GOP Fields Gay Candidates for 6 Legislative Contests

The incumbent is a Democrat, and the challenger is a Republican. Both are gay.

The race for the state’s 23rd Senate District between Sen. Sheila Kuehl and GOP candidate Leonard Michael Lanzi may be the only one this political season between openly gay candidates from both major parties.

But it is among six legislative races featuring a gay Republican candidate, including three in Los Angeles-based Assembly districts. Kuehl’s district stretches from Santa Monica to Oxnard.

Galvanized by the national debate over gay marriage, the Log Cabin Republicans of California, the leading gay GOP group, eagerly responded to the party’s call this year for candidates. The group fielded more candidates than any other Republican organization in the state.

In all, 11 candidates were recruited, said Jeff Bissiri, state chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans. Six survived the March primaries to run in Tuesday’s general election.

All are running in safe Democratic districts. But Bissiri said the goal was to gain a greater voice in state party politics. Candidates are automatically appointed to seats on the county and state Republican central committees and can select additional delegates depending on the percentage of votes they receive.

As gay Republicans become more politically active, Bissiri said he wanted to raise the level of participation within the GOP’s main structure and develop a stable of qualified candidates to compete in any race.

“I’m sure there are those in the party who would [rather] we not be there, but the leadership has been very supportive,” said Bissiri, whose group was established in 1977 and includes about 1,200 members.

Karen Hanretty, spokeswoman for the California Republican Party, said the Log Cabin candidates are team players who are helping to ensure that the GOP message is heard everywhere, including in districts with modest party registration.

But conservatives say welcoming pro-gay candidates would only intensify the battle to reshape the GOP’s platform on a number of social issues, including gay marriage and domestic partnership benefits.

“Their effort will fail, because not only do a majority of Republicans, but a majority of Americans, reject the gay agenda and its assault on the family,” said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, one of the party’s oldest conservative groups.

Refusing to endorse President Bush because he supports a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage illustrates that the Log Cabin Republicans are a one-issue group out of touch with core party members, Spence said.

But Bissiri said gay rights was only one issue his slate of candidates was concerned about, along with tax cuts, a strong military and fewer anti-business regulations.

For his part, Lanzi said his politics weren’t that far removed from those of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“I’m pro-choice; I believe there’s a role in government for some gun control,” said Lanzi, who works for a nonprofit agency that prepares youths for business careers. “We need a Legislature that is willing to work with the governor to cut the size of state government and balance the budget, not a Legislature working to save entitlement programs the state cannot afford.”

Lanzi, 42, who plans to spend less than $3,000 on his campaign, said his focus was on fiscal responsibility and education. He said more school districts should be free from union contracts and should be permitted to arrange transportation deals with private bus companies, funneling the savings back to classrooms.

Kuehl, the first openly gay person elected to the Legislature, said backing a gay challenger with no track record suggests the GOP isn’t interested in broadening its base.

“I don’t think this is a serious commitment by the Republicans, by any means, to bring gays into the party,” she said.

Kuehl, 63, who spent six years in the Assembly, touts her record as one of Sacramento’s most productive legislators. The popular Santa Monica Democrat has sponsored nearly 130 bills on issues such as safeguarding drinking water, improving the state’s child support system and providing paid family leave.

With more than 50% registered Democrats in her district, Kuehl isn’t anticipating much trouble retaining her seat.

She has spent little of the more than $600,000 she has raised since the first of the year on her campaign. No mailers are planned and no radio or television ads are scheduled, she said.

“I’m not even paying a campaign consultant,” she said.