Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
Encyclopedia
The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is an American
political action committee
dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBT
public officials in US
political life.
The Victory Fund was founded in 1991. It provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay and lesbian candidates and officials across the United States, helping them win elections at local, state and federal levels. Victory has successfully helped elect several hundred openly LGBT candidates to Congress, state legislatures, school boards and city councils. The organization also offers programs and training to elected officials.
The Victory Fund endorses dozens of openly LGBT candidates each year, increasing exposure to potential donors and providing both strategic and material support. Past endorsees include Tammy Baldwin
, Barney Frank
, David Cicilline
, Lupe Valdez
, Patricia Todd
and Virginia Linder
.
In 1995, the Victory Find was a principal organizer of a meeting between representatives of the Clinton administration and several dozen leaders of gay and lesbian organizations.
In 2008, 80 of the group's 111 endorsed candidates won their elections.
In 2009, the Victory Fund played an important role in the election of Annise Parker
as mayor of Houston. In electing an out lesbian as its chief executive, Houston became the largest city in the country to have elected an openly gay person as mayor. Local gay groups, particularly the Houston GLBT Political Caucus
, had nurtured Parker's political career and were openly supporting her race. The Victory Fund became a huge player in the race by providing a much-needed source of cash for Parker's grassroots efforts and helping her stay financially competitive with her two chief rivals, both of whose campaigns were lavishly funded. After the campaign, Parker referred to the Victory Fund as her "secret weapon" and thanked the organization for its help.
The Victory Fund is the nation’s largest LGBT political action committee and one of the nation’s largest non-connected PACs. Its President and CEO since 2003 is Chuck Wolfe
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
public officials in US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political life.
The Victory Fund was founded in 1991. It provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay and lesbian candidates and officials across the United States, helping them win elections at local, state and federal levels. Victory has successfully helped elect several hundred openly LGBT candidates to Congress, state legislatures, school boards and city councils. The organization also offers programs and training to elected officials.
The Victory Fund endorses dozens of openly LGBT candidates each year, increasing exposure to potential donors and providing both strategic and material support. Past endorsees include Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin is the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district, serving since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In September 2011, Baldwin announced she would be a candidate in the 2012 U.S...
, Barney Frank
Barney Frank
Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
, David Cicilline
David Cicilline
David Nicola Cicilline is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is formerly the Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, and was the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital.-Early life, education, and career:...
, Lupe Valdez
Lupe Valdez
Lupe Valdez is an American law enforcement official and the Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas. She is Texas's only elected female sheriff, as well as being the only openly lesbian holder of that office.-Early life:...
, Patricia Todd
Patricia Todd
Patricia Todd is an American politician from Alabama. A Democrat, she is a member of the Alabama House of Representatives representing District 54 in downtown Birmingham...
and Virginia Linder
Virginia Linder
Virginia Lynn Linder is an American judge from Oregon who has served, since January 2007, as the 99th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. She had previously served since 1997 on the Oregon Court of Appeals...
.
In 1995, the Victory Find was a principal organizer of a meeting between representatives of the Clinton administration and several dozen leaders of gay and lesbian organizations.
In 2008, 80 of the group's 111 endorsed candidates won their elections.
In 2009, the Victory Fund played an important role in the election of Annise Parker
Annise Parker
Annise Danette Parker is an American politician and the mayor of Houston since January 2, 2010. She served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller from 2004 to 2009...
as mayor of Houston. In electing an out lesbian as its chief executive, Houston became the largest city in the country to have elected an openly gay person as mayor. Local gay groups, particularly the Houston GLBT Political Caucus
Houston GLBT Political Caucus
The Houston GLBT Political Caucus is the South's oldest civil rights organization dedicated solely to the advancement of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. Founded in 1975, it is the largest gay political organization in the city of Houston and Harris County...
, had nurtured Parker's political career and were openly supporting her race. The Victory Fund became a huge player in the race by providing a much-needed source of cash for Parker's grassroots efforts and helping her stay financially competitive with her two chief rivals, both of whose campaigns were lavishly funded. After the campaign, Parker referred to the Victory Fund as her "secret weapon" and thanked the organization for its help.
The Victory Fund is the nation’s largest LGBT political action committee and one of the nation’s largest non-connected PACs. Its President and CEO since 2003 is Chuck Wolfe
Chuck Wolfe
Charles Albert "Chuck" Wolfe is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, an American political action committee dedicated to growing the number of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender elected officials in the United States...
.
Sources
- New York Times: David W. Dunlap, "The 1994 Campaign: Homosexuality," Nov. 6, 1994, accessed Dec. 9, 2009. "Some 130 candidates nationwide requested financial help from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a political-action committee, said its executive director, William W. Waybourn. The fund has supported 27 candidates this year, he said, almost twice as many as in 1993."
- New York Times: Jeffrey Schmalz, "As Gay Marchers Gather, Mood Is Serious and Festive," April 25, 1993, accessed Dec. 9, 2009. "At a celebration lunch sponsored by the Victory Fund, half a dozen appointed and elected officials who had not previously been known to be gay made an appearance."