Anthony Niedwiecki

Anthony Niedwiecki, (born March 18, 1967) is an American politician, who was elected to the city commission of Oakland Park, Florida in March 2009. As the city's top vote-getter for any position in the 2009 election, he automatically assumed the office of vice-mayor in 2010 and would have become mayor in 2011, but resigned effective June 1, 2010 to take a position in Chicago.

A law professor and administrator at Broward County's Shepard Broad law school, Niedwiecki and his husband Waymon Hudson were co-founders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lobby group Fight OUT Loud, and led an activist campaign against former Fort Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle after Naugle made a number of anti-gay statements. The couple also lobbied the Florida State Senate to overturn the state's ban on gay adoption, after taking in a foster child who had been abandoned as "unadoptable" by the state because of the child's HIV status. The couple wed in California in before Proposition 8 passed in June 2008 and remain legally married as one of 18,000 couples still wed after the anti-gay marriage proposition passed.

During his first year in office, Vice-Mayor Niedwiecki pushed for expanded protections for transgender residents and workers by adding "gender identity and expression" to the city's non-discrimination policies and vendor contracts. Niedwiecki also directed the city to review all of its policies and ordinances to be sure that the language included and recognized LGBT families and relationships as well. Oakland Park, Florida also celebrated gay pride in the city for the first time with a proclamation celebrating the contributions of the LGBT community.

Under Niedwiecki's leadership, Oakland Park became one of a handful of cities around the country that passed a resolution against the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military that asked President Barack Obama and the United States Congress to move swiftly to overturn the ban. He eventually used his position on the County's Human Right's Board to get the County to pass a resolution as well.

All of these actions have paved the way for Oakland Park to become one of the leading cities in promoting equal rights in South Florida and in the country. That leadership was rewarded by Pridefest South Florida, the largest Pride Event in the state, which moved from its longtime home in Fort Lauderdale to relocate to downtown Oakland Park in 2010. The event was a success, bringing in thousands of dollars that go back to the local LGBT community in the form of grants and community support.

Niedwiecki received the Trailblazer Award from American Veterans for Equal Rights for helping pass a resolution in Oakland Park and Broward County asking Congress and President Obama to overturn the anti-gay "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Niedwiecki also received the "Public Official Star of the Year" Award for his public service from the South Florida Gay and Lesbian Community Center/Pride Center at Equality Park in 2010. Niedwiecki also serves on the Broward County Human Rights Board and Broward County Resource Recovery Board.

His campaign was endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, the Metro Broward Professional Firefighters Union, Equality Florida, the Broward County AFL-CIO and the American Black Caucus.

In the summer of 2010, Niedwiecki left Florida to accept a job at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois as a law professor and Director of The John Marshall Law School's Lawyering Skills Program.