Passing the Torch

Within hours of becoming Massachusetts's first openly gay candidate for lieutenant governor in 2002, Patrick Guerriero was invited to an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer. At the time not a single state in the nation had legalized same-sex marriage, nor was the term even a part of the national lexicon, and Guerriero was the first out gay person to be selected by an incumbent governor as a running mate.

Monday's announcement that Richard Tisei, an out state senator, would join the ticket of Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker was more of a blip than a news event. "Reflecting on having been in Richard's shoes eight years ago when the issue of sexual orientation was so controversial and intense, it feels like Massachusetts is post-gay now," Guerriero said of the relative calm surrounding Tisei's bid.

One of the first questions asked of Guerriero was whether he supported gay marriage. "'Yes, I do,' I told them. 'How could I ask people to vote for me if I didn't believe I was a full and equal citizen,'" recalled Guerriero, who now serves as executive director of Gill Action Fund, a bipartisan organization that works with political parties to advance LGBT equality across the nation.

Guerriero knows Tisei; he served as a state representative for the same district that Tisei now represents in the senate and also ran on the GOP ticket, though his running mate, Gov. Jane Swift, ultimately bowed out of the primary. "Richard is one of the most seasoned politicians in the state," Guerriero said. "He's a really strong campaigner and well respected on both sides of the aisle."

Guerriero added that Tisei's selection along with candidacies such as that of GOP centrist Rob Simmons, a U.S. senate hopeful in Connecticut, are the product of two decades of work on LGBT equality in the Northeast.

"This is just another sign that in certain sections of the country we can transcend the culture wars and elect people based on their experience and credentials," he said. To date, Massachusetts Democrats have yet to field an out candidate on their gubernatorial ticket.

The Baker-Tisei ticket will challenge Christy Mihos for the Republican nomination. The winner of that contest will face state treasurer Timothy Cahill, an independent, and incumbent governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, in a three-way contest in 2010.