Openly LGBT Candidates Win Elections Across the Country
November 4, 2009 by Amanda Morgan, GLAAD's Digital Initiatives Fellow
While Maine was a setback in the fight for equality, around the country local elections yielded encouraging results. A majority of the 79 LGBT candidates endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund were elected to public office. At press time, 49 of the candidates won their races and 6 more are unfinished. Watch the election scorecard on the Victory Fund’s website for updates.
Important gains include:
- Charles Pugh of Detroit, Michigan became the first openly gay city councilor on the Detroit City Council.
- Steve Kornell of St. Petersburg, Florida became the first openly gay councilmember on the St. Petersburg City Council.
- Mark Kleinschmidt, two-term councilman, death penalty defense lawyer and gay rights activist, who is openly gay himself, was elected mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
- Annise Parker, Houston City Controller, finished first in the race for Mayor of Houston, Texas. Parker will face former city attorney Gene Locke, who finished second, in a December run-off election. If Parker is elected, she will become the first openly gay mayor of a major American city.
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