John Blair

John Kenneth Blair (born 10 February 1966) is an Alliance Party politician, who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim since 2018. He is the first openly gay member of the Assembly. Political career Early career (1997-2005) John Blair was elected as a councillor to Newtownabbey Borough Council for the Newtonabbey Ratepayers' Association in the 1997 Local Elections, but lost his seat at the 2001 Local Elections after his vote decreased from 6.7% to 3.7%. He attempted to take a different seat the following 2005 elections, but was unsuccessful. Councillor (2011-2018) Blair was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council in the 2011 local elections, representing Antrim Line DEA as an Alliance candidate. He topped the poll and was elected on the first count with 15.96% of the FPVs. He was re-elected to the new Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council in 2014, representing the Glengormley Urban DEA.