Melina Rayna Svanhild Farley-Barratt
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Melina Rayna Svanhild Farley-Barratt (1978 or 1979 - October 13, 2020) was an American transgender rights activist from Gilchrist County, Florida.[1] She was a candidate for the Florida Senate until she died from thyroid cancer weeks before the election.
History[edit]
Farley-Barratt was the legislative director for the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW).[2] Additionally, she was the president of Florida NOW's Gainesville chapter.
In October 2018, she attended a protest organized outside of a Hobby Lobby in response to a statement made by President Donald Trump.[3]
She actively lobbied the Florida congress during the state's 2020 Legislative Session.[4]
2020 Florida senate election[edit]
Prior to the election, Florida Senate District 5 was represented by Rob Bradley from the Republican Party.[5] Bradley was ineligible to stand for re-election due to term limits, having initially been elected in 2012. In his place, his wife Jennifer Bradley ran for the open seat.
Prior to filing her paperwork to run, Farley-Barratt spent three years thinking about running a political campaign.[4] She opted to run for a seat in the Florida Senate after Dr. Kayser Enneking, a professor from the University of Florida, filed to run for her district in the Florida House of Representatives. This would make Farley-Barratt the second ever transgender candidate to gain ballot access for the Florida legislature, and the first for the state senate.[1] Winning the election would've made her Florida's first transgender state legislator.
On October 13, 2020, Farley-Barratt died from thyroid cancer while in hospice care.[2][6] To help pay for her memorial service, her friends and family began a GoFundMe campaign.[7] Among those who gave their condolences were Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and Jennifer Bradley.
As Farley-Barratt's replacement in the Senate race, Democrats chose Stacey Peters. Bradley went on to beat Peters in the general election, receiving 74.8% of the vote.[8]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ogles, Jacob (October 11, 2019). "Meet the Trans Activist Running for Florida Senate". The Advocate. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Parsons, Vic (October 16, 2020). "'Passionate' feminist who broke new ground as the first trans woman to run for state senate dies just weeks before election". PinkNews. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ King, Christopher (October 23, 2018). "009c18c0001a52840991dbb6d884cdf3". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gancarski, A.G. (October 14, 2020). "Trailblazing transgender state Senate candidate dies just weeks before election". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ Florida School Boards Association (November 4, 2020). "FLORIDA ELECTIONS RUNDOWN VIA LOBBYTOOLS MORNING EDITION, ET AL. (NOVEMBER 4, 2020)". Florida School Boards Association. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Florida Senate District 5 - Voter's Guide". News4JAX. July 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ Stepzinski, Teresa (October 14, 2020). "Democrat running for Florida State Senate District 5 dies of cancer". Florida Times-Union. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
External links[edit]
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