Victory in the News

Harvey Milk Has An Important Place In History, But He’s Not The First.

Harvey Milk is often lauded as the first openly gay elected official in America – and he’s certainly an important and historical figure – but the claim that he was the first is false.  In fact, Harvey was the fifth openly gay elected official in the U.S.  Ann Arbor’s Kathy Kozachenko was actually the first, just 3 years before Harvey.

The Victory Fund’s Gay Politics Blog has more on the four openly gay elected officials that preceded the famous Mr. Milk.

Tammy Baldwin eyes Senate run

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s office is, thus far, silent on whether the openly gay legislator might make a bid for the U.S. Senate. But buzz about that possibility is hot, particularly within the LGBT community because, if successful, Baldwin would become the first openly gay person to serve in the U.S. Senate.

“This would obviously be a top priority for us,” said Victory Fund president Chuck Wolfe, according to the website. “This would be a remarkable milestone for LGBT Americans. Congresswoman Baldwin is one of the most admired public officials I know. She would have the strong support of those who want to see our economy work for all Americans, and who believe that all voices deserve a place at the table.”

The Victory Fund even launched a petition where people can “tell Tammy Baldwin we need her voice in the Senate.” Sign it by going here.

Our First Openly Gay U.S. Senator?

Openly gay Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is reportedly mulling a run to replace the retiring Sen. Herb Kohl, who leaves office in 2012. If successful, Baldwin would become the first openly gay U.S. Senator in history. The Victory Fund is already promising Baldwin their full support.

Victory Fund: Sources Say Tammy Baldwin "Very Likely" To Run For Kohl's Senate Seat

The news of the retirement of Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) has set off a flurry of speculation about the House's only out lesbian, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and whether she would run fr the seat. Although other possible names include former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), the Victory Fund's Denis Dison told Metro Weekly that sources close to Baldwin have said she is likely to run.

The Victory Fund then posted the following:

Sources close to Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., have told the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund she is very likely to run for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Sen. Herb Kohl, who has decided not to run for reelection in 2012. If Baldwin runs and wins, she would become the nation’s first openly LGBT member of the U.S. senate.

Tammy Baldwin Will 'Very Likely' Run for Senate; Would Be First Openly Gay Senator

Sources close to Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., have told the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund she is very likely to run for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Sen. Herb Kohl, who has decided not to run for reelection in 2012.  If Baldwin runs and wins, she would become the nation’s first openly LGBT member of the U.S. senate.

“This would obviously be a top priority for us.  Tammy Baldwin has been an outstanding congresswoman, and she’d be an outstanding senator,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which has endorsed Baldwin repeatedly.  In 1998, when Baldwin became the first openly LGBT candidate to win election to the U.S. Congress as a freshman, the Victory Fund raised nearly a quarter million dollars for her campaign.

Baldwin For Senate?

The opportunity for Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to become a U.S. senator in the wake of an announcement that a Senate seat will be open in 2012 to represent Wisconsin has LGBT advocates pushing her to pursue higher office.

In a statement, Chuck Wolfe, president of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said Baldwin’s run for U.S. Senate would be a “top priority” for his organization.“ This would be a remarkable milestone for LGBT Americans,” Wolfe said. “Congresswoman Baldwin is one of the most admired public officials I know. She would have the strong support of those who want to see our economy work for all Americans, and who believe that all voices deserve a place at the table.”

Gay California Mayor Seeks U.S. House Seat

A gay Republican from California could become the first person in a same-sex marriage elected to Congress if he wins a U.S. House seat in an upcoming special election.

Mike Gin, who’s served as mayor of Redondo Beach, Calif., since 2005, said economic and education issues would be his priorities if elected to Congress, but he would welcome any benefit that his visibility as a gay member of Congress in a same-sex marriage would impart to LGBT youth.

Gin said he’s pursuing an endorsement from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. Denis Dison, a Victory Fund spokesperson, said he couldn’t comment on candidates that his organization has yet to endorse. The Victory Fund has endorsed Gin in his previous runs for political office as mayor of Redondo Beach.

Denver Lesbian Wins City Council Race

Out politician Robin Kniech will become the first openly LGBT member of Denver’s city council.

“I ran to work for all Denver families,” Kniech said Tuesday, “but I know this is a meaningful day for our LGBT community. We were happy to earn so many important endorsements, but I’m especially grateful to the Victory Fund for everything they did for our campaign.”

Victory Fund president and CEO Chuck Wolfe hailed Kniech’s election as an “important milestone for the city.

Indiana's First Openly Gay Politician?

Congratulations to Indianapolis activist Zach Adamson on winning yesterday's primary race to be one of four official Democrat candidates for the Indianapolis City-County Council. Zach has been an incredible force in Indianapolis democratic politics. He's put in countless hours working on other campaigns, supporting many different progressive causes, and working to better the eastside of Indianapolis.

Zach is a member of the Stonewall Democrats and has been endorsed by the Victory Fund.

Ortega, Kniech leaders in Council at-large race

Former councilwoman Debbie Ortega, who represented District 9 for 16 years before stepping aside because of term limits, returned to the council Tuesday night by winning one of two at-large City Council seats.

Newcomer Robin Kniech appeared to edge out former Denver fire chief Rich Gonzales and Josh Davies for the second seat.

Denis Dison, a spokesman for the Washington-based Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which endorsed Kniech, said there hasn't been an openly gay or lesbian Denver City Council member, according to the group's research.

Log Cabin Republicans share the Hilton Anatole with the right-wing Heritage Foundation

Kittleman followed the first openly gay man to run for lieutenant governor, Richard Tisei of Massachusetts, who was introduced by Chuck Wolfe of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. Tisei, a former state senator who lost his bid for lieutenant governor in November, noted that three of the four Massachusetts Supreme Court justices who voted to legalize same-sex marriage were appointed by Republican governors.

Experts: Judge's sexual orientation is non-issue

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a political action committee and recruitment organization for gay politicians, said there are now 102 openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender judges in the U.S.

Gabrielle Giffords' intern savior Daniel Hernandez takes a Houston Victory lap

It was the Victory Fund, an organization that works to elect LGBT leaders to public office, that helped propel Mayor Annise Parker to her current post as head of Houston. Now celebrating its 20th year, the organization held a celebratory champagne brunch in the hallowed halls of The Corinthian downtown on Sunday.

Serving as event honoree was Daniel Hernandez, Jr., the lauded intern to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who ran to the congreswoman's side after she fell from a gunshot to the head during the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson.

Introducing Hernandez at Sunday's event was Christine Quinn, speaker of the New York City Council and prospective candidate for New York City mayor. Also offering celebratory addresses were Mayor Annise Parker and Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island.

The modest, 21-year-old Hernandez, whose previous experience includes volunteering for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, claims his race to Giffords' collapsed body was an automatic reaction, not an act of bravery. Calling upon skills learned during a certified nurses' assisting program, he prevented Giffords from choking on her own blood while stanching the bleeding with his hand. The intern held his mentor's hand and told her that he would get ahold of her family.

"People have stopped me on the street," he told CultureMap of his new hero status. Nevertheless, he's not letting the fanfare detract from his goals as a junior at the University of Arizona.

Because of his compact schedule in Houston, Hernandez did not make it by to visit Giffords at TIRR Memorial Hermann, He left the brunch directly for the airport to return to Tucson and prepare for an election on Thursday, where he is running for  student body president.
More than an ambitious intern with a knack for first aid, Hernandez works actively as an advocate for higher education in his home state. "I've lived in Arizona my whole life, so I'm kind of used to working in that red state system," he said.

While not studying, interning or campaigning for the student government, Hernandez works with the non-profit Arizona Students' Association, rallying support for higher education.

"I'm up at the state capitol interacting with legislators on a pretty regular basis, so I can work on issues that may not get a lot of traction in the red state of Arizona, such as the importance of investing in higher education," Hernandez said.

Confronted with countless requests for public appearances, Hernandez has quickly learned how to pick and choose which events to attend.
I want to make sure the only ones I do are things that I believe in — things like the Victory Fund, which encourages LGBT people who are eligible to run for office. It's something that I'm very excited about, because I've been working for years trying to get gay people to become more engaged civically and become more involved in public service. The Victory Fund trains people for office, endorses them and helps them with their campaign."

As for his political goals following graduation, Hernandez said, "Right now, I just want to get through the next year and a half," citing his decision to take summer courses to compensate for classes dropped this semester because of the Giffords tragedy.
Concluded the overwhelmingly composed college student, "I act like a 40-year-old sometimes, but I'm still only 21, so I still have a lot of time to think about what I want to do in the future."

Intern Of Gabrielle Giffords Honored At Houston Reception

Daniel Hernandez, the intern who helped save Gabrielle Giffords's life when she was shot in Tucson, was honored at a reception in Houston on Sunday. Hasti Taghi reports.

