{{Short description|American politician and intersex activist (born 1964)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Betsy Driver | party = Democrat | image = | office = Mayor of Flemington, New Jersey | term_start = January 2, 2019 | term_end = January 3, 2023 | predecessor = Phil Greiner | successor = Marcia A. Karrow | office2 = Town Councilor in Flemington, New Jersey | term_start2 = 2017 | term_end2 = 2019 | birth_date = {{bya|1964}} | birth_place = Buffalo, New York, U.S. }} '''Betsy Driver''' (born 1964) is a former mayor of Flemington, New Jersey, and an advocate for intersex human rights and awareness. She is the first openly intersex person to be elected as a political officeholder in the United States.<ref name="esquire">{{cite news |title=Americans Made History On Election Night |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a24761596/election-night-firsts/ |work=Esquire |date=7 November 2018 |access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref><ref name="pridehonornydn">{{cite news |title=NYC Pride march to honor intersex New Jersey mayor |last1=Reyna |first1=Rikki |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-mayor-pride-march-20190626-jlrvlsbd5jccvltxurqiuhstpi-story.html |work=New York Daily News |date=26 June 2019 |access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref>
==Early life== Driver was born in Buffalo, New York in 1964.<ref name="into">{{cite news |title=New Jersey Elects First-Ever Intersex Person to Hold Public Office in U.S. |url=https://www.intomore.com/impact/New-Jersey-Elects-FirstEver-Intersex-Person-to-Hold-Public-Office-in-US/3b58450f57784745 |work=INTO |date=9 November 2017 |access-date=September 11, 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> She was born with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).<ref name="yahoonowthis">{{cite news |title=Mayor Betsy Driver is Promoting Intersex Visibility Through Activism and Politics |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mayor-betsy-driver-promoting-intersex-033405813.html |work=Yahoo |date=23 August 2019 |access-date=September 10, 2019 |archive-date=22 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922231744/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mayor-betsy-driver-promoting-intersex-033405813.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In her mid-30s, she began learning about intersex people and the surgeries she went through at eight months old. She has stated that she and her mother had been falsely told that she was the only one to have this condition.<ref name="thebridgepdx">{{cite news |title=Intersex Awareness Day Awareness! |last1=Elliot |first1=Rory |url=https://pccbridge.com/index.php/2018/10/23/intersex-awareness-day-awareness/ |work=The Bridge |date=23 October 2018 |access-date=September 10, 2019 |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804170753/https://pccbridge.com/index.php/2018/10/23/intersex-awareness-day-awareness/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Career and advocacy== Driver was once a journalist and segment producer for CBS News.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/><ref name="into"/> After joining groups for women with CAH, in 2001, she co-founded Bodies Like Ours, an online community forum for those with intersex variations.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/> In 2003, Driver was appointed executive director of Bodies Like Ours.<ref name="bodieslikeoursannounce">{{cite news |title=Bodies Like Ours Names New Director |url=http://www.intersexinitiative.org/news/000025.html |work=Intersex Initiative |date=4 June 2003 |access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref> Driver and Emi Koyama started Intersex Awareness Day, which is observed on October 26 and is internationally recognized.<ref name="into"/><ref name="pix11">{{cite news |title=1st openly intersex politician among grand marshals at 50th Pride Parade |last1=Duffy |first1=Christie |url=https://pix11.com/2019/06/28/1st-openly-intersex-politician-among-grand-marshals-at-50th-pride-parade/ |work=PIX11 |date=28 June 2019 |access-date=September 10, 2019 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712060746/https://pix11.com/2019/06/28/1st-openly-intersex-politician-among-grand-marshals-at-50th-pride-parade/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
When Driver decided to run for a town council seat in Flemington in 2017, she learned that opponents planned to make an issue of her identity.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/> She wrote an article about Intersex Awareness Day on her campaign Facebook page and the topic never became an issue during her campaign.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/> In 2017, Driver was elected to Flemington town council, where she served for two years before being elected as mayor.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/><ref name="pix11"/> She is the first openly intersex elected official in the United States, and the second worldwide after Australian Tony Briffa.<ref name="into"/>
She was selected as a grand marshal for the 50th Pride Parade in Manhattan<ref name="pix11"/> and recognized by Heritage of Pride as a community hero in 2019.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/>
Driver became the mayor of Flemington, New Jersey, on January 2, 2019 after defeating incumbent mayor Phil Greiner by 26 votes in the November 2018 election. After 1 term, she lost re-election to former State Senator Marcia A. Karrow by 94 votes in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |first=Joey |last=Fox |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/karrow-uneats-driver-in-flemington/ |title=Karrow unseats Driver in Flemington |website=New Jersey Globe |publisher=Mayfair Media |date=November 8, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022}}</ref>
==Personal life== Driver has lived in Flemington since 2007 with her wife and their two sons.<ref name="pridehonornydn"/>
== See also ==
* List of transgender public officeholders in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Cite web |first=Caroline |last=Fassett |date=2020-10-14 |title=N.J. mayor will not resign amid backlash from anti-Trump Facebook post |url=https://www.nj.com/hunterdon/2020/10/nj-mayor-will-not-resign-amid-backlash-from-anti-trump-facebook-post.html |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=nj.com |language=en}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Driver, Betsy}} Category:Living people Category:1964 births Category:American intersex women Category:American intersex people Category:Intersex politicians Category:Intersex rights in the United States Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:People from Flemington, New Jersey Category:Mayors of places in New Jersey Category:Women mayors of places in New Jersey Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey Category:American transgender politicians