When Connor Moreton learned that the leadership of his chosen community had rejected a nondiscrimination ordinance a couple years ago, he was heartbroken. An out gay man, he’d just moved to St. Bernard, a small village near Cincinnati, and didn’t yet realize the disconnect between the Village Council and his neighbors that were becoming his friends.
That lit a spark in him to get involved.
“I asked local leaders in the community, ‘What can we do to fix this? What can we do to make LGBTQ+ people around here feel safe?’” Connor said.
Their answer? Find passionate, competent people to run for Village Council who will offer better representation.
That spark grew into a full-fledged passion for serving his community, and a year ago, he launched his own campaign. Now, with Election Day approaching, he’s closer than ever to becoming a voice on Village Council for underrepresented groups in St. Bernard. If elected, he’ll be the village’s first out councilmember.
The Buckeye Flame spoke with Moreton about his goals for office, facing homophobia on the campaign trail and why LGBTQ+ representation is important at all levels of government.
What inspired you to run for office this year?
When local leaders told me they were looking for someone to run for Village Council, at first I thought, all right, let’s go find someone! Running for office just wasn’t on my radar at that time, but after speaking with more folks—and realizing they were actually trying to get me to run—the spark grew. I was heartbroken that our currently elected council had unanimously rejected a nondiscrimination ordinance that would protect a variety of underrepresented and underserved groups, the primary one being queer people. Getting that passed – and bridging the disconnect between our village’s leadership and the neighbors that I’ve come to know and love – has been the fuel in my tank the past year of this campaign.
You made St. Bernard your home by choice. What drew you to the area and what is it like being an out member of the community there?
I graduated from Miami University a few years back and accepted a job in the area. I knew I wanted St. Bernard to be my home. I really liked the village because it reminded me of my hometown. You can’t take 10 steps on the sidewalk without saying hi to someone. It’s very welcoming, even for folks like myself and my community. People here celebrate identities even if they are different than their own. Unfortunately, our current leadership isn’t reflecting that loving, welcoming environment that I know.
As Election Day approaches, what lessons have you learned through the course of your campaign?
I thought I was invincible going into this campaign. I’m no stranger to homophobia. When I came out at 16, I was kicked out. How could anyone knock me down when I’d been knocked down so many times before? I know how to get back up.
Running for office is a bit different, because the people who are knocking you down are the same people that you want to help. You approach them with kindness, openness, understanding and empathy, and when that isn’t reciprocated, you almost feel robbed of an amazing opportunity to build a relationship with someone in your community. It kind of knocked me down, and I wasn’t expecting it.
So, a big lesson that I learned was to lean on other people for support. I don’t have to act like I’m invincible and immune to the effects of homophobia. Whenever I receive a hateful comment, I made an intentional choice to reach out to my support system, and they’d give me the affirmation I needed to go back out there and knock on a hundred more doors or go write a hundred more letters. I think that’s the biggest lesson I learned. I’m not alone in this.
What will be your first orders of business as a councilperson?
The very first thing I’m prioritizing is working with our law director and incredible organizations like Equality Ohio to draft and pass a nondiscrimination ordinance. Over the course of my campaign, I’ve been meeting with council members in hopes of getting them on board, sitting down and having those really authentic, vulnerable conversations to help them realize that this ordinance will have an amazing impact on people in our community.
If elected, you’ll become St. Bernard’s first out councilperson. What would this mean to you? And how in your view will having LGBTQ+ representation on village council benefit your community?
It would mean the world to me. To be in a position where I can hopefully inspire others to step up to leadership as well would be so fulfilling. My goal is to make people feel seen and heard. I want to inspire folks to start thinking about stepping up into leadership roles themselves. Start working with local leaders. Be a precinct executive. Start participating in community organizations to get the experience so they can step up and lead. If I can have that impact on my community, then that’s a big green checkmark for me. That’s a job well done. 🔥
Ignite Action
- To learn more about Connor Moreton, visit his campaign Facebook page here.
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
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