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Why invest in local LGBT candidates?
By Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
I’m sometimes asked why the Victory Fund endorses openly LGBT candidates for city councils, county commissions or state legislatures in places far away from our Washington, D.C., offices. With most of the LGBT movement focused on enacting federal legislation, why spend the time and energy on local races?
It’s a valid question, and the truth is there are plenty of reasons to pay attention to candidates who are just getting their start in politics. This year I have two very good answers.
David Cicilline and Steve Pougnet.
Providence Mayor David Cicilline is poised to become the next Member of Congress representing Rhode Island. He’s leading his opponents in the all-but-determinative Democratic primary, and David is well-positioned to become the country’s next openly gay U.S. Representative.
But David’s path to this exciting moment didn’t begin when he announced his intention to run for Congress earlier this year. It began 16 years ago when he won his first race for the State House. After four terms as a state legislator, during which time he came out as a gay man, the Victory Fund supported his groundbreaking run for mayor in 2002 and his reelection bid in 2006.
After an impressive career like that, David was prepared to seize on a rare opportunity to run for an open seat in Congress. He’d built a record of accomplishment, gained deep experience, and amassed a strong network of supporters who are now working to help him win.
Mayor Steve Pougnet took a similar route, first winning a seat on the Palm Springs City Council and then winning his race for mayor in 2007 with the support of the Victory Fund. Now Steve has become the strongest challenger ever faced by the incumbent, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, and the national Democratic Party is focused on this race as a potential pick-up.
Both David and Steve earned the respect of their communities because they first demonstrated a real commitment to solving local problems through governing. They’ve walked the neighborhoods and knocked on doors, listened to their neighbors and asked for their votes—first as local candidates, and now as contenders for seats in Congress.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin served as a local and state elected official for 12 years before she won her seat in U.S. House, and Rep. Barney Frank was a Massachusetts State Representative for 8 years before he won his first congressional election.
Building our bench of qualified, experienced candidates not only produces important local and state victories for LGBT equality, it ensures that one day soon our voices will be a lot less rare at the highest levels of government. Today’s city council and state legislative candidates are tomorrow’s members of Congress, and we need a lot more members of the LGBT community in Congress.
The Victory Fund has endorsed 157 openly LGBT candidates for public office in 2010, with six running for seats in the U.S. House. Fighting to help elect people like David Cicilline and Steve Pougnet is incredibly important this year, and the same is true for those who will follow in their footsteps.
BREAKING: Victory Fund responds to former RNC chairman’s coming out
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund President and CEO Chuck Wolfe issued the following statement tonight regarding an announcement by the former chair of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, that he is gay:
“Coming out is a personal decision, and it can have a profound impact on families, friends, colleagues and constituents. We hope the fact that Ken Mehlman has reached this level of honesty will now encourage other political leaders to reject divisive anti-gay campaign tactics which, as Mr. Mehlman now admits, are purely cynical attempts to manipulate the American public,” Wolfe said. ”We look forward to the day when all political leaders, regardless of party, are able to be honest about themselves and their families, and still rise to positions where they can lead by example.”
Mehlman led the GOP during administration of President George W. Bush when, in the 2004 and 2006 national elections, party officials deliberately used anti-gay political messaging to drive social conservatives to the polls, according to Marc Ambinder, who broke the news tonight:
Mehlman said at the time that he could not, as an individual Republican, go against the party consensus. He was aware that Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief strategic adviser, had been working with Republicans to make sure that anti-gay initiatives and referenda would appear on November ballots in 2004 and 2006 to help Republicans.
Mehlman acknowledges that if he had publicly declared his sexuality sooner, he might have played a role in keeping the party from pushing an anti-gay agenda.
Gay Navajo man set to join Arizona Senate
The Arizona state legislature is likely to keep its five-member caucus of openly LGBT lawmakers after important primary elections Tuesday night.
Jack Jackson, Jr., a member of the Navajo Nation, was the top vote-getter in a three-way race for a seat in the Arizona Senate. He would join State Sen. Paula Aboud, an out lesbian, Sen. Robert Meza, who is openly gay, and primary winner Kyrsten Sinema, an openly bisexual member of the State House who is likely to move up to the Senate.
In 2005, Jackson, a former member of the State House, was appointed by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as the Executive Director of the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs. In April 2000, he was appointed by Secretary Donna Shalala to serve on President Clinton’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Today Jackson serves on the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise Board and the Obama Administration has selected him to once again serve on the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
In other primary races Tuesday, Steve Howard, an openly gay man, won the Democratic nomination to become Vermont’s next lieutenant governor.
Elsewhere, out candidates faced tough losses in some tough states. In Florida, which has never elected an openly LGBT candidate to the state legislature, Justin Flippen came up short in his bid to unseat the incumbent District 92 State House member. Also in Florida in the race to fill Rep. Kendrick Meek’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Scott Galvin was unable to overcome a significant fundraising disadvantage in his Democratic primary.