2024 Primary Election Endorsements

CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS

Primary Election 2024

United States House Of Representatives

15th District — Kevin Mullin

16th District — Evan Low 🏳️‍🌈

17th District — Ro Khanna

18th District — Zoe Lofgren

19th District — Jimmy Panetta

California State Senate

10th District — Dave Cortese

11th District — Scott Wiener 🏳️‍🌈

13th District — Josh Becker

17th District — John Laird 🏳️‍🌈

California State Assembly

23th District — Mark Berman

24th District — Alex Lee 🏳️‍🌈

25th District — Ash Kalra

26th District — Patrick Ahrens

28th District — Gail Pellerin

29th District — Robert Rivas

30th District — Dawn Addis

Santa Clara County

County Supervisor, District 2 — Betty Duong

County Supervisor, District 3 — Otto Lee

County Supervisor, District 5 — Margaret Abe-Koga

Judicial, Seat 5 — Jay Boyarsky

City Of San Jose

Mayor — Matt Mahan

City Council, District 2 — Vanessa Sandoval

City Council, District 4 — David Cohen

City Council, District 6 — Michael Mulcahy

City Council, District 8 — Domingo Candelas

City Council, District 10 — Lenka Wright

San Mateo County

County Supervisor, District 4 — Dual Endorsement
Lisa Gauthier and Antonio López

Santa Cruz County

County Supervisor, 1st District — Lani Faulkner

County Supervisor, 2nd District — Dual Endorsement

Kimberly DeSerpa and Kristen Brown

County Supervisor, 5th District — Monica Martinez 🏳️‍🌈

City Of Santa Cruz

Councilmember, District 1 — Dave Tannaci 🏳️‍🌈

Councilmember, District 2 — Sonja Brunner

Councilmember, District 3 — Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

Councilmember, District 5 — Joe Thompson 🏳️‍🌈

Monterey County

County Supervisor, District 1 — Luis Alejo

County Supervisor, District 4 — Wendy Root Askew

County Supervisor, District 5 — Dual Endorsement

Kate Daniels and Dr. Alan Haffa

City of Soledad, City Council — Fernando Ansaldo 🏳️‍🌈

2022 General Election Endorsements

BAYMEC Endorsed Candidates
2022 General Election

General Election Endorsements

BAYMEC is proud to share our complete and updated list of endorsements. We hope that you will use this list as you vote in the upcoming election.

Santa Clara County

Cindy Chavez – San Jose Mayor
Bob Jonsen – Santa Clara County Sheriff 
Sylvia Arenas – Santa Clara County Supervisor District 1
Marc Berman – Assembly District 23
Alex Lee – Assembly District 24
Ash Kalra – Assembly District 25
Evan Low – Assembly District 26
Gail Pellerin – Assembly District 28
Anna Eshoo – Congressional District 16
Ro Khanna – Congressional District 17
Zoe Lofgren – Congressional District 18
Jimmy Panetta – Congressional District 19
Sally Lieber – State Board of Equalization
Chuck Cantrell – Santa Clara Valley Water Board Member District 6
 Anthony Becker – City of Santa Clara Mayor
Rich Constantine – Morgan Hill Mayor 
Omar Torres – San Jose City Council District 3
Maya Esparza – San Jose City Council District 7 
Lucas Ramirez – Mountain View City Council
Ellen Kamei – Mountain View City Council
 Richard Mehlinger – Sunnyvale City Council District 5
 JR Fruen – Cupertino City Council
Jose Magana – San Jose Unified Area 2 Trustee
Minh Pham – Governing Board Member, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District
Jaria Jaug – School Board Member for Berryessa Union School District
James Kim – Governing Board Member, Campbell Union High School District, Trustee Area 1
Elizabeth Halliday – Governing Board Member, Campbell Union High School District TA 2
Jason Baker – Governing Board Member, Campbell Union High School District TA 3
Danielle Cohen – Governing Board Member, Campbell Union School District, Trustee Area #5
Marisa Hanson – Evergreen School Board
Jeremy Barousse – Governing Board Member, Evergreen School District
Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto – Trustee, Fremont Union High School District Board
Thida Cornes – MVLA Board
Raeena Lari – Governing Board Member, Santa Clara County Board of Education, TA #7
Nicole Chiu-Wang – Palo Alto School Board

