Photo credit: Joanna Killen For City Council Ward 1 on Facebook.
One of Saint John’s newest councillors took the opportunity to identify herself as a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at the first meeting of the newest council session Monday.
Joanna Killen announced publicly she identifies as queer during the member’s comments section of this week’s Common Council meeting, which coincided with Pride month, commemorating the Stonewall riots of June 1969.
“I just wanted to say I am a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, so I want to say not just ‘happy Pride’ but ‘hi, I’m here,'” Killen said. “I’m queer and I’m part of this community and I want everyone to know that you have a safe space with me.”
Killen also cited Chroma New Brunswick and the group’s work with members of the province’s queer community.
In a subsequent interview Tuesday, Killen said it was important for her to identify herself as queer because of the stigma and history of prejudice toward the community.
“It’s a little bit of a testament to how far we’ve come, with regards to acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in Saint John, and especially given our past and various issues with homophobia and things, I just felt like it deserved an official announcement and go on public record,” Killen added.
The first-term councillor, who specified she identifies as pansexual, meaning an attraction to individuals of all genders, had previously posted to social media about being queer but said it felt important to identify herself to viewers of council as well. She says the response to her comments was “completely, overwhelmingly positive” and she received no negative feedback afterward.
Killen came out to friends and family just a year ago at the age of 36. Making that decision helped empower her and increased her confidence.
“I just want people to know you don’t have to be afraid. There’s lots of different ways to be and ways to exist in our community, and my experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said.
Moving forward, the councillor just hopes that anyone who feels afraid to come out or who needs someone to talk to has a safe space sitting around the council horseshoe.
“I’m here for anybody who wants to talk about this kind of stuff, to know how we can do better as a city council with regards to being inclusive,” Killen said. “I’m pretty accessible, you can find me on Facebook or by phone or by email.”