Giffords' intern Hernandez honored in Houston

Some call him the hero of the January 8 shooting, and Sunday Daniel Hernandez was honored at a special brunch in Houston.

Hernandez, an intern to Gabriel Giffords, gave first aid to the congresswoman after she was shot in January, helping save her life.

Sunday he talked about how her recovery is progressing.

"She's doing remarkably well considering what happened.  And you know what, you'll be able to ask her how she's doing, sooner rather than later, because she's just been doing extremely well," said Hernandez.

The "Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund" held Sunday's event.  The group promotes politicians like Giffords who support gay rights.

Chi. Elects 2nd Gay Alderman

Windy City Times reports that some of the campaign materials distributed by Phelan were perceived as homophobic. One flier claimed Cappleman would address crime in the ward through “anger management classes and flowers,” plus “planters, public art, decorative pedestrian lightposts and streetscaping.”
 
“Never believe that you can’t change politics as usual. You can, and we have,” Cappleman told supporters Tuesday night, according to GayPolitics.com. He also thanked the Gay and Lesbian Victory fund for its assistance. Victory Fund president and CEO Chuck Wolfe said LGBT Chicagoans have “gained another authentic voice on their city council, but more than that, they’ve gained a real fighter.”
 
Cappleman, who ran unsuccessfully for city council in 2007, will represent Chicago’s diverse 46th ward, a north lakefront area that includes portions of Boystown and Andersonville, both heavily LGBT enclaves, as well as Uptown, historically a magnet for recent immigrants. It is just north of the 44th ward, which encompasses much of Boystown and is represented by the city’s other openly gay alderman, restaurateur Tom Tunney, who won a third term in February with no opposition.

Gay Hill staffer remembered for humor, dedication

The booming voice of Katy Perry accompanying a techno-dance beat of her song “Firework” jolted Kyle Murphy from sleep a couple months ago at 3 a.m.

Curious about the disturbance, Murphy arose from bed to find his best friend and roommate Christopher Crowe dancing on top of their kitchen island.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Murphy said. “He had brought some friends home and the first thing I saw was him standing on the island in our kitchen dancing to Katy Perry. He was kind of the life of the party.”

For Murphy, who had known Crowe for more than five years since they interned together at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, the memory represents Crowe’s over-the-top personality and willingness to go to great lengths to entertain others.

“Somebody had collected some quotes he used to say in his office, and one of them was ‘I say ‘no’ to drugs, and that’s it,’” Murphy said. “And that kind of, I felt like, summed up his personality.”

Crowe died last week at the Washington Hospital Center from a staph infection that damaged his heart after he contracted meningitis last summer.

Crowe, 29, who was gay, served as president of the LGBT Congressional Staff Association and as a staffer for Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). The death of the Kentucky native struck many Capitol Hill staffers and LGBT advocates with grief and prompted fond recollections of his life this week.

Johnson issued a statement expressing sorrow over the loss of her longtime staffer and sympathy for his family and loved ones.

“He was respected by his colleagues for his professionalism; he was beloved by many for his generous spirit and good humor,” Johnson said. “He was a person who enjoyed life and always had a smile to share. He never met a stranger.”

Many friends who worked with him on Capitol Hill and in LGBT advocacy had similar recollections of Crowe’s outgoing personality, which they said enabled him to make fast friends.

Marcus Paulsen, who’s gay and an administrative coordinator for the nonprofit group Community Wealth Ventures, said Crowe had a unique way of making others feel at ease.

“He was always laughing, and it didn’t matter if you told the dumbest joke,” Paulsen said. “He always would find it funny and could find something hysterical about it.”

A Dallas native, Paulsen said Crowe helped him obtain a position as an intern, and later a staffer, in Johnson’s office, where the two worked together for a year-and-a-half.

Paulsen recalled a time in December 2009 when he and Crowe participated in a retreat for staffers in Johnson’s office in Texas. Identifying the experience as one of his fondest memories of Crowe, Paulsen said people he knew from his home state easily made friends with Crowe.

“For me, it was kind of two worlds coming together: my D.C. life and my Texas life,” Paulsen said. “I wasn’t really sure how people would react to some of my D.C. friends and Chris, but he just had this way of becoming really close with people and everybody just absolutely adored him.”

Jason Mida, the Victory Fund’s vice president of development, knew Crowe from his days as an intern at the organization in 2005 and said Crowe had a unique way of drawing others to him.

