Gay 23-Year-Old Running for Toronto School Board Seat

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

January 05 2012 5:50 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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Tyler Johnson knows what it's like to be a gay student dealing with life at a public school, and he thinks the experience makes him an ideal candidate for a position on the Toronto District School Board.

Johnson, 23, is shoring up support in advance of the February 27 election. Johnson is not new to the politics of the TDSB -- he's worked for the district since 2007 and is currently an executive assistant to one of the trustees. Johnson got the job after he was kicked out of his house at age 16 after his stepmother discovered he was gay. He moved into Covenant House, Canada's largest shelter for homeless youth, and eventually met a TDSB member who offered him a job with the board.

If elected, Johnson will support additional gay-straight alliances and antihomophobia events.

"I represent a very diverse minority group, and I have experienced a lot of what our students are experiencing, such as single-parent families, homelessness, and I am a queer youth of color," Johnson tells Canada's Xtra! newspaper.