News
2006-01-06
Victory Fund
lauds new roles for gay and lesbian lawmakers
Gay and lesbian
lawmakers take key roles in New York and New Jersey
The Gay and
Lesbian V
The Gay and
Lesbian Victory Fund on Thursday cited three openly gay
legislators in New York and New Jersey who have been elected
to leadership roles in their respective legislative bodies.
“These outstanding officials are a
testament to the skill and talent that the LGBT
community offers in the public arena,” said Chuck
Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay and Lesbian
Victory Fund and Leadership Institute. “The
over 350 openly LGBT public officials serving with
distinction in the United States today, many who lead
legislative bodies or are chief executives,
demonstrate that sexual orientation need not be a
barrier to running for office."
In New York City, council member Christine Quinn
was elected to the post of city council speaker on
Wednesday. As the face of the 51-member New York City
council, the speaker is widely regarded as the second most
powerful city official and a counterbalance to the mayor.
On Tuesday night Gina Genovese, a gay township
committee member in Long Hill Township, N.J., was
elected mayor. In Long Hill the township committee
elects a mayor from among its members. The vote was
5–0, including the votes of the three
Republicans. According to Garden State Equality,
Genovese thus becomes the first openly LGBT person to be
elected mayor of any New Jersey municipality in the state's
219-year history.
On Wednesday in New York State's Suffolk
County, Democrat Jon Cooper was elected majority
leader of the Suffolk County legislature. Due to the
body's recent transition from Republican to Democratic
control, Cooper’s nomination makes him the
first Democratic majority leader in the 36-year
history of the Suffolk County legislature.
There are currently 352 openly LGBT elected
officials in the United States serving from local
office to the U.S. Congress. Of those, approximately
50% serve at the local legislative level. More than a dozen
cities in the United States have had openly gay or lesbian
mayors, including San Diego, Chula Vista, and Palm
Springs, Calif; Providence, R.I.; Casper, Wyo.; Wilton
Manors and Key Biscayne, Fla.; and Northampton, Mass.
(Advocate.com)
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