Washington, DC – Today LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed 17 new openly LGBTQ candidates for the 2019 election cycle. The new endorsees reflect Victory Fund’s efforts to increase LGBTQ representation in local governments throughout the United States – with candidates for school boards and city councils in states both red and blue. This election cycle, Victory Fund is working to increase or secure for the first time an LGBTQ presence on city councils in Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Philadelphia.
“This year we can elect an unprecedented number of LGBTQ local officials, including mayors, city councilmembers and schoolboard members who can strengthen LGBTQ political power in cities big and small,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund. “It is local elected officials who have the most impact on the everyday lives of constituents – ensuring services are running and needs being met. LGBTQ local officials become role models for our youth, change perceptions of our community, and are the leaders who become our state representatives, members of Congress and governors. While many are focused on 2020, Victory Fund is doing that and more to ensure these critical 2019 races are not overlooked.”
Also among the endorsees is Virginia Delegate Dawn Adams, whose reelection race for District 68 is shaping up to be one of the most contentious in the state and is critical to Democratic control of the state House. She was first elected in 2017.
A complete list of candidate endorsements announced today is below:
General Candidates:
Ryan Brown, Mississippi Public Service Commission, Central District
Aaron Edmond, Prince William (VA) Board of County Supervisors, Occoquan District
Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe, San Antonio City Council, District 8
Sahar Muranovic, David Douglas (OR) School Board, Position 4
Jonathan Panofsky, Centennial (PA) School Board, Region II
Keith Potts, Indianapolis City-County Council, District 2
David Richardson, Miami Beach Commission, Group 6
Mark Sanders, Lawrence (IN) Common Council, District 6
Jessica Semler, Etna Borough (PA) Council
Carlton Stuart, Upper Merion Township (PA) Supervisor
Linda Vega, Allentown (PA) School Board
Marisa Ziegler, Parkland (PA) School Board
Bob Zuckerman, South Orange Village (NJ) Board of Trustees, At-Large
Incumbent Candidates:
Dawn Adams, Virginia House of Delegates, District 68
Pat Davis, Albuquerque City Council, District 6
Robert Gallegos, Houston City Council, District I
Sean Murphy, Mayor of Telluride (CO)
This is Victory Fund’s fifth round of endorsements for the 2019 election cycle. The organization has now endorsed 83 openly LGBTQ candidates across the country.
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.
