Arizona could be the next state to elect an openly LGBTQ member of The U.S. House of Representatives. The Victory Fund today announced it has endorsed Matt Heinz for the task of representing Tucson, Arizona in the 2016 race.
Heinz is a physician at the Tucson Medical Center. As a presidential appointee with the Department of Health and Human Services from 2013 to 2015, he served as the Director of Provider and LGBTQ Outreach in which he worked to educate the LGBTQ community about their healthcare options under the Affordable Care Act.
Previously, Heinz has worked closely with LGBTQ groups such as Equality Arizona to defeat discriminatory legislation and policies, including the same-sex marriage bans in Arizona. As a legislator in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2008 to 2012, he earned a reputation as an effective and bipartisan lawmaker as he fought discriminatory bills, including one to make same-sex adoption more difficult.
Lea Krauss also received Victory Fund’s endorsement in her 2016 race for Judge of the Circuit 17 Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After earning her law degree at the University of Miami, she served for three years as a prosecutor with the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. She then went into private practice as a criminal defense attorney and started her own law firm. Lea has handled thousands of cases ranging from simple misdemeanors to complex felonies. Additionally, Lea serves as President of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Network (GLLN), and formerly served as Director of the Pride Center at Equality Park.
Victory is also endorsing all four of Nevada’s incumbent openly-LGBTQ state legislators in their 2016 elections: Senator Kelvin Atkinson, Assemblyman Nelson Araujo, Senator David Parks and Senator Pat Spearman. All of these public servants have demonstrated leadership on issues that directly affect LGBTQ people, from marriage equality to the safety of transgender students.
This will be Atkinson’s first time running as an openly gay candidate. In 2013, during a debate on repealing Nevada’s gay marriage ban, Atkinson announced on the Senate floor that: “I’m black. I’m gay.” It was the first time he had publicly identified as gay. He then proposed to his partner on the floor, and they became the first same-sex couple to marry in Nevada.
Other candidates receiving Victory’s endorsement in October are:
Michael Scott – City Council – Ward 4, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Ty Stober – City Council – Pos. 5, Vancouver, Washington
JR Roberts – City Council, Palm Springs, California
