A PORN star is running for office in a South Florida town dubbed America’s “second gayest city.”
Juan Melecio, 42, submitted his paperwork on Monday to run for a commission seat in Wilton Manors, in Florida’s Broward County.
The adult film star, whose stage name is Antonio Biaggi, told the Sun-Sentinel: “I’m from Puerto Rico and I’m a very passionate person. When something is right I just go for it.”
Melecio is openly gay and has been married for nine years, and told the news outlet he’s lived in Wilton Manors for around a year.
He previously owned a spa and barbershop in the city, which he said he sold in 2019.
The city is known as one of the gay-friendliest cities in the country, and in 2018, an all-LGBT commission was voted into office, per the Sentinel.
Following Provincetown, Massachusetts, data from the 2010 US Census shows Wilton Manors has the second-highest percentage of gay couples in the country.
Melecio told South Florida Gay News he’s “a person with a really big opinion and I’m not afraid of change.”
“I’m a person who is very involved in the city. I’m not the typical politician that comes out every two or four years,” Melecio told the news outlet.
“I’m here all year round helping charities in the city for kids, domestic abuse, pet projects, the leather community, and the arts.”
“I have a lot of great ideas and I am the type of person that will fight to the end so I can create what I want for the city,” he said. “I also love to listen to the people in our community, and as a former business owner I know what the businesses in Wilton Manor need.”
Melecio said he’s made appearances in “scores” of pornographic films, but said he’s currently more focused on Biaggi Productions, his production company.
The adult film star said that as a commissioner, he wants to make Wilton Manor more inclusive to all residents — not just the gay community.
“We should have more festivals, not just Gay Pride,” Melecio told the Sentinel.
He also said he believes there’s a “lack of new ideas to grow tourism and to grow the city of Wilton Manors.”
