From Hrccomm@aol.com Fri Nov 8 16:17:22 1996 Received: from casti.com (vector.casti.com [199.181.80.100]) by qrd.rdrop.com (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id QAA11492 for ; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 16:17:21 -0800 From: Hrccomm@aol.com Received: from matrix.casti.com by casti.com (8.6.9/NX3.0M) id TAA02092; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 19:13:26 -0500 Received: from emout19.mail.aol.com (emout19.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.45]) by matrix.casti.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id OAA02281 for ; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 14:56:17 -0500 Received: by emout19.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id OAA29411; Fri, 8 Nov 1996 14:22:45 -0500 Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 14:22:45 -0500 Message-ID: <961108142245_1584153371@emout19.mail.aol.com> To: Philattey@aol.com Subject: Gays Score Big In California Assembly - HRC Helps Wrest Control From Extremists ________________________________________________________ NEWS from the Human Rights Campaign 1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 email: communications@hrcusa.org WWW: http://www.hrcusa.org ________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, Nov. 7, 1996 GAYS SCORE BIG WIN IN CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY HRC Helps Wrest Control from Extremists GO TO HRC'S ONLINE ACTION CENTER FOR A SPECIAL CAMPAIGN 96 REPORT AND FULL FY95-95 ENDORSEMENT/PAC REPORT http://www.hrcusa.org WASHINGTON -- Gay men and lesbians won an important victory in California on Election Night when the state Assembly was seized from the control of far-right extremists, the Human Rights Campaign said today. "It was vital to place the California Assembly into the hands of fair-minded legislators, and that is what we have done," said Amy Pritchard, director of HRC's California Project for the northern half of the state. "With the help of hundreds of volunteers, we won enough races to tip the balance of power." The result was that the Assembly went from a ratio of 41 Republicans and 39 Democrats to 42 Democrats and 38 Republicans. Of the nine state Assembly candidates whose campaigns HRC directly helped, seven won. (Gerrie Schipske, an open lesbian from Long Beach, and Lily Cervantes in Northern California were the two HRC Assembly candidates who lost.) "We helped pull together a grass-roots infrastructure of fair-minded Californians who staffed phone banks, knocked on doors and handed out literature," said Sue Burnside, HRC project director for Southern California. "The outcome was striking." Carole Migden, an openly gay assemblywoman from San Francisco, praised HRC for its efforts. "HRC's California Project played a pivotal role in reclaiming the California state Assembly from the extremist factions of the Republican Party," she said. "By putting together the resources to help finance key races and by providing people power in critical races, the California Project created a statewide lesbian and gay presence that will have a major impact for decades to come." This was the first time that HRC became involved in elections at the state legislative level. "We decided that since so much anti-gay federal legislation gets its start at the state level, that we would try a little preventive medicine,'" said Daniel Zingale, HRC's political director. "Plus, the extremists held a very slim majority in California." In addition to working in state Assembly races, the California Project worked for three state Senate candidates: Dede Alpert in the 39th district; Adam Schiff in the 21st; and Betty Karnette in the 27th. All three won. HRC also sent a member of its Youth College for Campaign Training to work in the campaign against Proposition 209, the statewide anti-affirmative action measure. Proposition 209 passed. And HRC sent a full-time senior political department staffer from its Washington headquarters to work in the U.S. House campaign of Walter Capps, who defeated freshman Rep. Andrea Seastrand, an extremist Republican. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. - 30 -