2001 Elections a Win for Gays 
From Minneapolis to Miami Beach, from the Big Apple to Hot-lanta and bailiwicks in between, gay voters and politicians wonsignificant victories in the 2001 off-year elections. The victories for the pro-gay side in referenda in four of five municipalities were a welcome change from the past. And the elections of openly gay candidates and gay-friendly straights with substantial support from our community were impressive.

Voter Initiatives 
A year ago, gay voters woke up the day after the election to defeats in three of four statewide ballot initiatives on issues important to our community. We expected the losses in Nebraska and Nevada, but Maine’s rejection of its newly passed gay rights law was a shocker. Only in Oregon—where anti-gay initiatives mar the otherwise beautiful landscape—did our side prevail, albeit narrowly.

This year, the pro-gay side won in four of five communities where gay-related issues were on the ballot. In Michigan, where folks outside of Detroit and Ann Arbor can be pretty conservative, anti-gay initiatives went down to defeat in Kalamazoo by 46 percent to 54 percent, in Traverse City by 42 percent to 58 percent, and in Huntington Woods by 31 percent to 69 percent.

In Miami Beach, two measures providing domestic partnership benefits to unmarried couples who are city employees passed, one with 66 percent, the other with 69 percent. The last time voters in this area voted on a gay rights measure was in 1977, when Dade County voted to repeal its gay rights law by 69 percent to 31 percent.

The gay community suffered its only loss in Houston, a conservative city that voted to reject its domestic partnership law by a narrow 52 percent to 48 percent. It hurts a bit more because our side had the most money and the better organization. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that in 1985, Houston voters rejected civil rights protections for gay people by 81 percent to 19 percent.

Gay Candidates 
Gay people aren’t yet elected to public office commensurate with our numbers in the total population, but openly gay candidates are getting elected all across the country. The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, for example, endorsed 22 candidates—15 were elected and three more are in runoffs. Some highlights:

In Minneapolis, six of 10 openly gay candidates won election to city office. The 13-member city council now has three gay members, and three of the 14 citywide seats on the city’s independent boards are now held by gay people. Wally Swan, one of the city’s leading gay politicians, who was re-elected to the very important Board of Estimate and Taxation, called the victories “a great tribute to the acceptance of diversity by Minneapolis citizens.”

In Houston, lesbian Annise Parker won re-election to the city council, despite passage of an initiative banning domestic partnership benefits for unmarried couples. Parker got 51 percent in a race with two other candidates.

In Atlanta, lesbian City Councilwoman Cathy Woolard, a former field director for the Human Rights Campaign, won a spot in the November 27 runoff in a hard-fought race for city council president—the number two spot in the city’s government and a stepping-stone to the job of mayor. Woolard, who was elected to Atlanta’s city council in 1997 as the first openly gay person to hold elective office in the Peach State, now faces a tough race with Michael Julian Bond, another council member and the son of NAACP head and long-time civil rights leader Julian Bond. Woolard had 28 percent to Bond’s 33 percent in the nonpartisan primary, but she had $75,000 on hand following the first vote to Bond’s $45,000. In other races, three gay candidates won runoff spots for city council seats and one for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

Gay Organizations 
Gay political groups throughout the country and in Washing-ton have become experienced campaigners who cooperate with each other effectively. For example, Equality Michigan, a major Wolverine State gay political group, was instrumental in turning back the three anti-gay initiatives in that state. National gay groups also helped—the Human Rights Campaign donated funds, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force sent staff.

In this year’s two gubernatorial contests, gay groups were also very active. The Virginia Partisans Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club, an affiliate of the National Stonewall Democrats, mailed 10,000 brochures to identified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender households urging a vote for Mark Warner (D), who won a hard-fought contest with the GOP’s Mark Earley. In addition, National Stonewall Democrats provided volunteers for phone banks and voter canvassing and even sent a busload of gay volunteers to New Jersey to campaign for Jim McGreevey (D), who won the governor’s race in that state. There, as in Virginia, the GOP nominee, Bret Schundler, had been on record supporting anti-gay positions.

Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) stayed out of the gubernatorial races, but were very active in other campaigns. Their biggest winner was in New York City—LCR endorsed mayoral candidate Michael Bloomberg (R), who took gay-friendly stands (though he fumbled on same-sex marriage) and had prominent gay staffers in his campaign. Bloomberg narrowly defeated Democrat Mark Green in that race.

