The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund announced that, of its 55 endorsements of gay and lesbian candidates in 2005, 35 won their races or performed well enough to proceed to a runoff. The Victory Fund, which works to elect qualified LGBT candidates, noted that some of these wins were considered groundbreaking and that the 2005 election year was not free from attacks regarding the candidates' sexual orientations.
In Ohio—a state that voted for President Bush last year—four endorsed gay candidates won races. Three of the wins were for new seats, including Joe Santiago for Cleveland City Council, Nickie Antonio for an at-large Lakewood City Council seat and Joe Lacey for a new seat on the Dayton School Board. Incumbent Mary Jo Hudson won a seat she was appointed to last year on the Columbus City Council.
In Harrisburg, Penn., Dan Miller won a seat on the city council by garnering 22 percent of the vote, marking the first time an openly gay candidate was elected in that city. Moreover, in Texas, where a statewide vote to ban legal recognition of same-sex relationships passed overwhelmingly on Nov. 8, 33 percent of Houston voters supported Sue Lovell for an at-large seat on the city council, leading to a runoff Dec. 6. Also, in California, Jose Cisneros received 50.42 percent of the votes to win the seat of treasurer for the city and county of San Francisco. Scott Benson, Robert Lilligren and Gary Schiff were all elected to seats on the Minneapolis ( Minn. ) City Council, with Benson capturing more than 90 percent of the votes in his ward.
Vivian Paige, an African-American lesbian who ran for city treasurer of Norfolk, Va., lost her race—and anti-gay attacks appear to have contributed to her loss, according to the Victory Fund statement. Recently, flyers placed on cars outside an NAACP candidate forum proclaimed that Paige is a proud lesbian and 'doesn't care what people think!' In addition, a group called Christian Leaders of Tomorrow went on television with an ad targeting the candidate's sexual orientation.
Full election results are available at www.victoryfund.org/election.