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Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough's first openly gay commissioner, leaves a legacy of understanding

 
Commissioner Kevin Beckner gives fellow Commissioner Sandy Murman a bobblehead in her likeness Wednesday during his last Hillsborough County Commission meeting.
Commissioner Kevin Beckner gives fellow Commissioner Sandy Murman a bobblehead in her likeness Wednesday during his last Hillsborough County Commission meeting.
Published Nov. 17, 2016

TAMPA — For Hillsborough County's LGBT community, Kevin Beckner was the right man at the right time.

When he was elected as the first openly gay county commissioner in 2008, no one expected America was on the verge of a historic era for the gay rights movement. Even Beckner's victory — a watershed moment for a county that just three years before blocked gay pride displays in publicly owned spaces — came the same day Floridians and 59 percent of Hillsborough residents approved a same-sex marriage ban.

But during his eight years in office, hearts and minds changed across the country. And Beckner was a persistent force pushing Hillsborough to keep up.

On Wednesday, Beckner, 45, participated in his final County Commission meeting, where his colleagues lauded his trailblazing career.

"You have brought diversity to our county that was sorely needed," Commissioner Sandy Murman said. "We needed to diversify ourselves so that every resident in our community has dignity and that they are treated with dignity.

"People will remember you and respect you for that."

• • •

While Beckner may have entered politics in the wake of the 2005 pride ban, he didn't immediately prioritize social battles.

Instead, the financial planner who majored in criminal justice at Indiana University focused on kitchen-table issues like public safety and transportation. He led a crackdown on pill mills and pushed for alternative sentencing for juveniles. More recently, he helped secure the creation of a new registry to track animal abusers.

Along the way, Beckner earned a reputation as a tireless student of county issues. Commissioner Ken Hagan, a 14-year veteran of the county board, said Beckner was the hardest-working colleague he has ever served with.

Though a Democrat, Beckner was "truly a conservative when it comes to minding and tending to public trust and the way we spend their money," said Commissioner Al Higginbotham, an east Hillsborough Republican.

Those attributes helped Beckner persuade the board when the mood of the country and the makeup of the commission started to change.

By the time President Barack Obama famously evolved in 2012 to support gay marriage, many of the outspoken social conservatives who had voted to block the county from recognizing gay pride events had left the commission. Beckner credited the new commission — still led by a 5-2 Republican majority — with being open-minded.

At Beckner's urging, the commission approved a proclamation in 2013 supporting GaYBOR Days and it reversed the ban on pride events. The next year, he successfully lobbied for a domestic partner registry and for an amendment to the county's human rights ordinance to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"I always believed while government had a more conservative bent to it, our population as a whole was a lot more loving and accepting and inclusive," Beckner said. "It just wasn't always represented that way in government."

As practical and even conservative as he was at times, Beckner was the right man to nudge the Republican commission forward, said Mark Puskarich, the Tampa development officer for the LGBT advocacy organization Equality Florida.

"He championed the economic argument," Puskarich said. "He got to the businesses and the folks that knew the potential impact of being a less-than-welcoming business community, what effect that could have on the economy.

• • •

Beckner's political career wasn't expected to come to such an abrupt pause.

Having reached his term limit this year, the rising star decided to wage a primary battle against Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank. His negative campaign irked many Democrats and after he lost to her, many vowed not to support him again.

"You can forgive," Frank said this week, "but it's difficult to forget."

Commissioners gifted Beckner a painting of Oz made by participants of a juvenile diversion program because of his work on youth issues and voted to name the Safe & Sound community safety program after him.

As a group, they expressed confidence from the dais that Beckner will find his way back into elected office.

For his part, Beckner isn't sure what's next for him.

"I still feel like I've got a lot of work to do," he said. "Exactly where I can use my talents and where I can best serve, I think that's left to be determined."

Democrat Pat Kemp will take over Beckner's District 6 office next week and has vowed to continue to be an advocate for the LGBT community.

Beckner isn't concerned the current board and the colleagues he leaves will reverse the gay-rights issues he has championed. But, as he knows, the political landscape can shift quickly.

"We've seen the advancement across the country on issues of equality, and I'm confident we can stay the course," Beckner said. "But you have to remain vigilant and you can't take for granted these accomplishments."

Contact Steve Contorno at scontorno@tampabay.com. Follow @scontorno.