Tampa police chief Jane Castor will be the featured speaker at the Hillsborough County GLBTA Democratic Caucus meeting on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at Perkins Restaurant, 612 N. Dale Mabry Highway. When Mayor Pam Iorio tapped Castor to lead the police department in September, she became the city's first female -- and gay -- police chief.

Marilyn Cappiello, vice president of the GLBTA Democratic caucus, said Castor's rise in stature is one more indication that gay people can become community leaders with little fuss. "She represents our community and she shows what our community can do," Cappiello said. "But we also admire because she is a woman in a traditionally male-held position."

Castor has generally declined to speak to the mainstream media about her sexual orientation. But she was featured in a recent issue of Watermark, a Florida publication geared to the gay community. Castor talked to Watermark about raising her two children with her former partner.

“My kids don’t really see having two moms as any different than their friends who have a mom and a dad,” Castor told the magazine. “The big adjustment for them has been when people recognize me or stop to talk to me in a Publix. Now they’re to the point where they just say, ‘Mom, we’ll be over in the toys; find us when you’re done talking.’ ”

Update: After reading this item, police department spokeswoman Laura McElroy called BayBuzz to make it clear that Castor is NOT the featured speaker at the GLBTA Democratic caucus meeting. She will just be stopping by the event for a meet-and-greet around 8 p.m. after another engagement.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer