Living where we do, it's hard to imagine that there exist large cities in the United States that do not have one LGBT elected official at any level of government. To take that a step further, imagine not only large cities without LGBT representation, but counties and regions, and yes, even states. Ten states in the nation do not have one out LGBT elected official in any government position.
Luckily, the Victory Fund, one of the fastest-growing LGBT organizations in the nation, has made it its mission to promote and elect local and state LGBT candidates, and then support them once they become elected officials. And as the LGBT community fends off numerous challenges in our quest to gain full equal rights, increasing the number of LGBT role models and public officials could not be more important.
Over the years, San Francisco has grappled with the importance of the Victory Fund in a city that seemingly has so much LGBT representation. As LGBT candidates become more mainstream in cities like San Francisco, does the Victory Fund have a role? And with such a diverse LGBT community, with many high-profile LGBT political groups and clubs, should the Victory Fund be a significant player and partner in our community?
Lest you think San Francisco is all locked up when it comes to LGBT representation, think again. Not only has there not been a lesbian on the Board of Supervisors since 1999, but our community will need to work hard in 2008 to continue to have two seats on the Board of Supervisors (Supervisor Tom Ammiano's term will be complete and numerous candidates will be vying for his open seat).
As for LGBT representation at the state level, for all of our blue state status, we have six elected officials in the state, with Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) termed out this year (and a contested battle is ensuing to keep that seat LGBT), and three legislators termed out in two years (our own Assemblyman Mark Leno, D, as well as Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, and state Senator Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica). The replacements for those seats will all be hard-fought battles. And if the California LGBT Legislative Caucus loses one or two seats, we may lose caucus status, a large victory to acquire at the time, and very difficult to regain.
The importance of the Victory Fund becomes clearer when we realize that only 5 percent of our state legislators are LGBT (six of 120), and that number, instead of increasing, is at risk of decreasing in the next two years. The Victory Fund endorsements, and the significant national funding that those endorsements can generate, help LGBT candidates be successful and help our movement achieve its goals.
Supporting LGBT candidates goes beyond simple identity politics. LGBT candidates bring an experience, a spirit, and a personal understanding of what it means to be without equal rights. As empathetic and supportive as non-LGBT elected officials strive to be, and care to be, our experience is something that cannot be matched. But this is not an either/or scenario. We need to work at both levels. LGBT and LGBT-supportive candidates can work together on worker rights, housing rights, medical reform and, of course, domestic partner benefits and marriage rights. If we learned anything in the last election, we learned we need a broad coalition to keep the rights we have, and win the ones for which we are still fighting.
Beyond endorsing and helping to elect LGBT candidates across the nation, the Victory Fund's Leadership Institute provides an outstanding candidate training, teaching soon-to-be and current candidates how to be successful in their races. They also have created a twice-weekly LGBT online briefing, the Gay and Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief, which provides easy-to-read LGBT news from hundreds of national sources.
In addition, the Leadership Institute is launching a new initiative this year, "The Coming Out Project," to help candidates, and current elected officials, come out of the closet and still maintain their viability and/or their elected office.
Chuck Wolfe, the president of the Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, and his amazing staff, including political adviser Robin Brand, have brought renewed energy and integrity to the Victory Fund. The Victory Fund has doubled its support to candidates in the last few years, and has brought to victory almost 65 percent of its endorsed candidates.
Please check out the Victory Fund Web site (www.victoryfund.org). Be inspired while perusing the LGBT candidate and elected official bios, or apply to one of the Leadership Institute's candidate trainings (the next one is in June in Washington, D.C.). And while online, click on an endorsed candidate and give your financial support to Ken Yeager for Santa Clara Board of Supervisors or Elena Popp for Assembly (Jackie Goldberg's seat), or Jarret Barrios for district attorney in Middlesex, Massachusetts.
These local and state candidates are the next generation of LGBT leaders in the nation, and with the support of groups that focus on local and state politics, such as the Victory Fund, Equality California, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, these LGBT leaders will be at the forefront of our civil rights battles.
Laura Spanjian is a member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, a board member of the Victory Fund, and past co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club.