When Gabriel Quinto won a seat on the El Cerrito City Council last week, he became the first known HIV-positive candidate in the California Bay Area to be elected to public office, according to the Bay Area Reporter.

He is also the first out LGBT and first Filipino American elected to the City Council of El Cerrito, which lies north of Berkeley in western Contra Costa County. Quinto will be sworn into office December 2.

“I will make sure to talk about [HIV] and about health issues that folks in our community are dealing with,” said Quinto, who is a long-term survivor of the epidemic. “It was a test to see that my health can withstand this and a grueling campaign. I have been testing myself time and time again to see if I can do this, and I know I can.”

A number of other out LGBT candidates won elections in the Bay Area.