Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford
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Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Madison Common Council from the 15th district | |
| Assumed office April 18, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Grant Foster[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1970 (age 55)[2] |
| Party | Democratic |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford (born 1970) is an American politician and comedian. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as an alder on the Common Council of Madison, Wisconsin, since 2023, representing the fifteenth district. Martinez-Rutherford is the first openly transgender person to be elected to public office in Wisconsin.[3]
Born in May, 1970,[2][4] Martinez-Rutherford grew up in Texas. In her early adulthood, she was a travelling pastor for non-denominational evangelical churches. She moved to California in early 2000s, where she began her career as a stand-up comic, and began her gender transition in 2007.[5]
Martinez-Rutherford moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 2012.[3][2] In 2015, she founded Lady Laughs Comedy, a production company that runs an annual comedy festival in Madison[6] and offers classes in stand-up comedy.[2]
Political career
In 2023, after seeing multiple anti-LGBTQ hate crimes including the Pulse nightclub shooting and the Club Q shooting in Colorado, Martinez-Rutherford decided to run for office. She announced her candidacy for alder on the Common Council, in district 15 in the Willy Street, Marquette, and Eastmorland neighborhoods.[7][8] On April 4, 2023, she was elected to the council by a narrow 54-vote margin, becoming the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Wisconsin.[9][3] Since 2023, the city has raised the transgender pride flag over City Hall on Transgender Day of Visibility each year, an initiative started by Martinez-Rutherford.[10]
Martinez-Rutherford launched a re-election campaign in the 2025 spring election. Prior to Election Day, she withdrew from the race to recover from a surgery, but her name remained on the ballot due to state statute.[11] Following her withdrawal, she endorsed her opponent, Ryan Koglin.[12] Despite her withdrawal, she won 51% of the vote on April 1, 2025, then decided to accept her re-election, remaining in office.[13][14]
Martinez-Rutherford is running in the Democratic primary for the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2026, for the 76th district. The seat is open after incumbent Francesca Hong announced her candidacy for governor.[7]