While there’s a debate about whether this year’s municipal election results constitute a Connecticut blue wave, it’s interesting to note the number of queer people newly elected and re-elected all over the state.

This “queer wave” is in part a reaction to the last few years of civic divisiveness and anti-LGBTQ sentiment that has swept the country, which we have also seen in Connecticut. It’s also a very Connecticut pushback in the form of civility.

In Cromwell, 29-year-old James Demetriades became the city’s first LGBTQ mayor — as well as its youngest and the first Democrat. Demetriades acknowledged that his campaign slogan, Positively Cromwell, is “hokey” but it genuinely reflects his hope and optimism about “ideas and what we can achieve together.” He even made a get-out-the vote video with his opponent, then-incumbent mayor Republican Steve Fortenbach.

Bernie Dennler joins Colchester’s Board of Selectman after running a first-time campaign. In the past few years, Colchester was one of several Connecticut communities where LGBTQ-themed children’s books were targeted for bans. This “political chaos and drama” distracts from real local issues that needs attention, says Dennler, and it motivated him to throw his hat in the ring: “We need to mediate conflicts instead of creating them,” he said.

First-time candidate and long-time community activist Caroline Tanbee Smith will join New Haven’s Board of Alders, elected after years of volunteering and building community programs for the city. “Building bridges” was the key theme of her campaign. And while she took positions on many local issues, Tanbee Smith highlighted the importance of maintaining New Haven’s and Connecticut’s reputations as queer-friendly “at a moment where states across the country are passing anti-LGBTQ legislation.”

Chad Cardillo has become the first out LGBTQ person elected to serve on Meriden’s City Council. And on election night in Waterbury, Bilal Tajildeen, a newly elected Alderman, said “I am so ready to bring our collective ideas, hopes, and dreams to City Hall!”

Matt Plourd won a seat on the Newington City Council after running on a campaign promise to restore faith in democracy, bring an end to divisive rhetoric, and focus on pressing community issues like environmental justice.

None of these candidates ran on their identities or on a single issue. They spoke to the bread-and-butter issues that most people are concerned about. LGBTQ people stepped up as city and town leaders, looking out for their neighbors’ schools, health, safety, transportation, governance, and rights. We participate as whole people in our communities.

Today, many LGBTQ people feel comfortable running openly as themselves — and that’s a credit to Connecticut’s culture of civility and longtime commitment to LGBTQ rights. At the same time, the state hasn’t been immune from troubling national trends. Even here, attempts to ban books with LGBTQ themes have proliferated; according to surveys, LGBTQ students are feeling more unsafe; drag queen story hours have been threatened and cancelled.

Most of these disturbances are part of a coordinated national campaign against LGBTQ people. And that’s why none of us, as citizens, voters, or at any level of government can be complacent. Just as LGBTQ candidates have stepped up to care for their neighbors, their allies, neighbors, and friends must step up as well.

Reciprocity and civility are what we’re supposed to be about in Connecticut. Next time that you hear hateful rhetoric about queer people, don’t let it go. Remember we are your neighbors — and sometimes your elected representatives.

Our community, and Connecticut’s voters, sent an important message this year. We said that decency and LGBTQ inclusion are winning issues. Equally important, every public servant on the local, state, and federal level should take this important message from this year’s election: We are watching.

Standing with us when a pride flag is raised over city hall or the Capitol is not enough. We expect bold action to protect our community and ensure every member of our Connecticut family is valued and affirmed.

When we are not satisfied, we and our allies run. And in Connecticut, we win.

Matthew Blinstrubas is Executive Director of Equality Connecticut.