Richard A. Heyman; Among First Openly Gay Officeholders

Richard A. Heyman, 59, one of the nation’s first openly gay politicians and a two-term mayor of Key West, Fla. Heyman’s 1983 election was responsible for widespread debate on gays in mainstream society, but he didn’t consider himself a symbol for homosexuals. “I didn’t run as a gay man. I ran as a man who felt he could do things to change our city,” he said. He didn’t seek reelection in 1985 but ran again in 1987 and was elected to another two-year term. In Key West on Friday of AIDS.