Joanne Marie Conte (October 18, 1933 – January 27, 2013) was an American politician. She is considered to be the first openly transgender person to be elected to a city council in the United States. She served on Arvada's City Council from 1991-1995. In March 1993, Conte made a public announcement revealing that she was transgender as a preemptive strike against Westword, which had been planning to publish the story on their front page. Following her short-lived political career, she became a radio host on 850 KOA, but quit after only a few episodes due to transmisogynistic advertising for her broadcast. She then went on to work as an investigative reporter for KGNU Radio. Early life Joanne Conte was born in 1933 in Rochester, N.Y. She attended Arvada High School, and then went on to serve as a military Morse code operator for the U.S. Army and Air Force during the Korean War. Conte came out as transgender in the 1970s and legally changed her name before undergoing gender confirmation surgery in 1972, which caused her family to disown her. Conte first became involved with political organizing on a small-scale in the 1980s when she organized efforts to keep Arvada's City Council from allowing a trash transfer station to be established in a neighborhood near her own. Term as councilwoman In 1991, Conte ran for Arvada City Council and, due to extensive campaigning, won. She was a self-declared "raging activist" and focused heavily on citizen outreach during her term. She sought to make government happenings accessible to the public, so citizens could make more informed political decisions. Her actions as councilwoman show her belief in the value of citizens in government and a passion for openness and transparency. Despite being candid in her politics, Conte was very secretive about her past. This made her adversaries suspicious enough to hire a private investigator who dug up evidence of Conte's name change and gender confirming surgery, which was then leaked to the tabloid newspaper, Westword. Word got to Conte that the tabloid was planning to run a front-page article outing her as transgender and she was forced to make the announcement herself before they could. The revelation destroyed Conte's political career, though she admitted she was relieved to no longer have to live in secrecy and felt that she helped pave the way for other trans women in politics. In 1994, Conte