LGBT officeholders, community leaders will gather to discuss
outcome of elections
The Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute will hold its annual Leadership Conference Nov. 16-19 in Houston, with openly gay LGBT elected and appointed officials and community leaders gathering to hear from top political professionals about the outcome of the Nov. 7 elections and the outlook for the political season ahead, institute officials said.
Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Vermont, will give the keynote address to on Nov. 17, and openly gay Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., will address the conference on Nov. 18.
Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the institute, said this election season is a “critical time” for openly gay leaders.
“Mark Foley cannot become the face of gay elected officials,” Wolfe said.
“LGBT leaders and others in politics will come together to share their ideas and strategies about emerging from an era where are lives are used as a political wedge issue.”
Other panelists and speakers participating in the conference include Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Kate Kendall, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; H. Alexander Robinson of the National Black Justice Coalition; Volker Beck, a Member of Parliament in Germany; Pam Spaulding, of Pam’s House Blend Blog; Patrick Guerriero of Gill Action; Neil Giuliano, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; moderators Jason Bellini of CBS News on Logo and Ari Shapiro of National Public Radio; Rosanna Flamer-Caldera of the International Lesbian and Gay Association; and numerous local and state elected officials.
The institute will also be holding its Campaign and Candidate Training Nov. 15-18 in Houston.
Openly gay Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is a graduate of the intense, four-day workshop designed to prepare openly LGBT leaders and campaign workers to run a campaign.
Valdez said the training “provided the guidance, skills and support I needed to run for a seat that no Democrat had won in more than 25 years and no woman had ever won.
For more information on the conference, go online to www.victoryinstitute.org/conference. For more information on the training, go online to www.victoryinstitute.org/training.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, October 20, 2006.
