Seven gay candidates locked in tight races around the country are receiving a last-minute boost from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

The beneficiaries include a lesbian candidate for Oregon Supreme Court, a California city’s gay mayor and North Carolina’s first lesbian state legislator.

Robin Brand, Victory Fund’s senior vice president of politics and strategy, said the so-called “Seven Races to Watch” identify some of the most important gay contests across the nation.

She noted a victory by Oregon Supreme Court candidate Virginia Linder, for example, could have considerable ramifications.

“In terms of which states it would be best to have a progressive voice,” she said, “Oregon is a state where that could really make a difference.”

Victory Fund candidates pledge to support gay issues. They also must demonstrate their electoral viability in a detailed campaign plan.

But conservative groups are working against such candidates. In a recent radio show, Focus on the Family Chair James Dobson implored “people of faith” to vote against liberals Nov. 7.

“If people of faith — the so-called values voters — don’t come out and let their voices be heard,” he said, “there are going to be some major implications for this country.”

 

Supreme decision

Linder, a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals, is seeking to become the second openly gay justice on the state’s supreme court.

If elected, Linder would sit alongside Rives Kistler, a gay man who joined the court in 2003.

“I think that, in and of itself, is a significant victory,” Brand said, “because there is no other state that can compare with those kinds of statistics.”

Linder is the preferred choice of Oregon lawyers. A recent poll of the Oregon State Bar found 83 percent favored her over her opponent, Jack Roberts.

But another poll, conducted by the conservative Federalist Society, found more voters recognize Roberts.

 

California heat

Also locked in a heated campaign is Stephen Padilla, mayor of San Diego suburb Chula Vista. The city is the largest in the nation with an openly gay mayor.

Brand said Padilla — who was elected in November 2002 and came out in August 2005 — is struggling to overcome the momentum of challenger Cheryl Cox.

Cox is the wife of a former Chula Vista mayor, who is one of two past mayors to endorse her.

Brand said Padilla’s sexual orientation is a campaign issue partly because he was threatened and required additional security after coming out.

“A lot of the issues that he’s facing in this campaign stem from his brave decision to come out,” she said. “But I think he’s been an effective mayor.”

Two state legislators, the city’s chamber of commerce, and several environmental groups have endorsed Padilla.

 

Trailblazer challenged

Another incumbent facing a tough race is Julia Boseman, North Carolina’s first openly gay state legislator.

Boseman, a Democrat from New Hanover, toppled a Republican state senator in 2004 by 850 votes. She now faces a challenge by Al Roseman, a candidate the state’s Republican Party is aggressively backing.

Brand said Boseman compiled a long list of achievements during her first term, though, and Roseman will be challenged to justify Boseman’s ousting.

“Typically, when incumbents are running, it’s a referendum on the job that they’re doing,” she said, “and Julia has done an excellent job.”

During the last two years, Boseman helped boost funding for the University of North Carolina and created a program that’s expected to bring new jobs to the state, Brand said.

 

Friendly connections

Ken Keechl, a county commission candidate in Florida, also is using the past to facilitate a future.

Keechl, a gay lawyer who specializes in civil rights and previously led his county’s Democratic gay group, is using those connections in his campaign against Republican Jim Scott.

“Ken is very well connected into not only the LGBT community, but also the business community,” Brand said. “So I think there are two connections in that area that are creating a really solid base for Ken.”

Endorsed by Planned Parenthood, National Women’s Political Caucus and other groups, Keechl poses a significant threat to Scott, the only Republican on the Broward County Commission.

The Miami Herald called Keechl the most challenging opponent Scott’s faced in more than 10 years.

“Ken’s polling has shown that he’s dead even,” Brand said.

 

Aspiring activist

Also working to unseat a Republican incumbent is Gary Fitzsimmons in Texas. The longtime gay activist is challenging Dallas District Clerk Jim Hamlin.

To counter Fitzsimmons’ growing momentum, Brand said, Hamlin is touting himself as a “family values” candidate.

“Unfortunately,” she said, “we’re seeing the family values rhetoric being inserted by the Republicans into as many elections as possible.”

Brand said such language will fall on deaf ears, though, ...