Three big city mayoral candidates now endorsed by Victory Fund
Washington, DC – Today LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed 18 new openly LGBTQ candidates for the 2019 election cycle. Tampa mayoral candidate Jane Castor received a Spotlight endorsement – awarded to candidates whose election are considered top priorities for the organization. The endorsement of Castor brings to three the total number of big city mayoral candidates the organization has endorsed.
“This year we can elect an unprecedented number of LGBTQ local officials, including the first big city mayor in the Midwest, the first big city mayor in the Heartland and the first big city mayor in the Southeast,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund. “It is state and local elected officials who have the most impact on the everyday lives of constituents – ensuring services are running and needs being met regardless of whether the federal government is ambivalent or shutdown. And when LGBTQ, these elected officials humanize our lives, change perspectives in their local communities and inspire more inclusive legislation. They are an important part of our movement for equality and that is why we will work tirelessly to elect them.”
The other 2019 big city mayoral endorsees so far are Jolie Justus of Kansas City and Lori Lightfoot of Chicago. Madison, WI mayoral candidate Satya Rhodes-Conway also received an endorsement. This is the second-round of 2019 election cycle endorsements by Victory Fund, with a total of 30 candidates endorsed so far.
A complete list of candidate endorsements announced today is below:
Spotlight Candidate:
Jane Castor, Mayor of Tampa, FL
General Candidates:
Lawrence Robinson, Phoenix (AZ) City Council, District 8
Jackie Goldberg, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, District 5
Colin Bird-Martinez, Chicago City Council, Ward 31
Ella Coffee, Tampa (FL) City Council
Sebastian Rey, Jefferson Parish (LA) Council, District 2
Brian Knudsen, Las Vegas City Council, Ward 1
Karl Frisch, Fairfax County (VA) School Board
LaTonsha “LT” Pridgen, Prince William County (VA) Board of Supervisors, Coles Magisterial District
Incumbent Candidates:
Jose Cisneros, San Francisco Treasurer
John D’Amico, West Hollywood (CA) City Council, At-Large
Scott Galvin, North Miami (FL) City Council, District 1
Alex Arroyo, East Aurora (IL) School Board
Aime Wichtendahl, Hiawatha (IA) City Council, At-Large
Carol Rizzo, Neptune Township (NJ) Committee, At-Large
Candida Affa, Allentown (PA) City Council, At-Large
Nancy VanReece, Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County (TN), District 8
Omar Narvaez, Dallas (TX) City Council, District 6
More information about the candidates is available at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates.
Since 1991, Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state and federal elections.
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LGBTQ Victory Fund
LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government.