Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 10:11:34 -0800 (PST) From: Rex Wockner ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 12:00:09 -0500 From:VictoryF@aol.com Subject: Election Summary Press Release from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund 202-VICTORY / VICTORYF@AOL.COM +++++++Record Number of Victory Fund Candidates Triumph++++++++ Winning Slate Topped By The First Openly Gay Candidate Ever Elected to Statewide Office WASHINGTON, DC - 6 November 1996 - Twenty-one of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund's 32 openly gay candidates have won their November 5 races, with results of three races still pending (72% success rate). Among the winners, Victory Fund candidate Ed Flanagan has made history as the first openly gay person elected to a statewide office. Consistent with their tradition of fairness and tolerance, the people of Vermont elected Ed by a 10-point margin. "Every gay man and lesbian should feel great pride in what Ed Flanagan has accomplished for us," says Victory Fund Deputy Director Kathleen DeBold. "Thanks to this courageous man, our community has finally broken through the lavender ceiling which has kept qualified openly gay and lesbian candidates from winning statewide office." The 21 Victory Fund winners are: ++Ed Flanagan [D] for Vermont State Auditor ++Sabrina Sojourner [D] for D.C. Shadow Representative ++Diane Sands [D] for Montana State House ++David Parks [D] for Nevada State House ++Art Feltman [D] for Connecticut State House ++Larry McKeon [D] for Illinois State House ++Sheila Kuehl [D] for California State Assembly ++Carole Migden [D] for California State Assembly ++Chuck Carpenter [D] for Oregon State House ++George Eighmey [D] for Oregon State House ++Ken Cheuvront [D] for Arizona State House ++Deborah Glick [D] for New York State Assembly ++Mike Pisaturo [D] for Rhode Island State House ++Ed Murray for [D] Washington State House ++Leslie Katz for San Francisco Board of Supervisors ++Libby Cowan for Costa Mesa (CA) City Council ++Gary Miller for Robla (CA) School Board ++Juanita Owens for San Francisco School Board ++Paul Feinman [D] for New York Civil Court ++Sebastian Patti [D] for Cook County (IL) Court ++Eileen Rakower [D] for New York Civil Court This has been a record-breaking year for openly gay candidates. The Victory Fund entered this election with five wins from earlier this year, bringing the 1996 win total to a record- breaking 26 (The previous highest win total was 14 wins in 1994.) Our early winners are: ++San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kevin McCarthy (elected in March) ++Dane County (WI) Supervisor Scott McCormick (elected in March) ++Wilton Manors (FL) City Councilmember John Fiore (elected in March) ++Brooklyn (NY) School Board member Jill Harris (elected in May) ++Dade County (FL) Judge Mark King Leban (elected in September) Adding to the evening's victories, all of the Victory Fund alumni on yesterday's ballot were re-elected: ++Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin State Assembly) ++Tim Van Zandt (Missouri House of Representatives) ++Cynthia Wooten (Oregon House of Representatives) ++Ken Yeager (San Jose Community College Board) ++Glen Maxey (Texas House of Representatives) DeBold notes that this unprecedented success rate for openly gay candidates is especially significant in light of the recent rightwing backlash against the gains our community has made in the past few years. "Each of our candidates won two races last night," she says, "One against their opponents; the other against the distorted image of gay men and lesbians. These election results send a clear message that the extremist viewpoints that lead to hate campaigns and gaybaiting are out of step with mainstream America. Our openly gay candidates won because their -personal and community values are consistent with those of the average American family - values like hard work, responsibility, and respect for others." Although this unprecedented number of victories is evidence of the growing clout of the gay and lesbian community in the electoral arena, DeBold notes that electing openly gay and lesbian candidates means much more than just flexing our political muscle. "We don't live in a democracy, we live in a representative democracy. It matters tremendously who those representatives are -especially to the rights and equality of lesbian and gay youth, adults, seniors, couples, parents, taxpayers, and citizens everywhere. In addition, putting exemplary gay people in the public spotlight is one of the most effective ways of destroying the harmful stereotypes that keep us from achieving true equality." ***Summary of Victories For Our Community*** ++We broke through the "Lavender Ceiling" and elected the first openly gay official to statewide office. ++We added openly gay representatives to the state legislatures in Nevada, Connecticut, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington, and Illinois. Twenty openly gay and lesbian officials now serve in 15 state legislatures. ++By winning the U.S. Representative seat in the District of Columbia, Sabrina Sojourner has become the only openly lesbian African-American in elective office. ++Sebastian Patti garnered more than 1,100,000 votes in his race for the Cook County (IL) Court - the highest vote total of any openly gay elected official in history. ++The Victory Fund generated more than $400,000 for candidates in this election cycle. Since the Victory Fund was founded in May of 1991, our members have contributed more than $1.3 to qualified openly gay and lesbian candidates nationwide. [Editors: For biographies or photographs of these candidates, please contact Kathleen DeBold at (202) 842-679 or victoryf@aol.com.] -end-