No LGBT individual has ever represented Queens in the New York City Council.

But now, five gay and lesbian individuals are mulling bids for seats on the body. Queens residents Van Bramer, Daniel Dromm, Alfonso Quiroz, Lynn Schulman and Charles Ober are all considering seeking office in their respective districts.

According to the New York Daily News, all five of the individuals plan to run on platforms based on community issues, rather than gay rights issues.

But they said the prevalence of openly gay candidates in the 2009 Council races reflects a dramatic change in the way gay and lesbian candidates are received in Queens today.

“It’s very nice to see that people who are openly gay can come out and run and talk about issues that are important to people regardless of their sexuality,” Quiroz said.

Dromm said the success of an openly gay candidate could come down to party backing – something that neither Sedarbaum nor Van Bramer had in the past.

Nevertheless, Dromm said Queens’ gay community has made great strides in developing party backing.

“In the early ’90s, we couldn’t get elected officials in the borough to have their pictures taken with us,” said Dromm. “Now we are fielding four or five Council candidates.”

“I think we’ve gotten to the point where we are part of the mainstream,” Schulman added.