People
might
not
always
agree
with
Patricia
Todd,
Alabama’s
first
openly
gay
state
legislator,
but
they
do
respect
her
candor
and
compassion.
Her
partner
of
two
years,
Jennifer
Clarke,
says
even
on
the
campaign
trail,
those
who
disagreed
with
her
or
disapproved
of
her
sexual
orientation
were
still
won
over
by
her
charm.
“If
they
had
an
opportunity
to
speak
with
her
for
30
seconds
they
were
always
taken
by
her
genuineness,
articulation
of
issues
and
how
honest
she
was,”
says
Clarke.
“There
was
something
in
her
personality
that
spoke
to
people.”
With
her
background
in
community
housing
and
planning,
Clarke
has
much
in
common
with
Todd
and
was
very
involved
in
her
campaign.
Clarke
moved
from
Massachusetts
to
Alabama
to
be
with
Todd
in
September.
They
met
right
after
Todd
was
elected
as
a
delegate
to
the
Democratic
National
Convention
in
2004.
“Her
being
a
support
system
while
I
was
going
through
all
this
was
critical,”
says
Todd.
The
Alabama
state
legislator
was
just
one
of
a
bumper
crop
of
gay
and
lesbian
politicians
who
ran
for
election
and
were
endorsed
by
the
Victory
Fund
in
2006.
Openly
gay
politicians
Jim
Roth
from
Oklahoma
and
Annise
Parker
from
Texas
also
won
their
races,
as
did
candidates
in
other
areas
of
the
country
that
are
not
considered
gay
friendly.
Denis
Dison,
vice
president
of
communications
for
the
Victory
Fund,
says
his
group
endorsed
88
gay
candidates
around
the
country
last
year
and
67
won,
and
although
there
was
no
identifiable
pattern
to
the
wins,
gay
candidates
did
come
out
with
some
surprising
victories,
including
Kathy
Webb
in
the
Arkansas
State
House;
Judge
Virginia
Linder
in
the
Oregon
State
Supreme
Court;
Al
McAffrey
in
Oklahoma’s
State
House,
and
Jolie
Justus
in
the
Missouri
State
Senate.
The
Gay
&
Lesbian
Victory
Fund
provides
strategic
and
financial
support
to
openly
gay
candidates
across
the
country.
Just
this
week,
the
Victory
Fund
endorsed
Democrat
Ed
Oakley
in
his
bid
to
become
the
next
mayor
of
Dallas.
If
he
prevails,
the
three-term
city
councilman
would
become
the
first
openly
gay
mayor
of
one
of
the
10
largest
U.S.
cities.
“Last
year
was
a
breakthrough
year,”
says
Dison.
“We
have
reached
a
tipping
point
in
gay
politics.
With
issues
such
as
marriage
and
same-sex
adoption,
people
are
beginning
to
see
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
and
transgender
people
as
individuals,
rather
than
activists
first.”
TODD
MADE
HISTORY
last
summer
when
she
became
the
first
out
lesbian
to
win
a
seat
in
the
Alabama
Legislature
on
July
18.
She
was
only
able
to
savor
her
victory
for
six
weeks
before
a
subcommittee
voted
to
disqualify
her,
but
she
prevailed
and
was
reinstated
Aug.
24.
She
and
her
primary
opponent,
Gaynell
Hendricks,
were
both
disqualified
because
they
missed
the
deadline
to
file
their
financial
statements
with
the
Alabama
Democratic
Party.
Todd
says
the
rule
was
outdated,
written
before
the
Campaign
Processes
Act
was
passed,
which
requires
candidates
to
file
with
the
secretary
of
state.
The
party
never
removed
that
rule
from
the
policy
manual,
even
though
candidates
have
been
disregarding
the
rule
for
many
years.
Hendrick’s
mother-in-law
filed
the
complaint.
“They
just
found
something
they
could
hang
me
up
on,”
says
Todd.
“What
was
stupid
was
that
[Hendricks]
did
not
file
hers
with
the
party
either,
and
they
knew
that
going
into
the
complaint.”
Todd
won
the
primary
for
the
District
54
seat
in
the
House
June
7,
2006
with
33.28
percent
of
the
vote.
She
also
gained
the
endorsement
of
the
Equality
Fund,
Alabama’s
gay
political
action
committee,
as
well
as
the
support
of
two
of
her
primary
opponents.
Another
big
first
for
Todd
was
being
the
first
white
person
elected
to
represent
the
district
since
Reconstruction.
“[The
district]
also
has
the
richest
and
the
poorest
communities
in
Birmingham,”
she
says.
“It
is
a
challenge
to
represent
all
of
those
equally,
but
my
primary
focus
is
to
address
the
real
issues
of
poverty
in
Alabama.”
Todd
says
she
was
aware
that
as
the
first
openly
gay
Alabama
legislator
she
would
be
scrutinized,
and
that
“I
probably
can’t
afford
to
screw
up,”
but
she
vows
to
focus
on
her
agenda.
Among
her
priorities
are
working
with
both
parties
to
rewrite
the
state
constitution
(which
she
says
contains
748
amendments
and
is
four
inches
thick),
raise
the
minimum
wage
and
provide
more
funds
for
schools
in
urban
areas
of
her
district
where
families
live
below
the
poverty
level.
“I
can
handle
the
pressure,”
says
Todd.
TODD
HAS
ADVOCATED
for
gay
issues
and
causes
for
years.
She
was
director
of
development
for
AIDS
Alabama,
a
board
member
of
Equality
Alabama,
executive
director
of
Birmingham
AIDS
Outreach,
state
coordinator
of
the
Campaign
to
End
AIDS
and
the
founder
and
former
president
of
Alabama
Stonewall
Democrats.
She
says
that
since
Alabama
passed
an
amendment
banning
gay
marriage
last
year
she
doesn’t
think
she
will
be
working
on
any
more
gay
issues
this
year,
although
if
the
Christian
Coalition
decides
to
follow
through
with
its
plan
to
ban
gay
adoptions
in
the
state,
she
would
fight
it.
Barring
employment
discrimination
based
on
sexual
orientation
is
one
of
the
issues
that
may
have
to
...
