Often overlooked by mainstream media outlets when covering the 2026 race for California lieutenant governor, gay candidate Janelle Kellman is feeling buoyed by her recent endorsement from LPAC. The support of the political action committee that helps elect LGBTQ women and nonbinary candidates to office across the U.S. provides her access to its national network of donors and statewide volunteers.
LPAC Executive Director Janelle Perez called Kellman “a force of nature” in endorsing her this month. It is the first major LGBTQ political group to do so.
“She puts leadership into practice, advocating for those who face multiple forms of discrimination,” stated Perez. “Janelle Kellman has done it all – loudly, proudly, and boldly. We could not be more excited to endorse her candidacy for Lt. Governor of California.”
In a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Kellman noted having LPAC’s support “is huge” for her campaign. She officially got into the race in 2023.
“LPAC is a national-level entity that is really out in the forefront of advancing representation of LGBTQ-plus women and nonbinary people. It provides us with tremendous momentum and has really extended our reach outside of California,” said Kellman, 51, an environmental attorney who is the founder and CEO of nonprofit Center for Sea Rise Solutions. “We are super excited to have this partnership.”
Kellman, a former elected member of the Sausalito City Council, is expected to face a crowded field in next year’s June primary to determine the two candidates regardless of party affiliation who will appear on the 2026 November ballot due to current Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis term-limited from running again. Kounalakis (D) is running for governor in a race that is expected to be upended should former vice president Kamala Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, enter the gubernatorial race later this summer, as Governor Gavin Newsom is also term-limited from running again.
Harris doing so could push some of the stated Democratic gubernatorial candidates to elect to run for lieutenant governor. Polling of late has favored Harris in the governor’s race, though already declared candidates like former congressmember Katie Porter, who lost her 2024 bid for a U.S. senate seat, lesbian former state senator Toni Atkins of San Diego, and former state controller Betty Yee have said they plan to remain gubernatorial candidates no matter Harris’ decision.
However the lieutenant governor race shapes up in the coming months, Kellman told the B.A.R. she intends to remain a candidate. She argues she is uniquely qualified for the position, which is not only second-in-line to run California but also comes with seats on the powerful California Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, and the oversight bodies for the state's community colleges, four-year colleges, and university system.
“I am not going anywhere,” said Kellman. “This is my race to run and run it as hard as I can.”
And, she noted, “I am a new Democrat for a new California” compared to the Democratic Party insiders in the race.
Other candidates
Josh Fryday, 44, California's chief service officer in Newsom’s office, is the most recent person to jump into the lieutenant governor race. Also running are Democrat Michael Tubbs, 34, a former Newsom poverty adviser and Stockton mayor; state Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), 65; and state Treasurer Fiona Ma, 59, a former San Francisco supervisor who is termed out next year.
Kellman reported raising $109,674.50 in 2024 and had $18,675.80 in her campaign account as of January 1. Ma raised $1,621,585.75 last year and reported having $4,282,846.02 to spend on her campaign, while Tubbs netted $679,167.85 in 2024 and had $230,362.59 in his campaign account at the start of 2025. Bradford raised $247,137.96 in 2024 and had $597,688.01 in his account.
Ma has been positioning herself as the frontrunner in the contest, announcing in February endorsements from a majority of Assembly Democrats, including gay Assemblymembers Mark Gonzalez (Los Angeles), José Luis Solache Jr. (Lynwood), Corey Jackson, Ph.D. (Perris), and Chris Ward (San Diego). This month she was endorsed by 30 current and former mayors, such as former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, and current ceremonial El Cerrito Mayor Carolyn Wysinger, a lesbian elected city councilmember of the East Bay city.
"She has consistently fought for investments in housing, infrastructure, and small businesses while making sure cities have the tools they need to succeed. She’s the kind of leader we need in the Lieutenant Governor’s office – someone who listens, engages, and delivers real results for local communities,” Wysinger stated of Ma.
Last week, Tubbs picked up the endorsement of bisexual Assemblymember Sade Elhawary (D-South Los Angeles). Lesbian former U.S. senator Laphonza Butler (D-California) had endorsed him in February.
“Michael Tubbs has always been about how to do the most good for the most people,” stated Butler. “He has blazed trails on innovative policies like universal basic income to expand opportunity and prevent people from falling into homelessness. I’m proud to endorse his campaign and support his positive vision for the future of California.”
In the coming weeks Kellman has a host of events in the Bay Area to boost her profile with voters in the region and attract more support and contributions to her campaign. She will be in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood March 29 for a garden party fundraiser and in San Rafael the next day at a pizza party fundraiser. April 17 she will take part in a town hall event in Mill Valley.
“We are up and down the state doing as much fundraising and meet and greets as we can,” said Kellman, who plans to take part in Los Angeles’ Pride celebration on Sunday, June 8.
Gay Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who is termed out in 2026, formed a lieutenant governor campaign account where he has banked $102,018.22 but hasn’t formally announced he will seek the position. He was the first LGBTQ person to win statewide office in California with his election to a first term in 2018.
The first LGBTQ person believed to have held statewide office was Tony Miller, a gay man and Democratic lawyer who was appointed to the vacant secretary of state position in 1994. Miller, however, lost his bid that year for a full term in the position, and in 1998, he again came up short in his bid for lieutenant governor.
A resident of Sausalito since 2001, Kellman earned a B.A. in history from Yale and a master's in environmental management from Oxford. She graduated from Stanford Law and clerked for a judge in San Diego. She had her own private practice as a land use and environmental attorney then joined the Environmental Protection Agency working on water quality and species issues in its Region 9 office that includes California along with other western states.
Kellman also spent time at the Woodrow Wilson Center at the Smithsonian, focused on how issues like water scarcity and civil unrest impact national security. She has also worked in the private sector at firms focused on renewable energy.
She told the B.A.R. it is time California had “practical, common-sense governing,” and that is what she will bring to the role of lieutenant governor.
“It is time for a fresh face in California politics,” said Kellman.
To learn more about Kellman, and for information on how to RSVP to her upcoming campaign events, visit her website at janellekellman.com.
SF Dems head to Castro in June
In a rare instance of it conducting its business in a community setting, the San Francisco Democratic Party is heading to the Castro for its Pride Month meeting. The local party’s oversight body is set to meet June 25 at the LGBT Community Center.
The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the center located at 1800 Market Street. Plans call for there to also be accompanying service and social events, the details of which are still being worked out.
“Our meetings are typically held in a windowless basement in the State Building, so this is a welcome change,” DCCC fourth vice chair Emma Hare, who is bisexual, told the B.A.R.
More information about the party’s plans for the gathering ahead of the city’s annual Pride parade and festival set to take place June 28 and 29 will be posted to its website at sfdemocrats.org.
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on local LGBTQ Democrats ramping up support for more funding for Bay Area transit agencies.
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