Through advocacy, advice and action, Nathan Bruemmer has served St. Petersburg\u2019s LBGTQ+ community for more than a decade. He is an attorney and an educator who understands that equity, and inclusion, are worth fighting for.<\/p>\n
Bruemmer is also St. Petersburg\u2019s new LGBTQ+ Liaison, appointed Dec. 1 by Mayor Ken Welch to coordinate and implement support and outreach efforts between the mayor\u2019s office and the community.<\/p>\n
The position, Bruemmer said, is key, \u201cconsidering all the changing dynamics from a legal and policy perspective between municipalities and the state and the federal levels. So I think more than ever to have good information for the services you need is pretty important, and pretty relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are many in Florida, he concedes, and so a city employee focused solely on the behalf of the LGBTQ+ community \u2013 and its interaction with others in the population \u2013 is now more important than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think this position is evolving from where it began,\u201d Bruemmer said. \u201cHaving worked at the intersection of the law and policy and education, myself, I think it\u2019s a unique set of circumstances \u2013 and the times demand that we\u2019re clear on what we do as a municipality versus what that public-versus-private partnership looks like in the changing dynamics. As quickly as they\u2019re changing, frankly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legislative session is coming quickly. And there may be some other things coming before us that may continue to change those dynamics, we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
A native of Tampa and a St. Petersburg resident, Bruemmer is a practicing attorney and an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law, where he teaches an upper-level seminar on how U.S. law regulates gender identity and sexual orientation.<\/p>\n
A long time St. Pete Pride board member, he served as Interim Executive Director in 2021, and was Director of LGBTQ Affairs for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services between 2021 and 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving worked in a similar role from a statewide perspective,\u201d he said, \u201cwith the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, at that point my time my focus was around prevention of fraud, and discrimination through a consumer protection lens, and how we engage with different communities within our state.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of where law and policy is going, communities still have needs. And as public servants, we have to still find ways to meet those needs. So that is ultimately the responsibility of what we do as leaders and members of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The position of LBGTQ+ Liaison was created in 2017; St. Pete Service Director Jim Nixon was the first in the role. Nixon was succeeded in 2024 by Eric Vaughn, who served in the mayor\u2019s office in several capacities.<\/p>\n
\u201cEric brought care, professionalism, and a true commitment to ensuring our LGBTQ+ residents and visitors felt supported and valued,\u201d said Mayor Ken Welch in a prepared statement. \u201cWe are grateful for his service and the meaningful impact of his leadership in this role.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brummer\u2019s \u201cstatewide leadership, deep community roots and strong record of collaboration will help us continue advancing equity and ensuring that St. Pete remains a welcoming home for all,\u201d Welch wrote.<\/p>\n
Bruemmer noted that he is, significantly, the first full-time LGBTQ+ Liaison.<\/p>\n
As attitudes change, Bruemmer said, \u201cand as the landscape is evolving \u2026 when we get down to what constituents need, whether it\u2019s basic sustainable needs \u2013 food, housing and employment and healthcare, and how the city is meeting those needs in uncertain financial times \u2013 these are the things that make the City of St. Petersburg so unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is, he concluded, \u201cA lot that we need to do to continue. There have been recent polls and research about the precarious nature of how LGBTQ Americans, and LGBTQ Floridians, and potential visitors to the state of Florida feel about what we see in the media, or what we see as the reality, politically.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut on the ground, here, we have to get the word out that our city is doing amazing things and \u2013 there\u2019s much internal and external work to do, given those circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
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