From: VictoryF@aol.com Date: Wed, 08 Jun 94 17:29:35 EDT Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund 1012 14th Street NW Suite 707 Washington DC 20005 phone: 202/842-8679 fax: 202/289/3863 email: victoryf@aol.com ---NEWS RELEASE--- Victory Fund Candidates Win Three in California Primary WASHINGTON, D.C. 8 June 1994 The Victory Fund's California candidates Tony Miller for Secretary of State, Sheila Kuehl for State Assembly and Bonnie Dumanis for San Diego Municipal Court all won their primaries by large margins, according to Kathleen DeBold, Political Services Coordinator at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a national donor network committed to electing openly gay and lesbian candidates to public office. All three candidates were recommended by the Victory Fund, which provides financial and technical and support to it's recommended candidates. With his resounding win in California's Democratic primary, Secretary of State candidate Tony Miller moved one step closer to becoming the nation's highest-ranking openly gay elected official. Miller's captured 38% of the vote to beat out former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Michael Woo (32%) and long-term State Assemblymember Gwen Moore (30%) in one of the most closely watched races in California's history. "Secretary of State is one of California's most important state constitutional offices," notes political activist and Victory Fund Board Member David Mixner. "Given the radical right's current use of the ballot initiative process to promote narrow and discriminatory agendas it is especially important to have someone like Tony Miller there who has the power, the expertise and the motivation to protect the rights of lesbian and gay citizens." Miller will face unopposed Republican Bill Jones in the November 8 general election. In a major landslide victory, 41st Assembly District candidate Sheila Kuehl won the Democratic primary with 46% of the vote; runner-up Eddie Tabash received only 15.5%. Kuehl, a former actress who played the irrepressible Zelda Gilroy on "The Dobie Gillis Show," is a nationally known civil rights attorney and law professor who has helped draft over 40 pieces of landmark California legislation. Mixner credits Kuehl's victory to "her impeccable qualifications, unmatched knowledge of the issues facing her District and outstanding skills as a coalition builder." If Kuehl beats Republican nominee Michael Mehan in the November 8 general, she will become the first openly gay or lesbian member of the California State Assembly. The Victory Fund's third winner, San Diego Municipal Court candidate Bonnie Dumanis, is a Judicial Court Referee and former county prosecutor with almost 18 years of legal experience. She came in an easy first in the primary with 32% of the vote to runner-up Anthony Brandenberg's 18%, a difference of 20,000 votes. Dumanis and Brandenberg will compete in a run-off on November 8. "These victories are a milestone for the lesbian and gay community," says Mixner. "The voters have made it clear that they want to elect the most qualified candidates regardless of sexual orientation." [For more information about these races, please contact Kathleen DeBold at (202) 842-8679 or victoryf@aol.com]