Date:         Thu, 10 Nov 1994 11:36:01 -0500
From: VictoryF@aol.com

RELEASE
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            Record Number of Openly Gay Officials Elected
   Seventy-Five Percent of Victory Fund Candidates Win Nationwide


     WASHINGTON, DC -- 10 November 1994 -- Twelve of the Gay
and Lesbian Victory Fund's 17 openly gay candidates won their races
yesterday, a seventy-five percent success rate.  According to Victory Fund
Deputy Director Kathleen DeBold, the 12 winners are:

          -- Will Fitzpatrick, Rhode Island State Senate
          -- Cal Anderson, Washington State Senate
          -- Sheila Kuehl, California State Assembly
          -- Ken Cheuvront, Arizona House of Representatives
          -- Tim Van Zandt, Missouri House of Representatives
          -- George Eighmey, Oregon House of Representatives
          -- Cynthia Wooten, Oregon House of Representatives
          -- Susan Leal, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
          -- Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
          -- Bonnie Dumanis, San Diego City Court
          -- Teri Schwartz, Los Angeles Superior Court
          -- Tom Chiola, Cook County [IL] Court

     DeBold notes that this 75 percent success rate for openly gay
candidates is especially significant in light of the campaigns of gaybaiting
that were waged against them by their opponents and because of the overall
conservative swing of the electorate nationwide.  "Each of our candidates won
TWO races last night," she says, "One against their opponents; the other
against the Radical Right's distorted image of gay men and lesbians."  DeBold
believes these election results send a clear message that the extremist
viewpoints that lead to hate campaigns and gaybaiting are out of step with
mainstream America.  "Our openly gay candidates won because their personal
and community values are consistent with those of the average American family
values like hard work, responsibility, and respect for others."

Other results of special note for the Gay and Lesbian Community:

     -- Following in the 1990 footsteps of Roberta Achtenberg, Harry
     Britt, and Carole Migden, openly gay candidates Carole Migden,
     Susan Leal, and Tom Ammiano have all been elected in a second
     "Lavender Sweep" for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
     Adding to the good news in San Francisco, openly gay
                   candidates Leslie Katz and Lawrence Wong have won election
to      the San Francisco Community College Board.

     -- Openly gay U.S. Congressman Gerry Studds, Wisconsin State
     Assemblymember Tammy Baldwin, Oregon State Representative
     Gail Shibley, and Texas State Representative Glen Maxey all won
     re-election to the seats they won two years ago with Victory Fund
     support.

     -- Other openly gay candidates who won yesterday included
            Maine State Senator Dale McCormick, and Minnesota State
            Representative Karen Clark.

     -- New York State Attorney General candidate Karen Burstein
     and California Secretary of State candidate Tony Miller,the first
     openly gay man and lesbian to run for major statewide office, lost
     in close races to their GOP opponents.  Although Burstein won
     more votes than defeated three-term Democratic Governor Mario
     Cuomo, the combination of the Republican sweep and vicious
     gaybaiting by supporters of her opponent pushed the seat just out
     of her grasp.

     [For more information about these races, please contact Kathleen
     DeBold at (202) 842-8679 / Victoryf@aol.com]


Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
1012 14th Street NW, Suite 707
Washington, DC 20005
202/842-8679 (phone)
202/289-3863 (fax)
email: victoryf@aol.com