Racine Sun

Since Cory Mason became mayor of Racine in 2017, the city has strived to be a more welcoming spot for the LGBTQ community, and has achieved a score of 86, which is 19 points above the national average, according to a report by journaltimes.com.

When Mason was elected mayor, the city had a score of 41 from the Municipality Equality Index, which is an assessment of the LGBTQ equality in municipalities that is done by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. He knew that work needed to be done quickly and by 2019 he turned around the number to 86, which the city has reportedly maintained to this date.

“I am proud of the work we have done to make sure Racine is a welcoming place for everyone,” Mason said, as reported by Journal Times. “It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation or gender identity is — we want you here. As mayor and as a city, we just want our residents to be the best and most loved versions of themselves.”

According to Wisconsin Public Radio, in Mason's second day in office he received a report that Racine had a drastically low score when it came to the LGBTQ community. He and the Racine government have worked to turn this around, and notably in 2019 the Racine Common Council approved a ban on “conversion therapy” for people under 18. Conversion therapy is designed to try to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and those who in support of the ban said they had seen first-hand how conversion therapy was harmful to the LGBTQ community.

Barb Farrar, the executive director of the LGBTQ Center of SE Wisconsin, said that one thing Racine could do to continue improving its score would be to provide all city employees with diversity training. 

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation recently put out a video celebrating 10 years of the MEI, in which Mason was featured as a “hero.” The national average score is 67, and Wisconsin cities’ average score is 83. Milwaukee and Madison both scored 100. Green Bay received a score of 84, Oshkosh got 75 and Kenosha got 39.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work my administration is doing, in partnership with the LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin, to ensure that Racine is a welcoming place for everyone. As mayor and as a city, we just want our residents to be the best and most loved versions of themselves," Mason said on Facebook.