San Mateo County

Kevin Mullin – Congressional District 15
Anna Eshoo – Congressional District 16
Sally Lieber – State Board of Equalization
Laura Parmer Lohan – San Mateo County Board of Supervisors District 3
Marc Berman – Assembly District 23
Sarah Fields – San Mateo City Council District 3 
 Chris Sturken – Redwood City Council District 2
Eddie Flores – South San Francisco City Council District 5

Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties

Zoe Lofgren – California Congressional District 18
Jimmy Panetta – California Congressional District 19
Sally Lieber – State Board of Equalization
Gail Pellerin – 28th Assembly District 
Robert Rivas – 29th Assembly District 
Dawn Addis – 30th Assembly District
Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson – Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 3 
Adam Spickler – Cabrillo Community College Governing Board Member, Trustee Area 2
Kimberly De Serpa – Pajaro Valley Unified
School District Governing Board Member, Trustee Area 1 
Lucia Rocha-Nestler – Scotts Valley Unified School District Governing Board Member
Fred Keeley – Santa Cruz Mayor
Scott Newsome – Santa Cruz City Council  District 4
Alexander Pedersen – City of Capitola Councilmember
Yvette Lopez Brooks – City of Capitola Councilmember
Derek Timm – City of Scotts Valley Councilmember
Regina M. Gage – Monterey County Supervisor
Tina M. Nieto – Monterey County Sheriff & Coroner
Ulises Gonzalez – Monterey County Board of Education Governing Board Member Trustee Area 6
Mary Claypool – Monterey County Board of Education Governing Board Member Trustee Area 6

Victor Manuel Tafoya – Governing Board Member Trustee Area 3
Tyller Williamson – Monterey Mayor
 John Uy – City of Del Rey Oaks City Council
Elisabeth "Liesbeth" Visscher – City of King City Council, District 4
Alameda County
Shawn Kumagai – Assembly District 20
Alex Lee – Assembly District 24

2018 Elections Update!

Here is the latest on BAYMEC-endorsed candidates who are currently placing in their elections or who have already won.

We are thrilled to report that 8 of our record 14 LGBTQ candidates this cycle have won or are leading!

Ricardo Lara, State Insurance Commissioner

Evan Low, State Assembly District 28

Laura Parmer-Lohan, San Carlos City Council

Donna Meyers, Santa Cruz City Council

Tyller Williamson, Monterey City Council

Jeff Baron, Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council

Cindy Ranii, Santa Cruz City Schools District Board

Jorge Pacheco Jr., Oak Grove School District TA 3

They are also indicated below in bold purple.

In addition, three BAYMEC-endorsed LGBTQ candidates either won in the primary or were appointed in lieu of election:

• Adam Spickler, Cabrillo College Board of Trustees and the FIRST openly trans man in CA state history (appointed in lieu of election)

• Shay Franco-Clausen, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and FIRST queer woman of color to hold office in Santa Clara County (appointed in lieu of election)

• Nancy Magee, San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools (elected in June)

For a complete list of our endorsements, please see our endorsements page.

STATE AND FEDERAL CANDIDATES

Ro Khanna, Congressional District 17

Anna Eshoo, Congressional District 18

Zoe Lofgren, Congressional District 19

Jimmy Panetta, Congressional District 20

Ricardo Lara, State Insurance Commissioner

Bob Wieckowski, State Senate District 10

Anna Caballero, State Senate District 12

Marc Berman, State Assembly District 24

Kansen Chu, State Assembly District 25

Ash Kalra, State Assembly District 27

Evan Low, State Assembly District 28

Mark Stone, State Assembly District 29

Robert Rivas, State Assembly District 30

**See all statewide and congressional election results here.

SAN MATEO COUNTY

Susan Alvaro, San Mateo County Board of Education

Richard Holober, San Mateo County Community College Board

Charles Stone, Belmont City Council

Julia Mates, Belmont City Council

Warren Lieberman, Belmont City Council

Ray Buenaventura, Daly City Council

Debbie Ruddock, Half Moon Bay City Council

Deborah Penrose, Half Moon Bay City Council

Cecilia Taylor, Menlo Park City Council

Giselle Hall, Redwood City Council

Diane Howard, Redwood City Council

Laura Parmer-Lohan, San Carlos City Council

Sara McDowell, San Carlos City Council

Mark Nagales, South San Francisco City Council

Amy Koo, Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Board

Stephanie Fitch, Ravenswood School District

***See all San Mateo County results here.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Susan Ellenberg, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 4 (Ken Yeager’s seat)

