San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission

11/09/2026

Congratulations to Dana Johnson on their election to the San Mateo County Board of Education! Dana has been on the LGBTQIA+ Commission since 2019 and has been a community advocate for many years prior to their public service.

11/09/2026

Please join San Mateo County for Transgender Day of Remembrance on Thursday, November 19 from 3-4pm at 500 County Center in Redwood City. We will be raising the transgender flag, hearing from community speakers and conducting a Reading of the Names.

Start of the Program is at the County Center flag poles!
Supervisor Noelia Corzo County of San Mateo - Government

11/06/2026

We don’t need a study to confirm that gay people are really online, but we’re glad we have one anyway.

11/04/2026

Congratulations to Chris Sturken on winning another term as a Redwood City Councilmember!!! We are so grateful in how you represent our community and for your additional service on the LGBTQIA+ Commission!!

November 3 election brings mixed results for LGBTQ city council candidates in the Bay Area.

11/03/2026

State of the Movement
Fighting Back, Pushing Forward

LGBTQ America in 2026
Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 5:00–6:30 p.m. PT | Online

Register here:

Where are we headed in the LGBTQ movement? Join movement leaders in this important virtual discussion, hosted annually by Horizons Foundation.

11/02/2026

Election Day is tomorrow, Tues Nov 3. 🗳️

It is now your time to exert your right to vote.

• Polls are open 7am to 8pm
• Planning on mailing your ballot? It must be postmarked by Nov 3
• Ballot drop boxes are open until 8pm
• Track your ballot visiting california.ballottrax.net

Your voice. Your county. Make it count!

10/28/2026

Ahead of National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11 and less than one month until the midterms, HRC calls on LGBTQ+ community and allies to come out to vote to…

10/26/2026

The LGBTQIA+ Commission simply wants you to know all the steps to take to have a successful voting day!!

More local election information: https://smcacre.gov/elections

10/21/2026

LGBTQIA+ History month Spotlight: Felicia “Flames” Elizondo
written by LGBTQIA+ Commissioner Fabricio Perez

"Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending a reenactment of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. A powerful reminder that the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights started years before Stonewall. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, and the San Mateo County LGBTQIA+ Commission would like to highlight and share with you the stories of individuals who faced prejudice, poverty, and police violence, yet are remembered and honored for their survival and fierce resistance.

The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot was a q***r and transgender-led uprising in response to years of police harassment and discrimination. In it, trans and gender nonconforming patrons fought back when police attempted to arrest a transgender patron simply for being who she was.

Little was recorded about the event, and many of the people involved were never named. No newspaper reported the riot, and many of the women who lived through it lost their lives to the AIDS epidemic before anyone could save their stories. Nonetheless, the people who kept that memory alive spent their lives fighting for their communities, and one of them was Felicia “Flames” Elizondo.

Felicia was born in Texas in 1946 and, at the age of 14, she moved to San Jose with her family. By 16, she had found refuge at Compton’s Cafeteria, one of the few places trans women could gather as they were not allowed or welcomed in nearby gay bars. Felicia was a Vietnam veteran and tested HIV-positive in 1987. Later on, she turned her survival into years of service for her community.

She performed drag shows to raise money for HIV/AIDS organizations, helped organize the San Francisco Trans March, and lived a life of advocacy for transgender rights. And in 2015, San Francisco Pride named her its lifetime achievement grand marshal.

In 2021, Felicia passed away. She lived by a simple promise, to “hold the torch” for everyone who fought at Compton’s so they would not be forgotten. And now it is our turn to remember them, honor their fight, and carry their torch."

10/20/2026

The latest findings from a national study into the mental health needs of q***r and transgender American teens and young adults reveal mixed results.