Victory Fund: Outrage in Alabama

Thu, Aug 24th 2006, 11:16

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Denis Dison (202) 842-7308, denis.dison@victoryfund.org

Washington DC – August 24, 2006 - The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund issued the following statement from its president and CEO, Chuck Wolfe, regarding a vote tonight by a party committee in Alabama to void Patricia Todd’s Democratic primary win for the District 54 seat in the State House.  Todd would become the first openly gay elected official in Alabama history.

“Patricia got the most votes in two separate elections—the primary and the runoff—but party bosses didn’t like the results, so now they plan to handpick their own candidate.  What happened today in Montgomery was unfair, undemocratic, un-American and unwise.  Democrats in Alabama have been through this before, and they have suffered for it.  When party power brokers insist they know better than the voters, the voters stay home.  Alabamians who care about democracy should be outraged, and Democrats everywhere should tell party leaders to reject the tired politics of yesterday and listen to the will of the people, especially those who have already spoken—twice.  We will continue to stand with Patricia as she fights to ensure that Alabama voters will be able to choose their own representatives.”

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly LGBT candidates and officials. It’s the only national organization solely committed to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials at federal, state and local levels of government.  Victory is the nation’s largest LGBT political action committee and one of the nation’s largest non-connected PACs.  In 15 years, Victory has helped the number of openly LGBT officials grow from 49 to more than 300.  For more information, visit www.victoryfund.org. 

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