Local: “Year of the Queer” proves elusive

Gay and lesbian candidates suffered defeat in races across the state on Tuesday in what was called a historically queer primary election.
While 2010 won’t go down in history as  “the year of the queer” that many had hoped for, GLBT political activists say the sheer number of gay and lesbian candidates this year was a victory for the gay community.
“This election represents a paradigm shift in American politics and culture, helped in no small way by the election of Obama in 2008,” said Matthew Zaradich, a political organizer at Join the Impact Chicago. “He showed the LGBT community that indeed anything is truly possible and those of us who didn’t think we had a real voice do indeed have one.”
Out of the 15 gay and lesbian candidates that ran for office in Illinois, six will go on to the Nov. 2 general election.
Four out of the six GLBT candidates that will appear on Nov. 2 general election ballots were unopposed: Rep. Greg Harris (D-13th), Rep. Bob Mueller (D-47th), Rep. Kent Delay (D-99th), and Chris Boyster (Sangamon County Board).
The fifth is incumbent Rep. Deb Mell (D-40th), who grabbed 66 percent of the vote after a contentious race against openly gay Joe Liacona.
The sixth, openly gay Democrat John Dalton, will move on to face Republican David Akemann for a suburban Kane County judgeship in November. He says it’s a sign of progress for the county and the state as a whole.
“I didn’t run as the gay candidate and first and foremost, they were voting on my credentials and my qualifications and those of the other candidates,” Dalton said. “But I also didn’t run away from the fact that I’m running and I’m openly gay. That has not been done before in Kane County.”
Ed Mullen, who fell behind Dan Farley and Ann Williams in the 11th Representative District, said he looks forward to time off the campaign trail and working to establish progressive unity in the GLBT community.
“My dog and I need to become re-acquainted,” Mullen said. “The second thing on the agenda is figuring out how to create more of an infrastructure for progressive causes and for progressive candidates in the state. We need to create a way for qualified, good progressive candidates to get the support they need to win.”
Other GLBT losses: Jim Madigan, Ill. state Senate 11th district; David Schroeder, Ill. state Rep. 5th district; Todd Connor, for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District; Sebastian Patti, Appellate Court Judge, 1st district; Joanne Fehn, Linda Pauel and Mary Trew, for Cook County Circuit Court judge benches.
“Win or lose, there’s a lot to celebrate,” said Jacob Meister, who pulled out of the race for U.S. Senate on Sunday and endorsed Alexi Giannoulias, who went on to beat David Hoffman for the Democratic nomination. “It’s very historic.”