Victory in the News

White House close to naming new LGBT liaison

The White House is close to naming its new LGBT liaison and has already designated an official within the Obama administration for the role, the Washington Blade has learned.

A number of individuals within the administration who identify as LGBT could be candidates for the position. According to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, more than 200 LGBT people have been appointed to serve in the Obama administration, and more than 25 of those were nominated for Senate-confirmable positions.

Charlotte Could Elect First LGBT Councilmember

LaWana Mayfield, an out lesbian, is running in the Democratic primary to become the first openly LGBT member of the City Council in Charlotte, N.C.

Gay candidates gain acceptance

Sweeping changes in public attitudes toward sexual orientation have led to fundamental realignments this year in everything from the military, where gays now can serve openly, to marriage. Sunday, New York will become the sixth and largest state to permit same-sex marriages.

In politics, the number of gay men and lesbians running for public office and winning has begun to increase significantly, although gay candidates, especially in more conservative areas, continue to face skepticism and opposition from some voters.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund calculates that 107 openly gay candidates were elected to office nationwide in 2010, an increase of one-third from 2008 and nearly threefold the number of a decade earlier. The political action committee projects another significant jump in 2012.

Michigan sees more openly gay politicians

Though Michigan continues to lack many legislative victories that are seen as important by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, the state is also seeing the rise of more openly gay elected officials on the local levels.

In 2008, Detroit saw the election of Charles Pugh as Detroit City Council president, making him the first openly gay black man to hold such a post in the country. Ferndale resident Craig Covey became the state’s first openly gay mayor and has since moved to the Oakland County Commission. In Lansing, City Clerk Chris Swope was elected to the Ingham County Commission, then moved into the clerkship.

But this year, the noise on openly gay candidates is reaching new levels. The Advocate, a national LGBT magazine, released a story highlighting five of the country’s up and coming gay politicos. On that list is Rory Neuner, a candidate for a Lansing City Council at-large seat. Neuner’s star is rising fast, and in the capitol city she has created a campaign message around attracting and keeping the high school and college graduates in the area.

There are at least two other openly gay candidates running in Lansing City Council races, and Denis Dison, spokesperson for The Victory Fund, a D.C. based political organization that works with out gay candidates seeking offices across the country, says this is a new trend.

“Last year the Victory Fund endorsed 164 openly LGBT candidates for public office — our largest slate ever. That’s one indication that, indeed, more and more out community leaders are beginning to see public service as a viable career path,” says Dison. “You see that long track record of service and community involvement in a candidate like Rory Neuner, who’s now running for the Lansing City Council. I think in many places LGBT people no longer feel limited to non-elected public service. So we’re beginning to see a lot more who are interested in taking that next step.”

Gay Man Elected Utah Democratic Party Chair

Democrats in Utah elected Jim Dabakis as state party chairman on Saturday, making him the first openly gay person to hold the position.

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund reports on the win for Dabakis, a founder of Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center. An art dealer, he defeated candidate Robert Comstock by a wide margin of 528 to 71.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Dabakis said his priority would be to win races for Democrats across Utah. He also said he wanted to let Republicans, independents and Latter-Day Saints know they are welcome in the Democratic Party.