Trenton Creates First LGBTQ Liaison Position Within Office of Citizen Concerns

Trenton, N.J. – As LGBTQ Pride Month comes to a close, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora today announced the creation of an LGBTQ Liaison position to better assist Trenton’s LGBTQ residents and advocate for policies that support their community.

“For urban areas like Trenton, LGBTQ youth, elders, and people of color are particularly marginalized when it comes to homelessness, addiction services, and mental healthcare,” said Mayor Gusciora. “A lack of accurate data concerning LGBTQ residents can result in related social programs missing their mark. We created this new position to better assess the needs of our LGBTQ community and connect them with the critical services they need the most.”

The LGBTQ Liaison, created by an Executive Order signed by Mayor Gusciora today, augments the efforts of the Mayor’s Office of Citizen Concerns by working directly with LGBTQ residents, students, and employees of the City of Trenton to ensure any issues relevant to the LGBTQ community are addressed in a respectful and timely manner. Rick Kavin, who currently serves as an Aide to Mayor Gusciora, will assume this new role.

Kavin, a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University studying and teaching constitutional law and LGBTQ Politics, first came to the Mayor’s Office in January 2019 as a Harold and Reba Martin Fellow from the Eagleton Institute of Politics. In addition, Kavin currently serves as the Vice President of Operations for the Pride Center of New Jersey located in Highland Park, which provides social support, engaging programming, and other resources for New Jersey’s LGBTQ community.