October 19, 2020
The Honorable Gavin Newsom Governor, State of California State Capitol, First Floor Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Newsom,
In February 2004, you made international headlines for your decision to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This thrillingly bold move — just one month into your first term as Mayor of San Francisco — could have derailed your political career. Instead, it cemented your legacy as a civil rights champion and ignited the dreams of millions of LGBTQ+ people around the world who had never before dared to imagine a city that would legalize their relationships.
With the potential opening of California’s second United States Senate seat, an opportunity to make another historic decision now lies before you.
Appointing an openly LGBTQ+ person to the U.S. Senate — just the third in the nation’s history — would send a powerful message about the Golden State’s leadership and values to the rest of the nation. Indeed, given that California is the fifth largest economy in the world, such a choice would be globally portentous and serve as a powerful rebuke to leaders around the world who actively undermine human rights.
Indeed, even in our high-equality state, there is LGBTQ+ under-representation at all levels of government — Equality California polling has found 12% of California voters identify as LGBTQ+, but only three of 40 state senators are openly LGBTQ+, and just four of 80 members of the Assembly are openly LGBTQ+. A 2015 report issued by the Williams Institute found that less than 1% appointed seats at state agencies, boards and commissions were held by openly LGBTQ+ people at that time.
On behalf of Equality California’s 900,000 members, I therefore respectfully urge you to consider six highly qualified openly LGBTQ+ leaders if such a vacancy occurs: California Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, California Assemblymember Evan Low, U.S. Representative Mark Takano and California Senator Scott Wiener. Each candidate has
a powerful biography, a distinguished legislative record and impeccable integrity. Each would serve California with distinction and honor.
Their lived experiences — as the daughter of an Appalachian miner and a seamstress who grew up in a home with no running water, an immigrant whose mother worked as a housekeeper to support her family, the son of a formerly undocumented factory worker and seamstress from Mexico, the youngest Asian-American legislator elected to the Assembly in state history, a former high school teacher whose parents and grandparents spent years in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, and the Jewish son of small business owners who went on to hold the seat on the SF Board of Supervisors once occupied by Harvey Milk — embody the diversity and promise of California and the future of our state. Each would serve as a role model to young people — especially those who are LGBTQ+, and do not see themselves reflected at the highest level of government.
These six individuals are strong leaders who have proven they can win elections, build coalitions and govern effectively. They have earned the respect of their peers and have made historic contributions to our state and the nation. Each has demonstrated a commitment to serving all Californians and protecting the most vulnerable among us.
Senator Toni Atkins has served as Mayor of San Diego, Speaker of the Assembly, and is both the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to lead the California Senate. The first person of color and first LGBTQ+ person to serve as Mayor of Long Beach, Robert Garcia represents the next generation of California leaders and has distinguished himself nationally through his seasoned leadership of one of the state’s most diverse large cities, having proposed and passed ten ballot initiatives and led trade missions to countries around the world to promote Long Beach — home to the second largest container port in the nation. As wildfires and COVID-19 rage across our state, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, is arguably managing the most demanding portfolio ever, even as countless Californians lose their employer-provided health insurance. Evan Low, representing Silicon Valley, is a powerful advocate for technology, one of the drivers of California’s economy. As Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Mark Takano is a powerful advocate for servicemembers who have returned home, injured in body and mind from foreign engagements, to ensure they receive the services and benefits they need. And Scott Wiener has authored and passed some of the most important -- and most groundbreaking -- pro-equality bills in our state’s history — many of which are now national legislative models.
LGBTQ+ representation at the highest levels of government is not only important symbolically, but practically as well. When LGBTQ+ people bring their own lived
experiences and the needs and priorities of our historically underserved community to the decision-making table, it changes hearts and minds, and affects the outcome.
We appreciate that you may consider individuals beyond members of the LGBTQ+ community and would strongly encourage you to hold them to a standard beyond the demonstration of general support for the LGBTQ+ community. If you choose to appoint an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, we respectfully urge you to select one who meets the standard you set at City Hall in 2004 — not just a passive supporter of LGBTQ+ people, but a full-throated champion who takes on our struggle for full, lived equality as their own.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and California State Controller Betty Yee meet that very high bar and have never wavered in their commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ civil rights and social justice, even when it was not politically expedient for them to stand with our community. We are confident that each would serve the State of California and the nation honorably in the United States Senate if appointed to fill a vacancy.
I am honored to present these outstanding individuals for your consideration for a future appointment to the United States Senate, should a vacancy occur in 2021, and I have every confidence that you will consider them with the weightiness offered by this potential historic opportunity.
With gratitude,
Rick Chavez Zbur Executive Director
cc: Ann O’Leary, Chief of Staff