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LISA KEEN - JOSHUA LYNSEN
Friday, August 15, 2008
A
gay
businessman
is
poised
to
become
the
nation’s
third
openly
gay
member
of
Congress
after
winning
an
expensive
Democratic
primary
this
week
in
Colorado.
Jared
Polis,
33,
defeated
the
state’s
gay-friendly
Senate
president
to
win
a
three-way
race
Tuesday
for
the
Democratic
nomination
in
the
heavily
Democratic
Boulder
area.
He
is
now
well
positioned
to
win
the
November
general
election.
In
his
victory
speech,
Polis
introduced
his
partner
and
expressed
relief
that
voters
were
not
troubled
by
his
sexual
orientation.
“I
always
worried
that
that
would
get
in
the
way
[of]
giving
back
and
contributing
to
our
society,”
he
was
quoted
as
saying
in
the
Rocky
Mountain
News.
Several
gay
organizations
lauded
Polis’
victory,
including
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Victory
Fund,
which
had
backed
his
run.
“Jared’s
election
is
a
victory
for
democracy,”
said
Chuck
Wolfe,
the
Victory
Fund’s
president.
“Jared’s
victory
brings
us
one
step
closer
to
fulfilling
America’s
promise
of
truly
representative
government.”
U.S.
Reps.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.)
and
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.)
are
Congress’
only
openly
gay
members.
Baldwin
was
the
first
openly
gay,
non-incumbent
elected
to
Congress.
Frank
revealed
he
was
gay
after
serving
several
terms
in
office.
“Jared’s
victory
last
night
is
a
historic
step
forward
for
our
entire
community,”
said
Joe
Solmonese,
president
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign.
“Not
only
will
he
be
the
first
openly
gay
man
elected
to
Congress
as
a
non-incumbent,
but
his
leadership
in
Congress
will
reflect
his
dedication
to
the
GLBT
community
on
issues
like
hate
crimes
protections
and
a
fully
inclusive
workplace
protections
bill.”
Polis
could
not
immediately
be
reached
Wednesday
for
comment.
Frequently
described
in
the
Colorado
press
as
a
self-made
millionaire
in
Internet
businesses,
Polis
made
his
name
publicly
as
an
education
activist,
who
established
a
foundation
to
support
educational
efforts
directed
at
students
with
low-income
families.
In
2000,
he
won
a
seat
on
the
state’s
board
of
education.
Polis
is
seeking
to
fill
the
seat
being
vacated
by
incumbent
U.S.
Rep.
Mark
Udall,
a
gay-friendly
lawmaker
who
ran
unopposed
for
the
Democratic
nomination
for
U.S.
Senate.
Polis’
strongest
competitor
was
state
Senate
President
Joan
Fitz-Gerald,
followed
by
conservationist
Will
Shafroth.
According
to
the
Rocky
Mountain
News,
Polis
won
with
42
percent
of
the
vote,
topping
Fitz-Gerald’s
38
percent
and
Shafroth’s
20
percent.
Fitz-Gerald
conceded
the
race
shortly
after
10
p.m.
Tuesday.
Colorado’s
2nd
Congressional
District
encompasses
the
heavily
liberal
city
of
Boulder
and
parts
of
Denver.
It
has
been
in
Democratic
hands
since
1975.
In
2006,
Udall
beat
the
Republican
challenger
68
percent
to
28
percent.
The
race
between
Polis,
Fitz-Gerald
and
Shafroth
was
reportedly
one
of
the
most
expensive
in
the
country.
According
to
the
Rocky
Mountain
News,
Polis
contributed
more
than
$5
million
of
his
own
money
toward
his
campaign
—
three
times
the
money
raised
and
spent
by
each
of
the
other
two
candidates.
Boulder’s
newspaper,
the
Daily
Camera,
said
Polis
relied
on
“a
massive
bankroll
to
fund
his
political
ambitions.”
The
Denver
Business
Journal
reported
that
Polis,
a
native
of
Boulder,
co-founded
the
online
greeting
card
service
bluemountainarts.com
and
launched
an
online
florist
service.
He
sold
the
greeting
card
service
in
1999
for
a
reported
$780
million.
Polis
won
his
seat
on
the
state’s
board
of
education
in
2000
and
served
there
until
2006.
He
also
established
a
foundation
to
support
educational
efforts
directed
at
students
from
low-income
families.
In
campaigning
for
Congress,
Polis
pledged
to
support
equal
rights
for
gays,
including
marriage
rights.
He
also
rarely
faced
questions
about
his
sexual
orientation.
“Being
gay
is
an
interesting
dynamic,”
he
told
the
Blade
last
year.
“Like
most
gays
and
lesbians,
there’s
different
degrees
of
being
out.
I’m
out,
there’s
been
articles
about
it
in
the
paper,
but
most
people
haven’t
read
those
articles.
I
will
frequently
get
asked,
‘So
are
you
married?’
There’s
the
continual
process
of
coming
out
and
deciding
when
to
come
out
and
how
much
to
share
really
every
day
and
that’s
something
straight
candidates
don’t
face.”
Fitz-Gerald
also
was
seen
as
a
strong
supporter
of
gays
and
had
the
backing
of
such
well-known
gay
philanthropists
as
Tim
Gill
and
Scott
Coors.
The
Denver
Post
noted
that
in
2006,
Fitz-Gerald
placed
a
measure
on
the
state
ballot
seeking
to
grant
equal
marriage
rights
for
same-sex
couples.
The
measure
failed.
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