Gay rapper
Cazwell lays it down
page 40
Mike Nelson wins bid
A
Thanksgiving
openly gay commish for Orange County
All about how to celebrate
page 12
page 29
Noted. Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & Views
Vol. 21 .Number 14 vsrww.q-notes.com November 18.2006
Julia Boseman wins reelection in New Hanover
N.C. State Senator one of 67 gay
candidates elected to federal, state
and local offices across U.S.
by Dennis Dison
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Campaigning was
dirty at times between incumbent State Sen.
■s'-*''*'
State Senator Julia Boseman (D-New
Hanover) won re-election by 11,000 votes.
Julia Boseman and challenger A1 Roseman,
but in the end, Boseman handily claimed vic
tory by more than 11,000 votes.
In an interview with the Wilmington Star,
Boseman said New Hanover County voters
chose her because of her work to improve
education, raising teacher salaries and drum
ming up funds for the University of North
Carolina in Wilmington.
“This election is not about me,” she said.
“It’s about what is important to this commu
nity.”
In conceding defeat, Roseman made no
mention of Boseman, but was quick to offer a
backhanded congratulations to The Gay &
Lesbian Victory Fund for their success.
In addition to Boseman, the Victory Fund
helped on the Nov. 7 election to bring an
unprecedented success in electing openly gay
candidates this year. Sixty-seven Victory-
endorsed candidates were elected to federal,
state and local offices, with some winning his
toric races that make them the first openly gay
or lesbian candidates ever elected in their
states or legislative bodies.
“This is the tipping point election for
openly gay candidates,” said Chuck Wolfe,
president and CEO of the Victory Fund. “We’re
proving that qualified, well-prepared candi
dates matched with committed donors means
gays and lesbians can move from having a
st^e in policy to actually making policy.
There’s no reason to sit on the sidelines with
our fingers crossed anymore.”
Additional wins nationwide:
• Patricia Todd, v/ho will represent District 54
in the Alabama State House. Todd is the first
openly gay person ever elected to any office
in the state.
• Kathy Webh, who will represent District 37 in
the Arkansas State House. Webb is the first
openly gay person ever elected to any office
in the state.
• Henry Fernandez, who won a seat on the
Lawrence Township School Board, making
him the first openly gay person ever elected
to any office in Indiana.
• Al McAffrey, who will represent District 88 in
the Oklahoma State House. McAffrey is the
first openly gay person ever elected to the
Oklahoma state legislature.
• Jolie Justus, who will represent District 10 in
the Missouri State Senate. Justus is the first
openly gay state senator in Missouri history.
• Ed Murray, who will represent District 43 in
the Washington State Senate. Murray, a for
mer state representative, is the first openly
gay state senator in Washington history.
• Matt McCoy, who becomes the first openly
gay candidate ever elected to the Iowa legis
lature. McCoy, a sitting state senator, came
out during his last term.
• Ken Kecchl, who won a seat on the Broward
County Commission in Florida, beating an
appointee of Gov. Jeb Bush.
• Jamie Pedersen, who becomes the third con
secutive openly gay person to be elected to
represent District 43 in the Washington State
House.
• Judge Virginia Linder mil pin Rives Kistler
on the Oregon Supreme Court, making it the
first state ever to have nvo openly gay
Supreme Court Justices, according to prelim
inary results.
Key statistics about
Victory-endorsed
candiaates in 2006
• Total Victory-endorsed candidates: 88 (55
non-incumbents, 33 incumbents)
• Total Victory-endorsed winners: 67
• Total Victory-endorsed winners running as
openly LGBT for the first time: 37
> Percent of Victory Fund bundled money
spent on non-incumbent candidates: 80 per
cent
• Percent of Victory Fund PAC money spent on
non-incumbent candidates: 91 percent
• States that elected their first-ever openly
LGBT officials: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana
• States that elected their first-ever openly
LGBT state legislators: Alabama, Arkansas,
Oklahoma
■ Seven states that still have no openly LGBT
elected officials at any level of government:
Alaska, Louisiana, North Dakota, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West
Virginia
• Thirteen additional states that still have no
openly LGBT state legislators: Delaware,
Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi,
Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Wyoming I
Arizona’s voters reject
so-called ‘Protect Marriage
Amendment’
Since 1966
Mid-western state becomes first to
defeat such an amendment
by Stacia Schacherer
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The Nov. 8 ballot count
resulting in the defeat of Prop. 107 marks a
significant day for Arizona’s families. With 97
percent of precincts reporting. Prop. 107 was
trailing by nearly three percent, which
includes comfortable, margins in the state’s
two largest communities, Phoenix and Tucson.
The results elated campaign leaders, volun
teers and supporters.
“First and foremost. I’m exceptionally
proud to be an Arizonan. This outcome speaks
volumes about Arizona’s commitment to fami
lies,” said Kyrsten Sinema, chair of Arizona
Together. “Arizona voters saw through Prop.
107s rhetoric and knew that the intent of 107
was to take away domestic partner benefits
from thousands of Arizona families,” contin
ued Sinema.
“Clearly, Arizona’s voters took the time to
do their homework regarding Prop. i07,” said
Steve May, campaign treasurer for Arizona
Together. “We knew all along that once voters
were informed about the true impact of Prop.
107 they would oppose this hurtful initiative.
They made the right decision.”
Arizona Together campaign chairs credit
research, truth, discipline and staffing for their
win, “We exposed the Prop. 107 ballot lan
guage to identify exactly what impact it would
have on Arizona residents. After that, we spoke
to real people that would be directly impacted
and told their stories to the public,”
continued
Sinema.
“Once we
discovered
the truth
about the
initiative —
that if passed
it would take
away impor
tant benefits
from fami
lies — we
worked non
stop to get
this impor
tant infor
mation out
‘This outcome speaks vol
umes about Arizona’s com
mitment to families.’
— Kyrsten Sinema,
chair of Arizona Together
see amendment on 19
Anti-gay amendment
passes in SX.
[VOTE NOI
wmti r
Despite efforts, measure passes by over
70 percent. See page 16 for news story.
N.C. high school gets GSA
page 5
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talktCMkw
No more Santorum
page 9