{{Short description|American politician and LGBTQ+ activist}}{{Infobox officeholder | office = Mayor of Ypsilanti, Michigan | predecessor = Amanda Edmonds | successor = Lois Allen-Richardson | office1 = | term_start = November 2018 | term_end = June 23, 2020 }} '''Beth Bashert''' is a Michigan LGBTQ+ rights activist, politician, and former mayor of Ypsilanti, Michigan.
==Activism== Bashert was a founding member and the first president of Michigan Equality, now known as Equality Michigan. In her work with the group, she applied voter outreach techniques that she learned while volunteering for the pro-choice group NARAL.<ref>Amy L. Stone, "Gay Rights at the Ballot Box," Minneapolis MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2012, pp. 110, 210.</ref>
Bashert is a former board member of other LGBTQ+ organizations including Michigan Pride and the Jim Toy Community Center.<ref name="library">{{cite web |title=Ypsi Stories Episode 20: Fighting for LGBTQ Rights in Ypsilanti: A Double Retrospective |url=https://www.ypsilibrary.org/2023/07/ys-ep20/ |website=Ypsilanti District Library |access-date=15 September 2025}}</ref> Papers related to Bashert's activist career are held at the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beth Bashert Papers, 1988-2010 |url=https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-04105 |website=University of Michigan Library}}</ref>
==Political career== Bashert was the (unopposed) Democratic candidate for the Ward 2 position on the Ypsilanti city council in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |title=Our Local Candidates |url=https://aadl.org/files/Washtenaw%20Matters%20September%202016%20.pdf |access-date=15 September 2025 |publisher=Washtenaw Matters |date=September 2016}}</ref> After a brief stint on city council, she announced her candidacy for mayor of Ypsilanti in early 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haynes |first1=Jessica |title=Ypsilanti council member Beth Bashert to run for mayor |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2018/02/bashert_announces_early_run_fo.html |access-date=15 September 2025 |publisher=mLive |date=13 February 2018}}</ref> She won the five-way race for mayor of Ypsilanti in November 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=November 2018 Elections: Ypsilanti Election Results |url=https://www.wemu.org/wemu-news/2018-11-07/november-2018-elections-ypsilanti-election-results |website=WEMU News |publisher=89.1 WEMU |access-date=15 September 2025}}</ref>
Bashert resigned as mayor on June 23, 2020 after making a controversial comment about race during a city Zoom meeting that led to protests by city council and community members.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stitt |first=Chanel |date=June 23, 2020 |title=Mayor of Ypsilanti announces resignation after racist comments, protests |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/06/23/ypsilanti-mayor-beth-bashert-resigns/3241497001/ |access-date=June 24, 2020 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bashert, Beth}} Category:Mayors of Ypsilanti, Michigan Category:21st-century Michigan politicians Category:LGBTQ rights activists from Michigan Category:LGBTQ people from Michigan Category:Civil rights activists from Michigan Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)