With absentee ballots due to hit voters' mailboxes next week, the Bay Area Reporter offers a recap of the endorsements we made previously in the primary.
David Chiu, Assembly District 17
This San Francisco Assembly race is the most competitive on the ballot. And while both candidates, David Chiu and David Campos, are qualified, we endorse Chiu, who is currently the president of the Board of Supervisors.
Chiu is a straight man who has long been an ally of the LGBT community. He has demonstrated the ability to work with divergent interests and achieve consensus, something that will be necessary in Sacramento.
Chiu pledges to champion new legislation and groundbreaking programs for the LGBT community. His platform calls for more state resources for building senior affordable housing that includes LGBT elders, as well as supporting LGBT-specific aging in place programs. For LGBT youth, as we noted previously, state policies need to ensure students are safe from bullying and that foster youth are well-served. His other priorities include adequate funding for HIV/AIDS patients, fair drug prices, and the health care needs of lesbians and transgender people.
We thought long and hard about this endorsement, since Campos is a gay man and has also done much for the community during his two terms on the board. In the end, however, we feel that Chiu is better able to bridge divides, and being one of 80 lawmakers means constantly having to solicit support from colleagues. We think Chiu is the better candidate for the office.
Other Assembly races
We also recommend candidates in several other Bay Area Assembly races. Starting with Assembly District 19 in San Francisco, we endorse incumbent Phil Ting, a straight ally who has had several pro-LGBT and HIV/AIDS bills signed by Governor Jerry Brown. Ting is a hard worker and attuned to his constituents.
In the South Bay, we endorse Evan Low in the Assembly District 28 race. Currently a member of the Campbell City Council, Low is a rising star in the Democratic Party. A gay man, Low is also becoming a leader in the fight against the federal government's ban on blood donations from gay and bi men. Low is running to succeed his boss, Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), who is termed out. As a legislative staffer, Low is knowledgeable about the workings of Sacramento and will hit the ground running.
On the Peninsula, we endorse incumbent Rich Gordon in Assembly District 24. Gordon, also a gay man, has come into his own while in the Legislature, taking on a leadership role in the Legislative LGBT Caucus and authoring bills to help advance equality in state contracting.
In the East Bay, we endorse Elizabeth Echols for Assembly District 15. She is running to replace Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), who is termed out. A former Obama administration official who served in the Small Business Administration, Echols is a leader on economic issues and the environment. A straight ally, Echols is committed to ensuring everyone in the state enjoys equal rights and equal opportunity.
In another East Bay race, we recommend incumbent Assemblyman Rob Bonta in Assembly District 18, which covers Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. Bonta has also had LGBT-related bills signed by the governor. Bonta, who is straight, is a solid ally of the LGBT community.
Statewide races
The race for governor appears to be a cakewalk for incumbent Jerry Brown, who is on his way to an unprecedented fourth term. Brown, who just finished signing hundreds of bills, including several that are good for the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities, knows the state like almost no other politician. After the celebrity-focused tenure of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brown came into office four years ago and quietly set about rebuilding the economy and getting California back on track. There's still much work to do, and Brown is vastly more qualified than his Republican opponent.
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom has used the bully pulpit of the office to oppose rising tuition fees at state universities and colleges, continue advocating for marriage equality, and embrace the growing tech sector. He will continue to be a tremendous advocate for the LGBT community.
Attorney General Kamala Harris has overseen a broad range of investigations targeting illegal weapons, drugs, and white-collar crime. Her refusal to defend the indefensible same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8, helped undo that discriminatory amendment when it was thrown out on a technicality by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Harris will continue to be a solid ally.
For secretary of state, we endorse state Senator Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles). The recent news surrounding current Secretary of State Debra Bowen's long battle with depression means that the person elected will have a lot of work making the office efficient and responsive to citizens. We worry that a Republican in that position could tamper with current voting processes.
For controller, Betty Yee is the candidate who is most qualified. A longtime numbers-cruncher who is currently on the state Board of Equalization, Yee will bring a firm knowledge of state finances to the office. A straight ally, Yee is familiar to many in the LGBT community because of her efforts to equalize the state tax system for same-sex couples prior to last year's decision that struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act.
In the race for treasurer, we endorse John Chiang , who is presently the controller. Chiang is also a straight ally. He wants the treasurer's office to help real people and intends to provide the expertise of his office to local districts so that officials can ask the right questions before issuing bonds. The treasurer's office primarily sells the state's debt and handles related disclosure documents.
For state superintendent of public instruction we endorse Tom Torlakson. We would like to see him be more pro-active when it comes to LGBT students, but his office has made strides in making the state's public schools safer for all students.
Finally, in the Board of Equalization District 2 race, we endorse Fiona Ma, a certified public accountant who used to be in the Legislature. Ma, from San Francisco, is another great ally to the LGBT community and has the fiscal experience needed for the BOE, which is the state tax agency.