In a repeat of the 2010 midterm elections, it appears that the only out congressional candidates in the Golden State in the 2012 election will be from southern California.
Southeast of Los Angeles in Riverside, Democrat Mark Takano, an openly gay Japanese American, is once again seeking a House seat. In Long Beach, openly gay City Councilman Robert Garcia, the city's first Latino council member, is said to be eying a potential run.
Were either to be elected, they would the first out person of color to serve in Congress.
To date, no out candidates in northern California have announced plans to run for Congress. But that could change once the state's new boundaries for House seats are finalized later this month.
San Jose resident Clark Williams , northern California chair of the state Democratic Party's LGBT Caucus, told the Bay Area Reporter, "until there is some finality to the redistricting process, I consider the 2012 field of candidates to be very fluid. In August, I expect to see a flood of political news once the Citizens' Redistricting Commission completes its work."
Last year the LGBT community's sole chance to elect the first openly gay person among California's 53-member House delegation was in the Palm Springs area, where the resort town's openly gay mayor, Steve Pougnet, attempted to defeat Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R).
But Pougnet came up short, garnering only 40 percent of the vote. And rather than face another bruising campaign against the GOP congresswoman, Pougnet announced last week that he would instead seek re-election this November as mayor.
The Democratic lawmaker faces another tough go of it, though, as four people have already launched efforts to defeat him. Development in the desert city's downtown is once again likely to be a key issue in the race.
Pougnet will also likely face questions from gay residents about his handling of the 2009 gay sex sting scandal that rocked the Warm Springs resort neighborhood. His silence on the controversy cost him support in his congressional race and could prove an obstacle this fall.
He recently told his hometown paper, the Desert Sun , that he "won't take anything for granted. I will run one heck of a campaign to win my re-election." He added that, "I've done a very good job in Palm Springs. ... It doesn't get any rougher than running for Congress."
For the Harvard-educated Takano, the third time may be the clincher for his dreams of serving on Capitol Hill. The Rialto Unified School District teacher twice ran for a House seat in the 1990s but lost both times to GOP Congressman Ken Calvert.
Now Calvert finds himself in a different district and the newly drawn House seat for the Riverside area is up for grabs next year. As proposed the district tilts Democratic, giving an edge to Takano, who has served on the Riverside Community College District's Board of Trustees since 1990.
According to the Press Enterprise class=blue14>, Democrats have close to a six-point registration advantage under the proposed House district. As of now Takano is expected to face off against Republican class=dl-topic-unhighlighted>Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione.
On his campaign website, Takano notes he is running for Congress "because I care deeply about the place where I was born, a place where diverse families came to live out their dreams. I worry, though, about future of the dream for which we all came."
Long Beach's Garcia, who was born in Lima, Peru, has yet to announce if he will indeed run for Congress. He was just elected to a full term on the council last April after winning a special election for an open seat in 2009.
He doesn't have much time to make up his mind. Former Long Beach City Councilman Alan Lowenthal, now a Democratic state senator, has already jumped into the race for the new Long Beach House district.
Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes.
Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail [email protected].