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In The States

There’s tremendous potential to advance equality at the state level. That’s why HRC focused new attention on state legislatures in 2006, helping elect fair-minded majorities in Iowa, Indiana, New Hampshire and Oregon. And that’s why we focused on the states again this year, raising more than $4 million for special state political action committees and sending staff to work on the state-level races across the country.

 

State Houses

  • HRC worked to create fair-minded majorities in several state legislatures, and to defend the fair-minded majorities that we helped to secure in the 2006 elections.
  • HRC dedicated staff and other resources to protecting the allies who stood up for equality in New Hampshire, passing the state’s civil unions law.

 

  • In New York, where a change of two Senate seats would produce the fair-minded leadership necessary to pass marriage equality and non-discrimination protections for the transgender community, we dedicated $120,000 in contributions and staff time.
  • In Ohio, our success in helping elect a new fair-minded leadership to the Ohio State House could pave the way for an inclusive non-discrimination bill.
  • In Texas, HRC committed more than $100,000 to help elect a fair-minded leadership to the state House. At press time, the majority hangs in the balance as provisional ballots are counted in one key race.
  • And work in all of our state targets positions fair-minded legislatures for congressional redistricting after the 2010 census.

Ballot Initiatives

  • HRC, through our California Marriage PAC, contributed $3.4 million to combat Proposition 8, which sought to eliminate equal marriage rights in California. We also sent eight staff including National Field Director Marty Rouse. 
  • We contributed $120,000 to combat Florida’s anti-gay ballot initiative, and allocated a Campaign College participant and four staff to the effort.
  • In Arkansas, where an anti-adoption/foster care initiative was on the ballot, HRC helped fund a campaign manager (shared the costs with ACLU), sent a Campaign College participant for 12 weeks, and sent an HRC staffer for the last three weeks of the campaign.
  • We contributed $50,000 to combat Arizona’s proposed marriage amendment.

Fifty-two percent of the voters of California voted to deny us our equality on Tuesday, but they did not vote our families or the power of our love out of existence; they did not vote us away.

As free and equal human beings, we were born with the right to equal families. The courts did not give us this right — they simply recognized it. And although California has ceased to grant us marriage licenses, our rights are not subject to anyone’s approval. We will keep fighting for them. They are as real and as enduring as the love that moves us to form families in the first place. There are many roads to marriage equality, and no single roadblock will prevent us from ultimately getting there.”

– Joe Solmonese

Arkansas

Loss. Children in Arkansas lost access to permanent, loving homes with unmarried LGBT and straight parents when voters decided, 57 percent to 43 percent, to enact a law that would bar unmarried people from adopting or serving as foster parents there. The vote was an insult to the dignity of many good-hearted people who wished to open their lives to children in need; most of all, it was a loss for the children themselves, whose access to loving and permanent homes has been limited.

Arizona

Loss. In spite of a strong campaign to stop the ballot initiative, Arizona voters chose to write discrimination into the state’s constitution. Unlike the proposed amendment that failed in 2006, this amendment is silent about domestic partnerships, civil unions and other benefits. Any anti-LGBT amendment is a stain on the state’s constitution. As they always do, anti-gay forces poured millions of dollars into a nasty, dishonest campaign that used unfounded fears to turn voters against equality. We are hopeful that with this divisive campaign behind us, Arizona can now consider ways to protect, and not harm, its LGBT citizens.

California

Loss. After a hard-fought campaign into which out-of-state anti-LGBT forces poured millions of dollars, Californians were robbed of their fundamental right to marry. Opponents of marriage equality used the same bag of dirty tricks that they unleashed in other states — stating that marriage equality was a threat to children’s moral education and would disadvantage religious people and groups. They poured millions of dollars into persuading Californians that their neighbors’ equality was a threat to them. We are discouraged that these tactics were successful, but we know that the tide is slowly turning.

Florida

Loss. We are saddened by Florida voters’ decision to write discrimination into the state’s constitution, but we will continue our work to promote equality there.

On-the-Ground Presence in Priority States 

Arizona

  • Priorities: Anti-marriage constitutional amendment ballot initiative; CD1 – Ann Kirkpatrick (open seat); CD3 – Bob Lord (challenger); CD5 – Harry Mitchell (incumbent); CD8 – Gabrielle Giffords (incumbent). 
  • We deployed a Campaign College participant to Ann Kirkpatrick’s campaign and sent two additional staff members to Arizona for the last two weeks before the election to work on congressional races and the anti-marriage constitutional amendment campaign.
  • HRC conducted a Camp Equality™ election skills training in Phoenix to train and mobilize supporters of equality to volunteer in critical election campaigns.
  • Regional Field Director Tony Wagner worked in Arizona as Targeting Director for
    America Votes. He worked on coordinating progressive groups’ efforts to mobilize and turn out fair-minded voters.
  • HRC conducted polling on the anti-marriage amendment and contributed $50,000 to Arizona Together for media production and airtime.

California

  • Priority: Anti-marriage constitutional amendment ballot initiative.
  • HRC served on the executive committee of the No on Prop. 8-Equality for All campaign and deployed four field organizing staff to work on the campaign. Regional Field Organizer Heather Gibson was instrumental in opening the San Francisco campaign office and in leading the San Fernando Valley campaign efforts, along with HRC field organizing consultant Sarah Abernathy. Regional Field Organizer Terry McGuire worked in the campaign’s San Francisco office, and HRC Foundation staffer Che Tabisola worked half of his time on the campaign out of the San Fernando Valley and San Diego offices. HRC’s Youth and Campus Outreach Senior Manager Candace Gingrich helped mobilize college students on campuses across the state.
  • Four additional staff members were deployed to fight the measure in the final and months weeks of the campaign, including National Field Director Marty Rouse. 

