Candidates From Around The Country

There are a number of elections from around the nation that have attracted my interest, they are in Maryland, Florida and Oklahoma this year.

In Maryland, Dana Beyer is running for a seat in the Maryland House…

Dana Beyer to launch Maryland delegate bid
MetroBlade
Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Jun 24, 2010

Eye-surgeon-turned-political activist Dana Beyer will officially launch her campaign Saturday to become the first transgender person elected to the Maryland Legislature.

Beyer, a Democrat, is challenging Democratic incumbent Alfred Carr for the District 18 seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in Maryland’s Sept. 14 Democratic primary. The district is located in Montgomery County and includes Silver Spring, Wheaton, Kensington and Chevy Chase, among other jurisdictions.

You might remember Ms. Beyer from the fight to pass a gender inclusive anti-discrimination law back in 2008. There was strong opposition to the bill by the Maryland Citizens for Responsible Government, a conservative religious group who organized a petition drive to repeal the law. The petition drive effort ending up in court when they failed to gather the required signatures to get the question on the ballot.

Anti-Bias Law Wins In Md.'s High Court
Transgender People Protected In Montgomery
By Henri E. Cauvin and Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post
September 10, 2008

A Montgomery County law banning discrimination against transgender people took effect yesterday, county attorneys said, after the state's highest court rejected a petition effort that would have forced the issue to a referendum.

The measure, passed by the County Council in November, had been set to take effect in February, but it was blocked when some religious and conservative groups launched the petition effort.

The dispute soon moved to court, where the two sides argued procedural points, disagreeing on such issues as the number of signatures necessary to place the matter on the November ballot.

Looking further south in Florida, there is a Republican candidate running for office…

Three-Way GOP Battle to Take On Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The Sunshine News
By: Kevin Derby
Posted: July 1, 2010

While U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz represents what appears to be a safe Democratic district, three Republican candidates have emerged to take on the incumbent.
[…]
Born in Cuba, Donna Milo, who works in the construction industry, said she saw similarities between the communist nation her family fled and the policies of the Obama administration.

While Milo has been getting attention for being transgendered, she stresses that she is a conservative. “I am a lifelong conservative Republican,” said Milo. “I am proud to say that I voted for Ronald Reagan.”

Milo blasted Wasserman Schultz for supporting the Obama administration on economic and international issues, noting that Jewish voters in the district are not happy with the congresswoman for backing the president’s policy on Israel. She said that voters were increasingly unhappy with Washington -- and Wasserman Schultz.

“The voters are not being heard,” said Milo on Wednesday. “The government is serving itself. People are concerned about spending.”

In an article in the Bay Area Reporter by Matthew S. Bajko, said that,

On the Republican side, in South Florida Donna Milo, a Cuban American transgender woman, is running in the Republican primary for the state's 20th Congressional District.

Milo, who opposes same-sex marriage and is a Tea Party member, is running against two other GOPers to take on incumbent Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the fall.

I am surprised that the Tea Party would back Milo in the primaries.

Lastly, in Oklahoma, there is another transgender candidate running for office…

Oklahoma's first openly transgender candidate will face Kern in fall election
Tulsa World
By RICKY MARANON
Published: 6/8/2010

OKLAHOMA CITY — A controversial lawmaker known for her comments against homosexuality likely will face the state’s first-known transgender candidate in this fall’s elections.

Oklahoma City attorney Brittany Novotny, a Democrat, filed Tuesday to run for the seat held by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City.

Novotny, 30, said the campaign is not about her gender identity.

“For six years, we’ve had someone who has not represented her district, has been ineffective on problems and is bad for business,” she said.

Novotny said Kern is pushing her personal agenda instead of focusing on issues that are important to House District 84, and because of that, the state and Kern’s Oklahoma City district have suffered.

Just because a candidate is transgender, does not mean that I support them, I would never support Milo because she is against marriage equality and is a Tea Party member. However, I would support the other candidates.

These candidates are not the first transgender candidates to run for office and they will not be the last candidates to run for office. However, they are part of a growing list of trans-people who are running for public office. There was a time when trans-people would never dream of being out in public, let alone run for office. At one time, when you transitioned the medical profession forced you to start your life over again in another location from where you lived. Now, we are becoming roll models for other trans-persons.