Remember Mayor Ted Terry from season 2? Well, he’s officially running for Georgia state Senate.
When the world first met Terry, in the episode “Make Ted Great Again,” he had a standout look. The 36-year-old mayor from Clarkston, Georgia, the youngest person to ever hold the post when he was elected as a 30-year-old in 2013, was called the “hipster mayor” by the Fab Five.
While the entire group reshaped Ted Terry’s life and surroundings, it was a special moment with beauty guru Jonathan Van Ness that stood out. Somehow, Van Ness convinced Terry to shave off his “resistance beard.” During the process, the reality program star encouraged the politician to continue pushing for progressive laws and to possibly even run for senator or governor one day.
And now, it looks like Jonathan Van Ness is a true inspirational speaker, as Ted Terry was convinced to do just that.
Wow. I called it who knew https://t.co/3slC4Ff3TY
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) July 28, 2019
While Ted Terry did not keep up with the shaved beard look, he did listen to Van Ness’s thoughts on politics. And earlier this month, Ted Terry announced his plans to run for the Georgia Senate against sitting Senator David Perdue. The election against Perdue, who is a Republican and vocal Trump supporter, will take place on July 10th of next year. It’s fair to say, Jonathan Van Ness was excited by the news when you heard on Twitter, as you can see above.
In a July 10 interview with Atlanta Magazine, Terry says that he hopes to bring “a new generation of leadership to the Senate – a new perspective.”
“The median age of the Senate is over 60 years old, and there is no voice representing what would be the largest voting block in America in 2020 – the under 35-year-old voting block,” he added.
Ted Terry has already worked hard to push for progressive lawmaking. He was one of four mayors in Georgia to sign an amicus to support the four marriage equality lawsuits at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. He also joined the Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination coalition in 2017. In addition, Terry pushed for a non-discrimination ordinance in his town.
“My first year as mayor, I got rid of my mayoral office and opted to have all of my meetings out in the public at local coffee shops, parks and restaurants,” he told the publication. “I will bring that same level of transparency to the Senate office.”
He added further that his support of equality and LGBTQ issues is attributed to his being a millennial.
“The millennial generation is the most diverse generation in history. It’s not surprising when you’ve grown up among peers early in your life where you have friends who are gay and transgender, that identity isn’t a big deal,” he told Project Q Atlanta.
“Obviously, the fact that we still have politicians in this country who feel it’s okay to have discrimination is a complete inverse to what America believes in. I’ve grown up in a generation where it doesn’t matter your orientation or identity,” he added.
So it looks like the Fab Five chose the right guy to support back in 2018. Now, he will be doing his best to support LGBTQ and equal rights matters from not just the mayoral office but hopefully a state Senate office in the future.
