Name                                 Susan Leal
Home                                 San Francisco
Profession                           Attorney/Businesswoman
Office Sought                        San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Election Date                        8 November

Susan Leal 
for San Francisco Board of Supervisors

       In June of 1993, Susan Leal made political history when she was
named to replace Roberta Achtenberg on the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors.  The first openly lesbian Latina serving in elective office
nationwide, Leal is the first Latina ever to serve on the 11-member board
and is its only Hispanic member.  Combining over 15 years of
experience in government, business and healthcare with a proven ability
to build coalitions, Susan Leal took office with a broad base of support
from the Latino, business, legal and feminist communities.  Susan Leal's
appointment is a milestone for our community, but that victory will be a
hollow one unless we ensure that this highly qualified, respected and
effective officeholder retains her seat in this year's election.  


The Campaign
       The 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are
elected in at-large, citywide elections.  Only once has a Hispanic
candidate won a seat on the board.  Although the city's 1990 "Lavender
Sweep" saw two open lesbians (Roberta Achtenberg and Carole Migden)
elected supervisor, in 1992, our community was unable to elect an
openly gay man or lesbian to any of the six available seats.

       In November, Susan Leal and three other incumbents will compete
in a field of over 20 candidates seeking election to five open seats.  
Supervisor Leal has earned positive press attention, and her campaign
objective is to further increase her name recognition and build her
positive image through direct mail, advertising and community
organizing that stresses her qualifications, legislative achievements,
background and positions on city issues.  Leal and her team of campaign
professionals are already putting together an aggressive citywide
campaign to solidify her's base of support within the gay and lesbian,
Latino and health care communities while reaching out to new voters
across the city.  Latinas for Leal was recently convened to bring together
Hispanic women in a political, fundraising and organizing effort in San
Francisco.  

       Leal's campaign is planned and coordinated by Mary Hughes of
the highly regarded political consulting firm of Staton/Hughes.  The
firm, which won kudos for its successful 1990 campaign to elect open
lesbian Donna Hitchens to San Francisco's Superior Court, also directed
neighboring San Mateo Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's 1992 winning
campaign.  

       Leal's December campaign kick-off boasted an endorsement list of
over 150 community leaders and elected officials, and she is probably the
only candidate who will have the endorsement of both the current and
former mayors, Frank Jordan and Art Agnos.  She has been endorsed by
the Bay Area Non-Partisan Alliance, California's largest lesbian and gay
political action committee, by six of her colleagues on the board of
supervisors, and by State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and San
Francisco Assemblyman John Burton.

       Money will be a key factor in this campaign.  Because San
Francisco board races are extremely expensive, Leal must raise $400,000
just to stay competitive.  Her fundraising team is working overtime and
has already held fundraisers in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento, in
addition to San Francisco events that have raised over $75,000. 

The Candidate
       San Francisco native Susan Leal represents a new generation of
America's political leadership.  She brings the strength of her personal
diversity    as a Latina, a lesbian and a small businessperson    together
with a strong record of achievement in both public service and the
private sector, including 17 years of health care experience.

       Both of Leal's parents emigrated to San Francisco from Mexico as
children.  Her father worked as a boilermaker for over 40 years, and
both parents strongly encouraged their three children to achieve.  After
receiving both her B.A. in Economics and her J.D. from the University
of California at Berkeley, Susan moved to Washington, D.C., where she
became a Counsel to a House of Representatives Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations.  Working closely with then-Congressman
Al Gore, Leal conducted many nationally publicized investigations on
drug safety and the practices of the Food and Drug Administration, and
on health care waste, fraud and abuse. 

       In 1982, Leal returned to California to work in Sacramento for the
State Assembly's Ways and Means Committee, where she was
responsible for putting together the state's health budget.  In 1986, she
joined four colleagues from Sacramento who formed a health cost-
management consulting firm    a business which has since grown to over
1,500 employees nationwide.  Not surprisingly, one of Leal's goals as
supervisor is to bring a more businesslike approach to city services,
thereby promoting government efficiency.

       Because of her extensive experience in both the health field and in
business, Supervisor Leal was named to the Board's Committees on
Health, Public Safety and Environment and Government Efficiency and
Labor.  She is also Vice-Chair of the city's Health Task Force, which is
looking at ways to maintain health services at a time of declining state
and local funding.  Leal's work also focuses on problems of public safety
and the improving services for children.

Working for the Gay and Lesbian Community
       Susan Leal demonstrated her strong leadership on gay and lesbian
issues immediately upon taking office.  Less than a month after her
appointment, she was among the first to call for the removal of a
homophobic minister from the city's Human Rights Commission    even
though this action put her in opposition to the mayor who appointed her. 
In response to the demands of Leal and her colleagues, the minister was
removed.  When Leal learned that the Police Officer's Credit Union
refused to provide domestic partner benefits to its members, despite the
fact that the city's own police contract recognized such benefits, she
lobbied for and won a change in their policy.

       Leal is also co-chairing an effort to establish a Lesbian and Gay
Community Center through a broad advisory council.  She works closely
with a wide cross-section of gay and lesbian organizations at the local
and national level, and is particularly connected to groups representing
people of color in the lesbian and gay community.  Most recently, she
convened an advisory council of lesbian and gay Latinos in the city.

Can She Win?
       Results from a December poll show that Leal has solid numbers
even though she has only been in office for six months and has never
stood for election.  She placed in the top five for one of five open seats
and had the second-lowest negative rating of all the candidates tested in
the poll.  Clearly, a well-funded campaign will enable Leal to showcase
her outstanding qualifications and build her broad base of support into a
winning election.

Why Susan Leal's Election Matters to You
       Term limits in California will provide many opportunities for
lesbian and gay candidates to seek higher office.  It's critically important
that we elect candidates such as Susan Leal who serve as role models for
future candidates.  Susan's visibility as a lesbian and a Latina provides
national recognition that lesbians and gays are part of all ethnic groups
and communities.  Susan's experience in Congress and the California
Assembly makes her a candidate of proven policy depth and commitment 
  exactly the kind of candidate we need to support for the future.

Why Your Contribution Matters to Susan Leal
       To win in this city-wide race, Susan Leal must raise at least
$250,000 by June 30 and more than $400,000 by fall.  In the last
election, five Latino challengers split the vote so that the only Latino
incumbent was defeated.  If Leal can establish a strong financial position
early in this race, it will discourage potential challengers from entering
the field.

To Support Susan Leal

Make your checks payable to:
       Committee to Elect Supervisor Susan Leal

and mail them to:
       The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
       1012 14th Street, NW, Suite 707
       Washington, D.C. 20005

Contributions are limited to $500 from any individual, business entity or
political action committee.  San Francisco election laws require
contributors of $100 or more to list their employer and occupation.

Paid for by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and authorized by the           
Committee to Elect Supervisor Susan Leal (I.D. 930863).

Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
voice: 202-842-8679
fax:   202-289-3863
email: victoryf@aol.com