{{Short description|American politician who served on the Madison, Wisconsin, Common Council}} thumb|upright|Jim Yeadon in 1985 '''Jim Yeadon''' (born 1949) is an American activist and politician who served on the Madison, Wisconsin, Common Council. First elected in 1977,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Gay elected to City Council|date=May 1977|work=GPU News}}</ref> Yeadon was the sixth openly gay or lesbian elected official in the United States, and the first male candidate who was openly gay at the time he was elected.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mkelgbthist.org/people/peo-y/yeadon_jim.htm|title=Jim Yeadon-- Bio- People in the History of Gay & Lesbian Life, Milwaukee WI|website=www.mkelgbthist.org|access-date=2018-04-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eGxKhxJ_lCEC&q=jim+yeadon+wisconsin|title=A Lavender Look at the Temple: A Gay Perspective of the Peoples Temple|last1=Bellefountaine|first1=Michael|last2=Bellefountaine|first2=Dora|date=August 2011|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9781462035298|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ccoO7O8JWIC&q=jim+yeadon+wisconsin|title=Now that You Know: A Parents' Guide to Understanding Their Gay and Lesbian Children|last1=Fairchild|first1=Betty|last2=Hayward|first2=Nancy|date=1998|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=0156006057|language=en}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Yeadon was born and raised in Ontonagon, Michigan. His father was an inventor, and the family moved frequently throughout his childhood. Yeadon's family moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, when he was in the ninth grade. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1967.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/pflagmanitowocwi/yes-manitowoc|title=Manitowoc LGBT History - Manitowoc, WI|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2018-04-24|archive-date=2020-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012120124/https://sites.google.com/site/pflagmanitowocwi/yes-manitowoc|url-status=dead}}</ref> Yeadon earned an undergraduate degree in Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

== Advocacy and public office == Yeadon became a gay activist in the 1960s as a member of Wisconsin's first LGBTQ organization, the Madison Alliance for Homosexual Equality (MAHE).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://isthmus.com/news/news/preserving-lgbt-history/|title=Preserving LGBT history|last=Davidoff|first=Judith|date=2017-12-13|work=Isthmus {{!}} Madison, Wisconsin|access-date=2018-04-24|language=en-us}}</ref> While a university student, he was also active in the Gay Law Student Association. During this time, Yeadon was appointed to the city's Equal Opportunities Commission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityofmadison.com/dcr/DecisionDigest/Cases/2192A.htm|title=Case No. 2192A|website=www.cityofmadison.com|access-date=2018-04-24}}</ref>

=== Common Council (1976-1980) === After his initial appointment and subsequent election to the Madison Common Council at the age of 26, Yeadon was instrumental in framing the revised Equal Opportunities Ordinance which extended protections against discrimination in housing and employment to gays.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/56856|title=Oral History Interview: James Yeadon (945)|website=minds.wisconsin.edu|date=5 April 2009 |access-date=2018-04-24|last1=Yeadon |first1=James }}</ref> It was a landmark achievement for LGBT rights in Wisconsin and across the nation. Yeadon was considered an authority on municipal gay rights ordinances in the mid-1970s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/proposed-landmark-would-be-most-prominent-recognition-of-an-lgbt/article_2c4fd360-503c-53fa-9cc5-bf8e6b4a61af.html|title=Proposed landmark would be most prominent recognition of an LGBT site in city history|first=Dean|last=Mosiman|publisher=Wisconsin State Journal|work=madison.com|access-date=2018-04-24|language=en}}</ref>

Yeadon was the force behind the May 1977 "anti-Anita Bryant Bash" which attracted over 600 people to the Great Hall of the UW-Madison Memorial Union. As a City Council member, he worked on issues such as reforming the city Health Department, completing the State Street mall, legalizing marijuana, and extending bar hours until 2 a.m. A fellow alderman nicknamed him "the alderfaggot". Death threats and letters of encouragement came from across the United States during his time on the council.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://host.madison.com/news/madison-blazed-a-gay-trail-in-the-s-when-openly/article_75ebc303-2c5c-55a4-b1f9-9fd1f9047b8e.html|title=Madison Blazed a Gay Trail in the 1970s, When Openly Gay Public Officials Were Almost Unheard Of, Madison Elected an Openly Gay Man to the City Council|first=Gayle |last=Worland|work=madison.com|date=12 December 2008 |access-date=2018-04-24|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Yeadon Aware of Close Scrutiny|last=Satran|first=Jone|date=October 18, 1976|work=Daily Cardinal}}</ref>

Yeadon began practicing law in 1975, and after completing his City Council term in 1980 he began specializing in real estate law. In addition to his law practice, he has served as the director of the client rights office in the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4BlWAAAAMAAJ&q=jim+yeadon+wisconsin|title=The State of Wisconsin Blue Book|date=2003|publisher=Legislative Reference Bureau|language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life == During his early years in public life and activism, Yeadon was in a private relationship<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ourlivesmadison.com/article/making-history/|title=Making History|website=Our Lives|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-24}}</ref> with David Clarenbach, a member of the Wisconsin Legislature and advocate for LGBT rights in Wisconsin.

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeadon, Jim}} Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American gay politicians Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Category:Activists from Wisconsin Category:Wisconsin city council members Category:Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Category:People from Ontonagon, Michigan Category:People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin Category:LGBTQ people from Wisconsin Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people Category:20th-century Wisconsin politicians Category:LGBTQ rights activists from Michigan