes for LGBTQ issues. Potts, for example, would like to strengthen the city's existing human rights ordinance. Evans still believes that the council can ensure the city is a "welcoming, accepting, tolerant city."

That said, all four councilors know their charge is to represent the entire community and they still consider citywide issues among their top priorities.

"For this term I think you're going to see the top priorities for all of us really aren't going to center around LGBT issues," said Adamson, the council vice president. "They're going to center around the nuts and bolts issues that our constituents sent us here to deal with."

Call IndyStar reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey at 317-444-6175 or email her at apakharvey@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmeliaPakHarvey.