Trailblazers: Profiles of America's Gay and Lesbian Elected Officials

By Kenneth Yeager

Trailblazers: Profiles of America's Gay and Lesbian Elected Officials (winner of the Victory Foundation Civic Leadership Award) is a quick reference to the most comprehensive list of the country's openly gay and lesbian officials. You'll read about 14 of these representatives in greater depth, getting to know them personally and professionally.

Trailblazers identifies representatives from local, state, and national levels from all over the country. In each profile, you'll examine the relationship between the elected official and his or her constituency. You'll also explore public reactions to openly gay and lesbian politicians, some of whom are also ethnic minorities, and how this affects the job that they do. Trailblazers offers an in-depth, personal look at the lives of some of the politicians involved in the history of gay and lesbian activism over the last 20 years. Specifically, you'll read about the lives of:

Tina Podloski, a lesbian mother and Seattle Councilwoman Tom Duane, a New York Councilman with HIV Sabrina Sojourner, an African-American lesbian shadow representative in Washington, DC William Weybourn, the founder of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which helps to elect gay and lesbian candidates to public office Jose Plata, a gay Hispanic Dallas School TrusteeIn addition to giving you keen insight into the lives of these officials, Trailblazers can help you if you decide to run for election, putting a checklist of campaign dos and don'ts at your fingertips. An enlightening book about the private and public achievements of our gay and lesbian politicians, Trailblazers is a valuable addition to any personal or professional library.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078900299X
• ISBN13: 9780789002990
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Encouraging and well written. Highly recommended.

A fine book by San Jose State University Professor Ken Yeager. Ken profiles a dozen gay and lesbian elected officials. I really enjoyed it, particulary the five chapters on women. Luckily, I read about the people I was most interested in first, because Ken's first chapter was about my state Senator Allan Spear. (Allan Spear is the only slightly boring chapter in the book) Ken provides too much information that only "political junkies" or "Minnesotian's" might appreciate. The chapter about California Assemblywoman Carole Migden is a hoot! You can tell that Ken knows Migden well because he tweaks her and shows respect for her at the same time. I appreciated his inclusion of two conservative (one Republican) gay officials who have taken a lot of bashing for being out in Iowa and Tempe, Arizona. Ken includes a lot of gee-whiz personal stories. You can tell he has journalism as well as political science experience. I found the stories touching and inspiring and I learned a few things. For instance, I learned of the political power wielded by gay men in West Hollywood, and the powerful Victory Fund, a gay version of Emily's List. The story of Ken's own failed state assembly campaign, involving an anti-gay hit piece, has an uplifting ending.