“It didn’t matter who you were, it didn’t matter what your political affiliation was,” said Mida, who’s gay. “People were drawn to Chris. He was a ball of life and people wanted to be around him because you just felt better. You felt better about yourself; you felt better about things in general when he was around.”

Scott Simpson, press secretary of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, knew Crowe from working together on the LGBT Congressional Staff Association and said he admired the confidence that gave Crowe the ability to speak with anyone.

“He had an ease about dealing with any range of people,” Simpson said. “Chris wouldn’t think twice about calling up the highest-level person in an agency or to the lowest-level person.”

Simpson said Crowe’s care for others enabled him to stay engaged with friends even as he struggled with meningitis for several months.

“This was a man who was in the emergency room,” Simpson said. “He was sending e-mails, text messages, asking how things are going, asking if he can help. If you didn’t know that Chris was sick, if you weren’t informed about it, people never knew.”

While always eager to have a good time with others, Crowe was also known among his friends as a passionate worker in both legislative affairs and LGBT advocacy.

Murphy, a communications specialist for the National Minority AIDS Council, recalled that Crowe’s dedication enabled him to rise quickly to become a high-level staffer for Johnson and to get elected as president of LGBT Congressional Staff Association.

“Everything that I heard about him was that he was amazing — not the greatest writer — but he had dyslexia, but he worked through that very well and didn’t let anything hold him back,” Murphy said.

Simpson recalled his days as president of the LGBT Congressional Staff Association before he left Capitol Hill when Crowe served as his deputy. The two worked on recreating the association after it had long been dormant.

Even though their work in recreating the association involved activity on rewriting bylaws and other less-than-exciting tasks, Crowe found ways to make the work enjoyable.

“Chris made people come to these meetings and actually enjoy themselves and actually laugh,” Simpson said. “He understood that in order to commit people to make change, they had to have a good time and that, I believe, was his secret weapon.”

As evidence of Crowe’s jovial personality, Simpson noted that Crowe would only refer to him as “Girl!” during the course of their work together. Simpson joked that he didn’t know if Crowe actually knew his name.

In his days as a Victory Fund intern, Mida said Crowe was dedicated and passionate about LGBT advocacy. He took a personal interest in working to elect Vivian Paige, a lesbian who ran in 2005 for city treasurer in Norfolk, Va.

“I remember how visibly upset he was when Vivian lost that night,” Mida said. “We’d only been there a few days, but he was so invested. I think that across the board —whether it was his work and whether it was relationships with folks — he immediately became invested in folks, and as a result, people were invested in him.”

Among the activities that friends cited as Crowe’s favorite was travel. In his work on foreign affairs issues for Johnson, Crowe would often take opportunities to go abroad as part of his work as a congressional staffer.

Murphy recalled that Crowe traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as part of his work for Johnson, which Murphy said gave Crowe “a travel bug.”

Among the trips that Murphy took with Crowe was an expedition with him and his mother on a Key West cruise in 2009.

“We were both redheads and so we just kind of looked like brothers, so we just starting telling everybody that we were brothers from that cruise ship on — and I referred to his mom as ‘Mama,’” Murphy said.

Murphy recalled that he and Crowe went to Peru in 2008 and Crowe traveled with other friends to Bangkok and Hong Kong. Before Crowe’s death, Murphy said his friend had asked him to put together another trip together.

But dreams for travel and ambitions for further work on LGBT issues and politics were cut short. Murphy, who was present at the hospital where Crowe died, was the first of his friends to know.

“His mom had called me and was kind of frantic telling me the doctors had come out of the operating room saying they didn’t know if he was going to make it, so I rushed to the hospital,” Murphy said. “By the time I got there, he had passed.”

Murphy said in the operating waiting room he encountered Crowe’s mother, who was crying and at first unable to speak, but then said, “We lost him.” Murphy said the news was devastating, but he took on the responsibility of sending e-mails to Crowe’s friends and fellow Hill staffers to inform them.

Paulsen was one of the recipients of the e-mails and, in a state of shock, said he immediately left work upon hearing the news.

“I walked all the way over to Chris’ apartment to be with his roommate and family,” Paulsen said. “At first I couldn’t process it, but it was just very sad.”

Another e-mail recipient, Simpson said Crowe’s death came as a surprise because those who knew him thought he could just “smile through” his disease to become healthy.

“It didn’t seem real,” Simpson said. “I knew that Chris was sick, but it was never always clear that it would be this bad.”