More Gay Gains in Recent Elections 
This year’s major gains for gay candidates were among the most impressive in recent years. Commenting on the breadth of gay political gains across the nation, Brian Bond, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, said, “It’s energizing, especially in places like Minneapolis and Atlanta, to see so many candidates stepping up to the plate.” And in remarks that apply to much of the nation as well as to Atlanta, Harry Knox of Georgia Equality, a leading gay rights group, says the results show “the political maturity of the gay community, not only in running, but in being successful.”

Here are some of the victories you may not have noticed, but that add to the gay community’s clout throughout the nation.

• In New York City, all three openly gay members of the Big Apple’s city council were re-elected—Margarita Lopez (D), Christine Quinn (D), and Phil Reed (D). In the mayoral election, where Michael Bloomberg (R) narrowly defeated Mark Green (D), exit polls showed gay voters accounted for 5 percent of the turnout. Some 62 percent of the gay voters were for Green, 32 percent were for Bloomberg, 2 percent for Alan Hevesi (on the Liberal Party line), and 4 percent for “other.” Bloomberg’s share of the gay vote was higher than the 25 percent that Republicans usually get. His policy positions were mostly pro-gay, but not as consistently as Green’s. For example, both candidates supported a domestic partners measure that would apply to city contractors, but Bloomberg endorsed an exception for religious organizations, while Green did not. Incidentally, Rich Tafel, executive director of the gay Log Cabin Republicans, was at the mayor-elect’s victory party.

• In Atlanta, five openly gay candidates are in November 27 runoffs. The gay runoff contenders include Cathy Woolard for city council president, Paul Zucca for an at-large council seat, Anne Fauver in District Six, and Malcolm Gideons in District One. Although Woolard came in second in the first vote, the outlook is favorable for her. One gay activist notes that on election night, the city’s seasoned political observers “were astounded at her vote and where it came from.” In particular, Woolard, who is white, was well-organized in both black and white neighborhoods, a political rarity in this race-conscious city. Fauver, who is running for Woolard’s old seat, is probably the favorite in her race. Zucca, who is well-financed and may get help from Mayor-elect Shirley Franklin, also has a shot, but has a hard fight ahead of him. Gideons also has a tough race, though he’s getting some runoff help from a former operative for Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

In addition to the municipal contests, gay activist Bob Whitelaw is in a runoff for a seat in the state legislature, but his straight opponent, Pat Gardner, got 45 percent in the first election—5 points shy of a majority, to Whitelaw’s 19 percent. In this race, Georgia Equality endorsed gay-friendly Gardner, not Whitelaw, who seems to have as many enemies as friends in the gay community, perhaps because of personality clashes.

Why the sudden explosion of successful gay candidates in the Georgia capital? “It’s part of the maturing of Atlanta and the metropolitan area,” says longtime gay activist Larry Pellegrini, with voters now willing “to look at credentials, look beyond orientation as an issue.” Pellegrini also notes that most of these candidates “have paid their dues in neighborhood activities” prior to running for office.

• In Minneapolis, post-election analysis has discovered that seven, not six, openly gay candidates won their races. Virginia Holte, a 74-year old retired librarian, won election to the Library Board. It turns out that Holte has been openly lesbian for years, but during the more or less quiet campaign, no one noticed.

• In northern Virginia’s Arlington County, the Old Dominion’s only openly gay officeholder, County Board member Jay Fisette (D), was re-elected by 61 percent to 39 percent. And in Virginia’s District 38, also in the cosmopolitan northern part of the state, openly gay Danny Smith (R) lost his bid for the House of Delegates, but made a respectable showing—37 percent to 59 percent. Of interest: Partisanship is thicker than sexual orientation. In Fisette’s race, the local Log Cabin Republicans endorsed his straight opponent, Michael Clancy, an independent. And in Smith’s race, the Virginia Partisans Gay and Lesbian Democrats helped raise money for his straight opponent, Delegate Robert Hull (D).

• Other gay candidates won noteworthy elections across the country. In Toledo, Ohio, Louis Escobar was re-elected to an at-large position on the Toledo city council. In Peekskill, N.Y., Bill Schmidt (R) was re-elected to an at-large council post. In Olympia, Wash., Curt Pavola, appointed to the council in 2000, was re-elected to a full term. In Carrboro, N.C., openly gay Mayor Michael Nelson won re-election by 67 percent to 33 percent over business consultant Stacy Smith. And in Allentown, Pa., Gail Hoover, a long-time gay and community activist, was elected at-large to the city council. (It ain’t all about gay rights—her platform stressed improving garbage collection and other city services.)