Introduction
Chris Seelbach (born November 14, 1979) is an American politician. He made history in 2011 when he became the first openly-gay politician elected to the Cincinnati City Council. There are a total of 9 Cincinnati City Councilmembers and all are at-large, representing the entire City. On May 20, 2013 the White House named Seelbach a national Harvey Milk "Champion of Change" for his commitment to equality and public service.
College and early career
Seelbach was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He moved to Cincinnati in 1998. After founding the first gay-straight alliance at Xavier University, he graduated from the university with a degree in business administration and attended law school at the University of Dayton. While in law school, he worked on the council staff of Vice-Mayor David Crowley, with whom he became friends, and was employed by Crowley's 2005 re-election campaign. Seelbach also became involved in the campaign to repeal Article 12, a law which forbade the city council from passing any protections for gay men and lesbians, which was repealed in 2004.
Cincinnati City Council
His campaign for the city council was backed financially by the Victory Fund.
Seelbach has previously served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of a small marketing/consulting business, the Seidewitz Group.
On August 2, 2012 Seelbach was announced to be one of the winners of the Cincinnati Business Courier's 2012 Forty under 40 winners. Seelbach was also recognized in the Venue Magazine Fall 2012 edition as one of the "Great Leaders under 40."
On September 8, 2012 Chris Seelbach threw out the opening pitch at Great American Ball Park for a Reds vs. Astros game.
On April 13, 2013 Chris Seelbach won the Cincinnati version of "Dancing with the Stars," benefiting the Cincinnati Arts Association's Overture Scholarship Awards.
Chris Seelbach was named a 2013 Harvey Milk Champion of Change by the White House.
On April 16, 2015, Seelbach was named "Elected Official of the Year" by the National Association of Social Workers.
Election history
Italic type indicates incumbent.
| Year | Winning Candidates | Losing Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | P.G. Sittenfeld (D): 37,484 Charlie Winburn (R): 27,397 David S. Mann (C,D): 26,443 Yvette Simpson (C,D): 25,449 Chris Seelbach (D): 23,738 Christopher Smitherman (I) 23,604 Wendell Young (D): 22,600 Kevin Flynn (C): 22,059 Amy Murray (C,R): 21,979 | Laure Quinlivan (D): 21,079 Greg Landsman (C,D): 19,619 Michelle Dillingham (D): 19,143 Pam Thomas (D): 18,499 Vanessa White (C): 16,892 Sam Malone (R): 16,462 Melissa Wegman (R): 9,942 Shawn Butler (D): 9,788 Mike Moroski (I): 8,688 Angela Beamon (I): 7,943 Kevin Johnson (I): 6,647 Timothy Joseph Dorsbrusch (I): 4,006 |
| 2011 | Roxanne Qualls (C,D): 37,275 P.G. Sittenfeld (D): 30,474 Wendell Young (D): 29,067 Cecil Thomas (D): 28,892 Charlie Winburn (R): 28,829 Laure Qunlivan (D): 27,422 Yvette Simpson (C,D): 27,204 Christopher Smitherman (I): 23,760 Chris Seelbach (D): 23,484 | Chris Bortz (C): 22,044 Kevin Flynn (C): 21,828 Amy Murray (R): 21,433 Leslie Ghiz (R): 20,719 Wayne Lippert (R): 18,397 Jason Riveiro (D): 18,174 Mike Allen (I) 16,598 Nicholas Hollan (D): 14,628 Catherine Smith Mills (R): 13,513 Pat McCollum (I): 6,180 Kathy Atkinson (I): 5,012 Jacqueline Allen (I): 4,555 Sandra Queen Noble (I): 2,726 Orlando Welborn (I): 33 |