California's Democratic Party, the largest in the nation, has another unique characteristic – four openly gay men and one lesbian hold top leadership positions. The five wield enormous power within the party – from setting its agenda to recruiting candidates, and is said to be unprecedented.

Three of the state's largest counties have gay Democratic Party chairmen: Jess Durfee in San Diego, Eric Bauman in Los Angeles, and Scott Wiener in San Francisco. Debra Broner serves as chair in Del Norte County, while Sam Catalano is executive director of the Sacramento County Democratic Party.

More than 15 million people live within the five counties, nearly half the state's population of 36.4 million residents. The five out leaders' work impacts not only the state's LGBT residents, but all Californians.

"I think that is really incredible. It certainly puts to rest the whole idea we are one-issue activists. Because we are out there organizing and doing the work as state party chairs," said Laurie McBride, Northern California co-chair of the state Democratic Party's LGBT caucus. "Eric Bauman, Scott Wiener, all of them have a lot of work to do in terms of registering Democrats and making sure the Democratic Party is strong on issues that serve all of us."

Wiener, who was elected chair in July 2006, has made voter registration a top priority. He has also moved to see that the party maintains a year-round office instead of hibernating between elections.

"The fastest growing sections of the state are in red areas. To keep up with that and keep California blue, we have to register people along the coast," said Wiener. "It is not glamorous but it is critical."

Having out gay men and women assume leadership posts shows the maturation of the state's LGBT community, said Wiener.

"It really shows our coming of political age. The California Democratic Party plays a significant role in setting the policy agenda for the state. The Democrats in the legislature pay attention to the issues the party prioritizes," said Wiener, 37, an attorney who moved to San Francisco 10 years ago. "As a result it is really important to have a strong voice in having LGBT people set the agenda."

Two policy areas where having gay people at the table have been key are the fights for same-sex marriage and transgender rights.

"A few years ago the Democratic Party came out for marriage equality. It was a huge step and really important," said Wiener. "The party has come out for trans rights and that is also really important. We have helped to drive that."

Durfee, 49, has served as San Diego County's chair since 2004. The retired schoolteacher has been a political activist since the 1980s and helped launch a regional gay rights group near Vancouver, Washington. In the mid-1990s he moved to Southern California and became active in the local LGBT Democratic club.

While San Diego is considered more moderate compared to San Francisco's Democratic scene, Durfee's being gay was never an issue in his election as chair. The area has a lesbian state senator and a lesbian city council member who briefly served as mayor.

"My platform was not specific to LGBT issues," said Durfee, who instead promoted increased fundraising and recruiting winnable candidates. "Within the Democratic Party gay people are pretty much mainstream. It is not an issue to elect an openly gay man or woman to a top leadership position in this state."

But having high placed LGBT people has its rewards. Durfee noted that in July the state party's executive board voted to increase the number of LGBT people who are delegates to next year's Democratic National Convention. At between 10 and 12 percent, Durfee noted it is the highest goal established in the country.

"The key people on the committee were members of the LGBT community," he said. "It went through without any opposition."

For Broner, 55, it is the third time she has been a county chair. Prior to being elected Del Norte's chair in January of this year, she was chair in San Luis Obispo and Mendocino counties. A former Bay Area resident, Broner grew up in Daly City and lived in San Francisco during the 1980s.

"During the devastation of AIDS really started my interest in being active. My real frustration was with people just ignoring what they considered a small minority group devastated by this disease," said Broner, who protested the lack in AIDS funding at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

While living in Tucson, Arizona in the late 1980s she started to climb the leadership ladder of the party. She chaired the local LGBT caucus within the party and helped work on several political campaigns.

Seven years ago she returned to California and continued her work with the Democratic Party.

"I found it fascinating there are so many openly gay and lesbian people within the California Democratic Party. We are working hard to make this world a better place for everybody," said Broner, whose partner of 23 years, Alene Levine, is the chief psychiatrist at Pelican Bay State Prison, the area's largest employer. "We are there to work to get people elected who are going to treat everybody like a decent human being."

Her coastal county lies next door to the Oregon border, about 375 miles north of San Francisco. There is an even mix of Democrats and Republicans with about 15 percent decline to state voters.

Democratic Assemblywoman Patty Berg , who represents the area in Sacramento, is a co-author of the same-sex marriage bill. Meanwhile its state senator, Sam Aanmestad, is a Republican.

"I describe it as a purple county in registration," said Broner, who lives in Smith River.

