Johnson County Recorder Kim Painter is among ten openly LGBT elected or appointed officials the White House will honor tomorrow as “Harvey Milk Champions of Change.” Painter became the first openly gay or lesbian non-incumbent elected to public office in Iowa in 1998. She has since served as leader of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women and president of the Iowa State Association of Counties. A strong supporter of marriage equality, Painter hated having to deny marriage licenses to LGBT couples before the Iowa Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. She believes those couples’ act of civil disobedience in 2004 started “the conversation about marriage equality here in Iowa.” She married her longtime partner soon after the Varnum v Brien ruling took effect.

Yesterday Painter credited Bill Crews and other Iowa public officials who came out as incumbents before she ran for office. Having lived outside Iowa during the 1990s, I was not aware of the important role Crews played in the LGBT community. He was appointed mayor of Melbourne (Marshall County) in 1984 and re-elected four times. Frank Myers wrote last year,

Although most in Melbourne were aware that Crews and his partner were gay, it was not a topic discussed by anyone until 1993, when Bill and Steve attend the the March on Washington of that year for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Crews had written an opinion piece for The Des Moines Register, effectively coming out on a grand scale, that was published in their absence. When the two men returned home they discovered graffiti scrawled on the walls of their home: “Get out,” “No faggots,” “Melbourne hates gays.” A portion of the home’s interior also had been vandalized. This became a news story covered in nearly every market nationwide.

Click here to read an interview with Crews about the experience. During the 1990s, Melbourne was “believed to be the smallest town in the United States to have an openly gay mayor.” Crews was re-elected for the last time in 1995 and moved to Washington, DC in 1998.

Harvey Milk famously urged his “gay brothers and sisters” to come out for the good of the whole community. Painter, Crews, and others including State Senator Matt McCoy have helped make Iowa a more inclusive place.

Bonus Iowa political trivia: Painter was one of 31 Iowans on the LGBT leadership council supporting Hillary Clinton for president in 2007.

The Democratic Activist Women’s Network, which seeks to support, recruit and elect pro-choice Democratic women in Iowa, has announced the honorees for its second annual Women’s Appreciation Day event.

Award winners include Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge (Special Recognition Award); State Representative Kirsten Running-Marquardt (State Elected Official Award) Representative Anesa Kajtazovic (Rising Star Award); Johnson County Recorder Kim Painter (Local Elected Official Award); Margo McNabb (Activist Award); Maggie Rawland (Lifetime Achievement Award).

During the reception, DAWN’s List will also honor Marcia Nichols for her dedication and immeasurable contribution to the advancement of democratic progressive values.

Guest speaker at the reception will be Iowa Democratic Party Chair, Sue Dvorsky.

Judge served in the Iowa Senate and as secretary of agriculture before being elected lieutenant governor. Running-Marquardt won a special election in Iowa House district 33 in late 2009 and was re-elected in 2010. Kajtazovic is both the youngest woman and the first Bosnian immigrant elected to the Iowa legislature, having won the November election in House district 21. Among Iowa’s county recorders, Painter has been an outspoken supporter of marriage equality. McNabb has been active in the Story County Democratic Party and is in the state Science and Technology Fair’s Hall of Fame. Rawland is a retired teacher and a longtime activist supporting the peace movement and education funding. Nichols is the legislative director for AFSCME in Iowa.

The DAWN’s List event will take place on March 7, beginning at 6:30 pm, at Forte (615 3rd Street, Des Moines). Tickets are $20, and you can RSVP either at the DAWN’s List website or by e-mailing event AT dawnslist.org.