LGBTQIA+ candidates took the spotlight and emerged victorious during the January General Membership meeting of the Stonewall Democratic Club on Monday night, where nearly 500 attendees debated for more than four hours and voted on several key endorsements late into the evening. The audience included LGBTQ+ United States Representative Mark Takano (D-CA), who earned the club’s endorsement, members of the State Assembly and Senate, and several Los Angeles City Councilmembers.
Stonewall President Alex Mohajer kicked off the meeting calling for decorum and civility but encouraged dissent and debate. “We earned our namesake from a riot,” Mohajer said, “so let’s get ready to rumble tonight with the understanding that we are all bonded by our collective history and a shared love of politics and country.”
Among the candidates who emerged victorious was Rick Chavez Zbur, the former Executive Director of Equality California and titan in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality and representation, who handily won endorsement for his race in California State Assembly District 51. Caroline Menjivar, an out queer Latina veteran and first-time candidate, also won an endorsement for California State Senate in District 20, which represents large swaths of the San Fernando Valley.
LGBTQ+ Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who represents the 11th district, won with 83% of the membership voting overwhelmingly to support his re-election bid, days before Bonin announced that he would not be seeking re-election to focus on his mental health and family.
“Mike Bonin has been a champion for progressive values and for the unhoused,” said Mohajer. “We will miss his courageous leadership on the LA City Council.”
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles City Council District 13, LGBTQ+ incumbent Mitch O’Farrell faced insurgent challenger Hugo Soto-Martinez, a labor organizer who received the near-unanimous 6-1 recommendation of Stonewall’s endorsement committee. Despite a strong showing by Soto-Martinez, O’Farrell and his supporters managed to overturn the recommendation of the endorsement panel and surpass the threshold needed to win the endorsement.
Other LGBTQ+ candidates who won endorsement Monday night included Pasadena City Council candidate Jason Lyon, West District Waterboard candidate Scott Houston, Georgia House of Representatives candidate Steward Parnacott, and Orange County Assessor candidate Rick Foster.
Stonewall’s voting membership could not agree on who to endorse in several contested races. In Los Angeles City Council District 5, the endorsement committee recommended Katy Young Yaroslavsky, but opposition from candidate Sam Yebri and LGBTQ+ candidate Jimmy Biblarz earned enough support that Yaroslavsky was unable to meet the 60% threshold of membership votes needed to secure the endorsement. The members ultimately voted “no consensus” and will revisit the race after the primary. The voting members also could not come to a consensus in the Los Angeles City Attorney race, where recommended candidate Hydee Feldstein Soto could not achieve the 60% threshold required for endorsement.
Other candidates that received Stonewall’s endorsements include (* indicates an incumbent):
- Board of Supervisors 1- Hilda Solis*
- Senate District 22 Susan Rubio*
- Senate District 24 Ben Allen*
- Senate District 26 Maria Elena Durazo*
- Assembly District 43 Luz Rivas*
- Assembly District 46 Jesse Gabriel*
- Assembly District 48 Blanca Rubio*
- Assembly District 49 Special Election Mike Fong
- Assembly District 54 Miguel Santiago*
- Assembly District 55 Isaac Bryan*
- Assembly District 56 Lisa Calderon*
- Assembly District 57 Reggie Jones-Sawyer*
- Assembly District 61 Autumn Burke*
- Assembly District 62 Anthony Rendon*
- Assembly District 66 Al Muratsuchi*
- LA Unified School District 4 Nick Melvoin*
- LA Unified School District 6 Kelly Gonez*
- LA City Council 7 Monica Rodriguez*
The next General Membership Meeting will be on Monday, February 28, 2022.
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Since its founding in Los Angeles in 1975, Stonewall Democratic Club has been the home for progressive Democrats who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight allies of the LGBT community.
The first Stonewall Democratic club in the nation, established for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and straight allies committed to achieving equality for all and to advancing progressive and feminist values through the Democratic Party at all levels of the political process, local, state and federal. SDC is an all-volunteer grassroots non-profit political organization and is among the largest Democratic Clubs in California.
Voting for someone simply because they are gay, or whatever part of the lgbtq, etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah is a very foolish thing
No one really cares about all this except the self-congratulating political hacks. It’s just a laundry list of people not to vote for. And let’s be frank, the Democrat party has turned California into a toilet that you can flush. West Hollywood, it’s going to be on the skids with no hotel taxes coming in because tourists are staying away in droves. Defund the police doesn’t help. Instead of cops on the beat … we have homeless on the streets. Good luck.
“No one really cares” …you left a comment expressing your disdain and then chose to come back to this article 13 hours later to leave another comment expressing more disdain.
Seems like you care quite a lot.
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Made my point. Say, OMG, aren’t you the guy… they keep commenting… who does John Erickson’s nails?
LOL Do people take you seriously?
good grief
Thank you for the minimal laugh, but still…a laugh.
LOL thank you Sam! I needed that.
I will vote for anyone except on their list. The Democrats have turned California into a toilet that you can’t flush and West Hollywood into one of the most dangerous cities in California. Defund professional politicians.
Seems like a group of self aggrandizing gripesters. There once was a day when people interested in public service had notions of altruism.
Some people say this endorsement is relevant. But for me it helps me to decide who not to vote for.
With 500 members participating I think these endorsements actually have some legitimacy. Stonewall is going thru a resurgence. Stonewall’s new president Alex Mohajer is igniting new energy. The club has come a long way from the smoke filled rooms and insider power plays of Eric Bauman. That is a good thing for our community.