The couple had lived in the county back in 2004 and Broner helped establish a credentialed Democratic Party in the area. As chair this year, she has worked to increase voter registration and outreach.

She is currently seeking the ouster of a public defender who claimed in a court case that because lesbians are irrational his client could not be charged with a hate crime for allegedly threatening to beat up three lesbians.

According to a report in the local newspaper, attorney Leroy Davies wrote in his motion for dismissal of charges against his client, Roger Farren , that "[the] defendant made no move to expand on the statement of kicking lesbian ass by stating when, where or how it was to be kicked. Lesbians are unreasonable as a matter of fact, having violated all tenants of the Bible, common sense, and the biological imperative."

Broner is lobbying the county Board of Supervisors to terminate Davies's contract when it comes up for renewal.

"I was appalled the public defender would use an argument like that to dismiss the case," said Broner.

Bauman seeks state party chair

As party chair of the state's largest county, Bauman is one of the Democrats' most powerful players. Add his political ties up and down the state, his former job as a top adviser to Governor Gray Davis and current position as a deputy director in the lieutenant governor's office, Bauman is probably second only to lesbian Susan Kennedy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, in political experience and sway.

Not surprising then, Bauman is a leading contender to replace state party chair Art Torres, who is set to retire in 2009. Should Bauman be elected at the party's state convention that April, he would be arguably one of the most powerful out gay political players in the country.

He is in no way assured of the job. Both former state Senator Jackie Speier and Santa Monica Senator Sheila Kuehl, who will be termed out next year, are said to be eyeing the post. Should a measure to change the state's term limits law not pass next February, other termed out legislators are likely to jump into the race. Whoever loses in the June primary battle between Assemblyman Mark Leno and Senator Carole Migden for Migden's seat is also seen as a likely contender.

"Being an openly gay chair of the largest Democratic Party in America would send one hell of a message to young gays and lesbians about just how much the world is changing and to young gays and lesbians thinking about running for office," said Bauman. "There is any number of people who might run. All I can say at this point is I am a serious candidate for it."

No matter who enters the fray, Bauman said he knows it will be a hard fought battle for the post. But he said he is relying on his work with the party over the last 20 years to give him an edge up in the race. Even his being a contender for the job is a historic first.

"I can't recall there being an openly gay candidate for chair of the state party," said Bauman, 48, who has lived in Los Angeles since 1975. "When people look at me, I think the gay thing is sort of behind them. It is not a shock to anybody."

Bauman, who has been with his partner, Michael Andraychak , for 25 years, has been county chair since 2000. He spent seven years as president of the local Stonewall Democrats Club and two years as the group's national co-chair.

"I hope my candidacy will be judged based on my record of accomplishment last 20 years and proposals I will bring to invigorate the Democratic Party and its campaign processes," said Bauman. "Art has been an extraordinary chair and kept it together through some tough times. I think I am the guy who can take it to the next level."

In LA Bauman has tripled the party's staff and raised its budget from $50,000 a year to $360,000 this year. He has raised the number of registered Democrats to roughly 2 million.

Last year he recruited candidates and invested money into five districts considered Republican strongholds with the goal of making them winnable for Democrats in the future. He has recruited openly gay candidates to run for lower level local offices in order to groom them for higher office.

He is not shy of playing hard knuckle politics. He successfully challenged federal election rules on campaign finances last year that he deemed detrimental to his local political campaigns. In the town of Sierra Madre, he flipped the council from being Republican to controlled by Dems.

"I don't operate as a gay chair," said Bauman. "Mostly what I do has nothing to do about LGBT issues."

Mecke wins Milk Club nod

San Francisco mayoral candidate Quintin Mecke surged past Mayor Gavin Newsom to win the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club's endorsement this week. Both men were the top voter getters but failed to win enough votes to clinch the progressive club's nod last month.

The club decided to have a runoff contest for its endorsement, and Mecke garnered 75 percent of the vote during the club's meeting Tuesday, September 25. It was the third time in recent weeks that Mecke has been able to block Newsom from receiving an endorsement.

Both the Sunset Democratic Club and the San Francisco Young Democrats deadlocked split over which of the two candidates to support, leaving the two clubs with no endorsement in the race, while San Francisco for Democracy, a local affiliate of Democracy for America, endorsed Mecke.

The Milk Club's endorsement rematch was not without controversy. Kim Knox, the club's vice president political, resigned after the club's board refused to include a "no endorsement" or write-in candidate choice on the ballot.

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