UPDATE: Billy Manes' husband, Anthony Mauss, dear friend and former boss at the Orlando Weekly, Erin Sullivan, and former Orlando Weekly coworker Jessica Bryce Young joined Intersection to remember Billy. Here's the segment.
One of Orlando’s best-known LGBT advocates, Billy Manes, has died. His former employer Orlando Weekly announced his death online Friday.
Orlando Weekly said Manes died surrounded by his husband, Anthony Mauss, friends and family at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Manes most recently worked at Watermark as editor-in-chief. He was one of the most visible voices locally and nationally following the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Pulse nightclub.
The Weekly reports Manes ran for mayor of Orlando in a special election in 2005 making him the first openly gay mayoral candidate in the city’s history.
Loved ones and community members are sharing tributes to him on his Facebook page. Laura Primley wrote, “The community has lost one of its strongest voices. A truly sad day.”
Billy Manes was 45 years old.