Florida

  • Priority: Anti-marriage constitutional amendment ballot initiative.
  • HRC contributed funds early to Florida Red & Blue, one of two campaigns working to defeat the anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
  • In January 2008, HRC sent five staff to work with Florida Red & Blue to organize and train volunteers. The effort led to more than 175 volunteers working the presidential primary polls across the state in key areas, talking to voters about the harm that this ban could do. HRC deployed a Campaign College participant to work with Florida Red & Blue’s SayNo2 campaign and deployed four additional staff members to Florida for the final weeks to work on the ballot campaign and on key congressional races, including those of Alan Grayson (CD 8) and Suzanne Kosmas (CD 24).
  • In addition, HRC conducted a Camp Equality™ election skills training in Ft. Lauderdale in May, with 45 participants.

Minnesota

  • Priorities: U.S. Senate – Al Franken (challenger); CD1 – Tim Walz (incumbent); CD3 – Ashwin Madia (open seat); CD6 – Elwyn Tinklenberg (challenger).
  • HRC contributed to the Minnesota Democratic Party to allow them to hire Laurie Crelly, an HRC field organizing consultant, to do LGBT outreach for the Party. She also worked for HRC on contract to mobilize HRC members for critical state and federal elections. Three additional staff were deployed to Minnesota for the final weeks to work on key state and federal campaigns.
  • In addition, HRC conducted a Camp Equality™ election skills training in Minneapolis in September, with 15 participants.

New Hampshire

  • Priorities: U.S. Senate – Jeanne Shaheen (challenger); CD1 – Carol Shea-Porter (incumbent); CD2 – Paul Hodes (incumbent). 
  • Regional Field Organizer Jeremy Kennedy was deployed to New Hampshire in mid-September to mobilize HRC members and work with allies to elect Jeanne Shaheen. In addition, communications staffer Rachel Balick spent one week in New Hampshire to help Shaheen with LGBT media coverage.
  • HRC’s New Hampshire PAC also deployed a Campaign College participant to work with the New Hampshire Democratic Party on protecting and expanding the fair-minded state House and Senate majorities that passed civil unions legislation.
  • HRC opened a campaign office in Concord during the presidential primary to mobilize the LGBT community and to educate campaigns of both parties.

New Mexico

  • Priorities: U.S. Senate – Tom Udall (open seat); CD1 – Martin Heinrich (open seat); CD2 – Harry Teague (open seat); CD3 – Ben Lujan (open seat).
  • HRC staffer Marybeth Lennox worked full time as field organizer in Albuquerque to mobilize HRC members and allies to help elect HRC-endorsed candidates. In addition, HRC deployed a Campaign College participant to work in Martin Heinrich’s congressional campaign, and deployed one additional staff member to work for the last few weeks in New Mexico.
  • HRC conducted a Camp Equality™ election skills training in Albuquerque and mobilized HRC members to work on behalf of fair-minded candidates for the state legislature.

New York

  • Priorities: State Senate campaigns (net gain of two seats elects a fair-minded leadership); CD13 – Mike McMahon (open seat); CD20 – Kirsten Gillibrand (incumbent); CD25 – Dan Maffei (open seat); CD29 – Eric Massa (challenger).
  • Regional Field Director Sultan Shakir spent significant time in New York working on state Senate races (mainly on Long Island).
  • More than 50 people attended a Camp Equality™ election skills training on Long Island and were encouraged to participate in campaigns.
  • HRC PAC deployed Campaign College participants to work in Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand’s re-election campaign and a state Senate race upstate. HRC deployed one additional staff member to work on member mobilization in key congressional campaigns during the last weeks.

Ohio

  • Priorities: State House campaigns (net gain of five seats elects a fair-minded leadership); CD1 – Steve Driehaus (challenger); CD2 – Vic Wulsin (challenger); CD15 – Mary Jo Kilroy (open seat); CD16 – John Boccieri (open seat). 
  • Regional Field Director Art DeCoursey was based in Columbus and oversaw HRC federal and state election work in Ohio nearly full time beginning in October. He was joined in Ohio by field organizer Charlie Mumford and field consultant Anthony Hayes.
  • HRC conducted Camp Equality™ election skills trainings in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland and mobilized Camp alumni to be active volunteers in state and federal campaigns.
  • In addition, HRC PAC deployed one Campaign College participant to work in John Boccieri’s congressional campaign and HRC Ohio Families PAC sent a second to work with the Ohio Democratic Party on key state House campaigns. We deployed three additional staff members to Ohio in the final weeks to mobilize HRC members to work on key congressional and state campaigns.

Texas

  • Priorities: State House campaigns (net gain of five seats elects a fair-minded leadership).
  • Regional Field Organizer Karl Bach was deployed to Texas since September to mobilize HRC members and work with allies mainly on state House races. Electing a fair-minded leadership to the Texas State House would allow supporters of equality to begin advancing pro-LGBT legislation and to have a seat at the table after the 2010 redistricting. Karl also mobilized HRC members to help re-elect openly lesbian Dallas Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
  • HRC conducted Camp Equality™ election skills trainings in Houston and Dallas, and HRC Texas Families PAC deployed a Campaign College participant to work on State House campaigns in the Ft. Worth area.