Simpson observed that deaths at a young age are relatively uncommon in the younger generation of gay men — unlike what older gay men faced during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and early ’90s.

“We’re not used to death,” Simpson said. “He was the first of my peers to pass on. If you talk to gay men who are in their 40s and 50s, they had peers pass away all the time. That was one of those moments that I started to understand that this was just a hint of what gay men who were around in the ’80s were going through.”

Still, the memory of Crowe and his sparkling personality remain an inspiration for those who knew him.

Paulsen said he would always remember Crowe’s ability to find greater potential in others.

“He found some talents in me when we worked together and he made sure to always bring those up to the congresswoman or the chief of staff,” Paulsen said. “I think that’s what I’ll take from him — to try to make sure I see these things that might not be visible to everybody else and make sure that they’re aware of some of their talents.”

Murphy, who said he’s often a wallflower in social situations or nervous around guys he likes, expressed admiration for what he said was Crowe’s ability to embrace every situation head on and would try to emulate that approach to life.

“I think that’s something we and all of his friends really appreciated and his family, too,” Murphy said. “It’s something we’ll all probably try to live up to.”

For Simpson, Crowe’s memory inspires him to be proud of who he is and helps him stay grounded.

“Chris was aware of who he was and he fucking loved it, and played it up,” Simpson said. “Chris just knew that you have to be OK with who you are, but you have to be not just OK with it, but you have to own it and love it.”

A memorial service for Crowe is set to take place on Thursday at 12 pm in Room LJ-119 in the Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress. The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and the LGBT Congressional Staff Association are hosting the event. House chaplain Rev. Daniel Coughlin is set to officiate over the service.

Chicago has another openly gay alderman

Congrats to Alderman-elect James Cappleman. From the Victory Fund:

James Cappleman has won a runoff election Tuesday to represent the 46th Ward on the Chicago City Council. Cappleman will become Chicago’s second openly gay alderman on a city council of 50 members.

“This victory is about the future of Chicago and the future of the 46th Ward and all who live here. We set out to change our community, and I’m so grateful that the Victory Fund stood with us and helped us do that. Never believe that you can’t change politics as usual. You can, and we have,” said Cappleman, who celebrated his win Tuesday night.

Openly-gay candidate James Cappleman wins Chicago's 46th ward

Cappleman will become the second openly-gay alderman for the City of Chicago, joining the 44th ward's Tom Tunney.

Cappleman received the endorsement of 48th ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith, the LGBT advocacy organizations Equality Illinois and Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and a number of high-profile Democrats including Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Heather Steans and State Rep. Deb Mell.

Cohen's campaign victories

Sherrie Cohen just hit the trifecta of elections. The community organizer and LGBT candidate for City Council-at-Large just learned that she is one of only two Pennsylvania candidates who has been endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund; the other is Bruce Kraus, who is running for reelection to Pittsburgh City Council. Not only has Victory Fund endorsed Cohen’s candidacy, she is one of its “focus” candidates.

So if, like me, at first you didn’t believe that Cohen’s chances were good, it might be time to sit up and take note of her campaign, since it is about as hot as a campaign can get.

The Victory Fund is a national LGBT organization that works with out candidates to get them elected. Endorsement brings both funds and organizational support along with it. It is also a seal that says, “We believe this person is in a good place to win.”

As the Victory Fund itself stated, “Sherrie Cohen was endorsed by the Victory Fund Saturday at a meeting of our Victory Campaign Board. She’s among our “Focus Candidates” ... as with all of the Victory Fund’s endorsements, the board’s decision to endorse means Cohen meets our endorsement criteria, among which is a requirement that the candidate must be deemed viable in the race.”

And the Victory Fund knows what it is doing: After all, this year the Victory Fund is celebrating 20 years of helping to elect openly LGBT candidates to public office. Since its founding, the number of out elected officials serving in the United States has gone from 49 to more than 400.

As to that trifecta. Cohen filed more signatures than any other citywide candidate from both parties for an at-large seat — and it’s a big field of more than 60 candidates in both Democrat and Republican parties. In the first financial filing of the campaign season, her campaign had raised more funds than any other candidate for an at-large seat. And, finally, she drew a top ballot spot. This campaign is really on a roll.

But let’s save the final word for the Victory Fund.

“It’s important to have authentic LGBT voices in government. People like Sherrie, who have the courage to step up and run for office while being open and honest about themselves, are making sure our community has a place at the table.”