Sept. 11 was not just the day of terrorist bombings, it also was election day in several jurisdictions across the nation with races that had great importance for gays and lesbians.
In Arizona, openly gay Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano faced a recall effort that he claimed was motivated by antigay prejudice. While initiators of the recall said it was for a variety of reasons, the effort took off only after Giuliano proposed that city employees be barred from contributing to the Boy Scouts through the United Way Campaign. He later withdrew the proposal.
When the votes were counted, Giuliano had rolled to a 68 percent victory. Exit polling showed that his fellow Republicans gave Giuliano about half their votes while Democrats and independents overwhelmingly supported him.
"We are very excited by the outcome of Neil's election. It was a nasty race," said Brian Bond, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. "I think that because of his win, he may consider running for a new congressional seat or statewide office, such as Secretary of State." Arizona gains two additional seats in Congress through reapportionment.
Cheryl Jacques was running in a special election to fill a vacancy in the 9th Congressional district of Massachusetts. She garnered 29 percent of the vote in the six-way race but came in second. The progressive vote was split between several candidates and the most conservative Democrat slid in with about 40 percent of the vote cast.
"She ran a good race," said Bond. She was endorsed by the Boston Globe. He is encouraging Jacques to resume her race for Lieutenant Governor, a campaign she suspended when the death of Rep. Joe Moakley opened up the congressional seat. "She is an investment for our community, she has built name recognition with this campaign, it would be a waste for her to drop out of the Lieutenant Governor's race. If she waffles in the press, then everybody else will start getting in."
A fistful of gay candidates won election to city council and school board races in Minneapolis. Toledo, Ohio city councilman Louis Escobar survived a primary battle and is in good shape for the November general election.
Elections in New York State were suspended soon after the polls opened, in light of the tragedy. They have been rescheduled for Sept. 25. Six openly gay or lesbian candidates are on the ballot in that state, most are incumbents running for reelection.
The exception is Brad Hoylman who is running for an open seat in City Council District 1, which includes the World Trade Center. His campaign office is two blocks from ground zero and has been inaccessible. All of the candidates have suspended campaigning. It is not clear if any polling places have been destroyed or rendered unusable, or if access to them will be restricted by debris come election day.