With all 54 precincts counted, Dwayne Crenshaw advanced in the District 4 City Council election. Crenshaw received 15.31 percent of the vote. The race was won by Myrtle Cole who received 32.87 percent of the vote.
Crenshaw, the executive director of San Diego Pride who serves on several community non-profit boards and councils, has been endorsed by the Victory Fund and the Environmental Health and Justice Campaign. Crenshaw has substantial support in the LGBT community due to his leadership of San Diego Pride, as well as his political views. Crenshaw is on a leave of absence from San Diego Pride as he pursues the Council seat.
Cole, who is a former policewoman and the regional director for the United Domestic Workers, has the support of LGBT political icons Toni Atkins and Christine Kehoe. Atkins is currently the majority leader in the California state Assembly and Kehoe is a former state senator. Cole worked for both Atkins and Kehoe. Cole also has been endorsed by the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. Cole is on a leave of absence from United Domestic Workers as she pursues the District 4 Council seat.
Given that 51 percent of the voters in District 4 did not vote for Crenshaw or Cole, the race may turn on the endorsements of the other candidates like Barry Pollard, Ray Smith and Blanca Lopez Brown. Further, the San Diego Democrats for Equality will now have an opportunity to revisit their endorsement in District 4; neither Crenshaw nor Cole met the threshold of 60 percent of membership support to get the endorsement.
It is expected that Crenshaw will get substantial financial support from the LGBT community, as well as a crowd of volunteers. Cole is also counting on support from the LGBT community. While Cole has the support of Atkins and Kehoe, it is undetermined whether that support will trump Crenshaw’s service to the LGBT community and many in the LGBT community who want to elect another LGBT councilmember.
Crenshaw prevailed in spite of a homophobic editorial in the Voice and Viewpoint saying that he was not qualified to be elected because he was gay.
The runoff election is expected to be in late May or early June.
So, the Voice and Viewpoint, SD’s African American newspaper is homophobic still. Years after they supported Prop 8, and they still keep getting a pass on their homophobia?