One Reason Why the Midterms Weren’t a Total Disaster

Posted on Nov 3, 2010

cicilline.com

David Cicilline, who is openly gay, ascended from mayor of Providence, R.I., to the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday’s election.

The 2008 election brought America the first black president and a Democratic House and Senate but was not good for the gays, to say the least, with the passage of Proposition 8 in California. This time around, the tables have turned, as according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, more GLBT candidates were elected at the midterm polls than ever before, while the Dems didn’t quite fare so well.

Another significant score in the estimation of some gay rights groups was Jerry Brown’s election as California’s next governor, with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom as lieutenant governor. Now, about that Proposition 8, gentlemen. ...  —KA

Gay Politics:

Important 2010 election results include:

–David Cicilline’s election to Congress.  The Providence, R.I. mayor will be the fourth openly gay member of the U.S. House of Representatives, joining Reps. Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank and Jared Polis, who each won reelection.

–Jim Gray’s election as mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, the state’s second-largest city.

–Nickie Antonio’s election to the Ohio House.  Antonio will be the first openly LGBT person to serve in the state legislature.

–Marcus Brandon’s election to the North Carolina House.  Brandon will be the state’s only openly gay state legislator and one of just five out African Americans to serve as state lawmakers.

–Victoria Kolakowski’s election as a Superior Court judge in Alameda County.  Kolakowski becomes the first openly transgender judge in America.

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