From: Date: Thu, 04 Aug 94 17:42:22 EDT 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 NEWS RELEASE Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund Recommends Ten New Candidates National Group Supports Seventeen Openly Gay Candidates in Ten States WASHINGTON, DC -- Agust 1994 -- The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund today recommended ten more candidates to its national donor network, bringing the total number of current recommended candidates to seventeen. All seventeen candidates underwent rigorous screenings to determine their viability as potential public officials, according to Victory Fund Executive Director William Waybourn. The ten newly recommended candidates and their races are: -- Karen Burstein for New York State Attorney General -- Tom Duane for U.S. House of Representatives -- Cal Anderson for Washington State Senate -- Don Moreland for Washington House of Representatives -- Derek Belt for Massachusetts House of Representatives -- Ken Cheuvront for Arizona House of Representatives -- John Hannay for Maryland House of Delegates -- Chuck Carpenter for Oregon House of Representatives -- Tom Ammiano for San Francisco Board of Supervisors -- Teri Schwartz for Los Angeles Superior Court New York State Attorney General candidate Karen Burstein is the first open lesbian to run for major statewide office. Karen is the only candidate who has experience in all three branches of government and has the advantage of being the only woman in the Democratic primary race. She served with distinction in the New York State Senate, as Chair of the State Consumer Protection Board, as New York Auditor General, as President of the State Civil Service Commission, and as a Kings County (Brooklyn) Family Court Judge. Congressional candidate Tom Duane made history in 1991 when he won a seat on the New York City Council as the first openly gay, openly HIV-positive candidate to run for and win elective office. Tom is making history again as the first openly gay, HIV-positive candidate to run for Congress. Prior to his election to the city council, Tom served four terms as Democratic District Leader and as a member of the New York Democratic Executive and Judiciary Committees. Ken Cheuvront is one of three candidates in the Democratic primary for two open District 25 (Central Phoenix) seats in the Arizona House of Representatives. Ken has good name identification thanks to his involvement in civic organizations and his 1990 campaign for the State Senate. He received 44 percent of the vote in the race and the senator who won the race has endorsed Ken's candidacy for the House. Ken is a local businessman with strong family ties in the district and is well known and well respected. John Hannay is running for one of three District 44 seats in the Maryland House of Delegates. The district includes the commercial and cultural center of the city's gay and lesbian community. A Program Manager with the AIDS Administration of the Maryland Department of Health and former Executive Director of Baltimore's Gay and Lesbian Community Center, John is co-founder of the Free State Justice Campaign, a statewide organization that promotes legislation to end discrimination against lesbians and gay men. After serving three terms as the only openly gay member of the Washington State Legislature, Washington State Representative Cal Anderson is a frontrunner in the race for the State Senate. A Seattle Times survey of 147 legislators recently rated him as the third most effective legislator in the state. Cal is a visible and vocal supporter of gay and lesbian civil rights and was the main sponsor of Washington State's Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Bill (H.B. 1443) which he has guided through the House of Representatives three times. Seattle businessman Don Moreland is in a seven-way primary race for the open 36th District (Seattle) seat on the Washington State House of Representatives. He has already received early endorsements from Seattle's popular mayor and seven of nine city councilmembers. Don was a Commissioner on the Seattle Human Rights Commission and served on the Governor's first AIDS Task Force and the Governor's Civil Rights Task Force. He was a founder of the Privacy Fund, the statewide political action committee working on issues of concern to the gay and lesbian community. School Board President Tom Ammiano has joined the city-wide race for five at-large seats on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Tom is a veteran of Harvey Milk's successful bid for the board of supervisors. A special education teacher and community organizer, he was San Francisco's first openly gay teacher and the first openly gay member of the San Francisco School Board. He helped establish the Gay Teachers Coalition, which successfully lobbied the school board to recognize gay teachers rights. Tom established the Gay and Lesbian Speakers Bureau for San Francisco Schools, began counseling programs for gay and lesbian students and promoted condom availability on school sites. Derek Belt is the unchallenged Democratic nominee for the open 2nd Bristol (Attleboro) seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and has been endorsed by the popular retiring Democratic incumbent. Derek has strong ties to the community and is targeting progressive voters with special outreach to the gay and lesbian and Hispanic communities, human services workers, senior citizens, and women. Professionally, Derek has worked as a Case Manager at the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts since 1991, volunteers with a wide range of groups, helped found Neighbors Against Bigotry and the Triboro Triangles, and serves on the Attleboro Council on Aging. On May 17, Chuck Carpenter won the Republican primary for the open District 7 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives. Chuck is an International Trade and Operations Analyst with Nike Inc. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Northwest International Trade Association, and as chair of its Trade Policy Committee. Chuck has the support of a large number of business and professional groups including the Association of Oregon Industries. He is endorsed by the Log Cabin Club and state's most influential newspaper, The Oregonian. Los Angeles Superior Court candidate Teri Schwartz won the June 7 primary and must now face the second-place finisher in the November 8 run-off. Endorsed by the Los Angeles Times and every major law enforcement agency in the county, Teri has extensive Superior Court experience as both a defense lawyer and as a prosecutor. As Deputy District Attorney assigned to L.A.'s Hardcore Gang Division for the past five years, Teri has successfully prosecuted and assisted in the prosecution of 75 gang murder cases. The Los Angeles Gay County Bar Association has given her its highest rating. These ten candidates join the Victory Fund's seven previously- recommended candidates: -- Tony Miller for California Secretary of State -- Will Fitzpatrick for Rhode Island State Senate -- Sheila Kuehl for California State Assembly -- Tim Van Zandt for Missouri House of Representatives -- George Eighmey for Oregon House of Representatives -- Susan Leal for San Francisco Board of Supervisors -- Bonnie Dumanis for San Diego City Court In addition to the seventeen candidates whose races are still pending, the Victory Fund racked up two early wins when Cook County (Chicago) Circuit Court candidate Tom Chiola and Dade County (Miami) Court candidate Victoria Sigler were unchallenged in their general elections. [Full profiles of these candidates will be available by anonymous ftp (\pub\qrd\orgs\glvf) from the Queer Resources Directory in mid-August. For more information about any of the candidates please contact Kathleen DeBold at (202) 842-8679 or victoryf@aol.com.]