Friday November 17, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 46 |
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Saturday, Jul 05, 2008
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No longer a liability: Gay, Gay friendly candidates win election |
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| No longer a liability: Gay, Gay friendly candidates win election | ||
| "The electorate is very fair minded and very supportive of LGBT civil rights," said ERW's Josh Friedes.
by Robert Raketty -
SGN Staff Writer Its been over a decade since an only Gay candidate has served in the state Senate. Now, a second will follow in his footsteps. Ed Murray won election to the Senate after an 11 year career in the state House of Representatives. "The Senate has always been more difficult for us and our issues. So, I expect it to be more of challenge. That is why I wanted to go," said Murray. "We have only had one member of our community elected to the Senate. That was 11 years ago. So, I think it will help. I hope it will make a difference." Before being appointed to the Senate and, later, winning reelection, the late Cal Anderson had served in the state House. Murray had been appointed to the House after his death. On election night, Jamie Pedersen became the third openly Gay man to represent the 43rd Legislative District in the House. "The nice thing is that Ed is not leaving us in an untimely way; the way Cal did. So, I am really looking forward to learning from him and working along side him," said Pedersen. "I think that we will be a great alliance for the 43rd District generally and, also, for the Gay and Lesbian community." Pedersen is a partner at the Seattle law firm of Preston Gates Ellis, where he practices business law. However, he is best known for his work as a lead attorney in a landmark challenge to Washington's ban on marriage for same-sex couples. A recent Washington State Supreme Court ruling upheld the 1998 law. Three other openly Gay legislators, State Reps. Joe McDermott, Jim Moeller and Dave Upthegrove won reelection and will join them in Legislature. Although four of the five faced challengers in their respective races, they won decisive electoral victories over their opponents. "We have been working together very well and I look forward to coming into the session ready to take on our community's issues," said McDermott. "The four of us and Jamie Pedersen have already sat down to talk about what we would bring forward and how we would do that. We have had some great conversations." Pedersen agreed. "In the last couple weeks, I have been meeting with Joe, Jim, Ed and Dave and members of the House and Senate leadership. I feel really confident that we are going to start making some real progress for equality for Gay and Lesbian people," he said. They will be joined by six new Democratic members of the Senate and seven in the House. "The election cycle went better than anyone could have possibly imagined," said Josh Friedes, advocacy director for Equal Rights Washington. "While ERW is, of course, a nonpartisan organization and we work with all parties - Democrats or Republicans - the bottom line is that it has been the Democratic Party that ahs been moving forward on [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] civil rights issues." According to Friedes, the ERW Political Action Committee spent $125,000 in support of electing equality minded candidates. The organization also partnered with campaigns and other organizations to turn out supporters of LGBT civil rights on election day. "I am very proud of the work that Equal Rights Washington and what other LGBT organizations did and what LGBT individuals did in support of equality candidates," added Friedes. Legislative candidates were not the only ones to benefit from strong support from the region's LGBT community. Well financed special interests had sought to unseat three Supreme Court justices who had a track record of support on LGBT issues, including two who had ruled to overturn a state law barring same-sex couples from marriage. "I want to thank everyone in the Gay and Lesbian community and in the transsexual community for all their help," said Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens. "I know they helped immensely, they gave handsomely, and phone called for me. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart." Likewise, Lesbian City Councilmember Sally Clark won election to her seat, after having been appointed to the Council last January. "I feel like we did a smart campaign. I feel like we are working on things that people are actually interested in: civility, good neighborhoods, healthcare and affordability. ... The people I have talked to are interested in that and am satisfied that we are making some progress; making changes. I am hoping I get the chance to do more of that in the next year," she said. Friedes sees the outcome of the Noveber 7th election as a hopeful sign of how far support for the LGBT community has come. "The electorate is very fair minded and very supportive of LGBT civil rights," he said. "Those justices who supported marriage equality through the writing of a strong dissent in the Anderson decision were rewarded with reelection. ... When we look at the November election, what we see is that - in district after district - legislators who voted against the anti-discrimination law were turned out by their constituents." |
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