Frank, Polis Endorse Out Gay SF City Supervisor's State Senate Bid

Two gay national leaders have endorsed Scott Wiener's bid for a California state Senate seat, with both noting the significance of having LGBT representation as playing into their decision.

This week Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado) and Barney Frank, a former Massachusetts congressman who retired in 2013, announced their support for Wiener, a gay San Francisco supervisor running to be the city's lone representative in the state Legislature's upper chamber.

Wiener and fellow Supervisor Jane Kim are locked in a tough race to succeed gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who this year is termed out of his Senate District 11 seat, which covers not only San Francisco but also a portion of northern San Mateo County.

Should Kim win, it would be the first time since 1996 that San Francisco did not have an LGBT representative in Sacramento. And it would also mark the first time that Asian-Americans have held all three of the city's seats in the Statehouse, as Democratic Assemblymen Phil Ting and David Chiu are both expected to easily win re-election in November.

In a phone interview Tuesday with the Bay Area Reporter , Frank pointed to the importance of electing an LGBT person to the Senate seat as a reason for his endorsing Wiener, whom he has met a few times in recent years.

"I also believe it is important, in my experience, there be an openly gay member of a very important state legislative body," said Frank, who will be in town next month to headline a fundraiser for Wiener's Senate bid. "Obviously, straight people can be very supportive, and I have never supported a gay person running against a straight supportive incumbent. But with an open seat, that is different."

In a statement to the B.A.R. Tuesday, Polis also noted the significance of having a gay person hold the seat.

"It's so important for LGBT elected officials to have a seat at the table," said Polis. "Scott Wiener has a long track record of supporting the LGBT community as well as also working more broadly to address the community's needs around housing, transportation, healthcare, and education. Scott has my full support."

(Come December the state Senate is expected to have at least one gay member and two lesbians as Senators Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach) and Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), as well as Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who is termed out of her seat and running for a Senate seat, are all expected to win their contests.)

In the June primary, Kim shocked the local political establishment by landing in first place ahead of Wiener. Many attributed her success to her endorsement in the race by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who at the time was running to be the Democratic presidential nominee and campaigned with Kim in the city.

This week the group Our Revolution, which Sanders and his supporters launched after his primary defeat to Hillary Clinton in order to impact the fall elections and help progressive candidates win at the state and local level, sent out a fundraising appeal on behalf of a number of its endorsed candidates that included Kim.

"Jane Kim is a civil rights attorney who's fought for affordable housing and fair wages and who is running for California's state Senate. You've met her before: Bernie Sanders' endorsement, along with thousands of contributions from our political revolution, helped Jane pull off a shocking win in her primary in June," wrote Shannon Jackson, the group's executive director, in the September 20 emailed request for donations. "Now she needs our help in her general election to secure another huge victory."

Wiener's fundraiser with Frank will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 20 at a location provided upon RSVP. The suggested donation to attend is $1,000; to RSVP call Celeste Wolter at (347) 527-3368 or email mailto:[email protected]