Next year may see the election of the first LGBT Member of Congress from California.
Openly gay Mark Takano, born and raised in Riverside, Calif., is the only Democrat running in a strongly Democratic-leaning open seat in Riverside County. The new 41st District has a seven percent Democratic registration advantage. President Obama won there by 20 percent in 2008, and Gov. Jerry Brown beat Meg Whitman there by 12 percent in 2010. Democratic performance history bodes well for Takano’s candidacy.
In 1992, Takano (then 31) came within 550 votes of winning a seat in what was at the time the 43rd District.
Both the Victory Fund and the Human Rights Campaign have endorsed Takano, and he is receiving strong support from Labor.
There will be a San Diego fundraising reception for Takano, Dec. 11. Stampp Corbin, publisher of San Diego LGBT Weekly is a member of the host committee for the fundraiser, but at this time the newsmagazine has not officially endorsed Takano.
If anyone would like to attend, you can RSVP with Rafael via email, Rafael@marktakano.com or give our office a call 951-776-4900
If you would like to attend please email: Rafael (at) marktakano (dot) com