Laurie Smith, Santa Clara County Sheriff

Kathleen King, Santa Clara County Board of Education Area 2

Claudia Rossi, Santa Clara County Board of Education Area 7

Mike Potter, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority

Paul Resnikoff, Campbell City Council

Kavita Tankha, Los Altos Hills City Council

George Tyson, Los Altos Hills City Council

Marico Sayoc, Los Gatos City Council

Peter Leroe-Munoz, Gilroy City Council

Ellen Kamei, Mountain View City Council

Lucas Ramirez, Mountain View City Council

Alison Cormack, Palo Alto City Council

Maya Esparza, San Jose City Council District 7

Pam Foley, San Jose City Council District 9

Rishi Kumar, Saratoga City Council

Gustav Larsson, Sunnyvale City Council

Glenn Hendricks, Sunnyvale City Council

Mason Fong, Sunnyvale City Council

Andres Quintero, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District

David Cohen, Berryessa School District Board

Thelma Boac, Berryessa School District Board

Hugo Jimenez, Berryessa School District Board

Kristiina Arrasmith, Campbell Union High School District Board

Lorena Chavez, East Side Union High School District Board

Marisa Hanson, Evergreen School District Board

Maimona Afzal Berta, Franklin-McKinley School District Board

Chris Norwood, Milpitas Unified School District Board

Tami Moore, Oak Grove Union School District TA 2

Jorge Pacheco Jr., Oak Grove Union School District TA 3

Brian LoBue, Oak Grove Union School District TA 5

Shounak Dharap, Palo Alto Unified School District Board

Brian Wheatley, San Jose Unified School District TA 4

Huong Nguyen, San Jose Evergreen Community College District Board TA 4

Jodi Muirhead, Santa Clara Unified School District Board

Bridget Watson, Sunnyvale School District Board

***See all Santa Clara County results here.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Donna Meyers, Santa Cruz City Council

Cindy Ranii, Santa Cruz City Schools District

***See all Santa Cruz County results here.

MONTEREY COUNTY

Tyller Williamson, Monterey City Council

Jeff Baron, Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council

Jason Campbell, Seaside City Council

Jon Wizard, Seaside City Council

***See all Monterey County results here.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren is now a co-sponsor of H.R. 4222- The Ruth and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017

Rep. Zoe Lofgren is now a co-sponsor of H.R. 4222- The Ruth and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017

by Maureen Heath, BAYMEC Secretary and Board Member

On July 15, 2018, the Billy DeFrank Center and BAYMEC hosted a forum with Representative Zoe Lofgren.  During the event, BAYMEC Board President, Paul Escobar asked Representative Lofgren if she would support legislation to add LGBT seniors to the Older Americans Act (OAA).  Representative Lofgren expressed interest and a willingness to learn more about the legislation. We are happy to report that Representative Lofgren is now the 28th co-sponsor of the proposed legislation.

The legislation was originally introduced on November 1, 2017 by Representative Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon and Florida Representatives, Ted Deutch and Charlie Crist.  At the same time, Colorado Senator, Michael Bennet introduced the legislation in the Senate. The bill is named for Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz who sued the New York City Board of Education years ago for domestic partner benefits and won their case in 1994.  The couple have continued to be advocates for LGBT rights.

The Older Americans Act of 1965 supports and funds services for seniors.  The OAA was passed by Congress to address the lack of community social services for older persons.  The goal is to keep older adults healthy and living independently. Some of the programs include meals on wheels, senior employment services, case management services, information and awareness counseling, transportation programs, health insurance counseling and caregiving support.  The law established the Administration of Aging as the federal agency for seniors. The Act focuses on offering assistance to those seniors with the greatest social and economic need. The law as written in 1965 did not specifically include LGBT seniors. H.R. 4222 would add LGBT seniors to the Act.  Under the Act, there would be money and grants for organizations providing LGBT senior services. The law would permanently establish a National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.

When introducing the legislation, Rep. Bonamici remarked that the LGBT senior population was growing and was estimated to include nearly six million Americans by the year 2030. She  observed that LGBT seniors have fewer supportive services, higher poverty rates, more social isolation and less access to healthcare services compared to the rest of older Americans.

Many LGBT seniors have faced a lifetime of discrimination.  Lifelong experiences of marginalization place LGBT seniors at a higher risk for poverty, homelessness and premature institutionalization.  Services provided under the Older Americans Act would help address these issues.

More information about the Older Americans Act is available at, www.acl.gov.,  www.aging.ca.gov., and www.mysourcewise.com.

A Huge Win for Transgender Rights! - Gavin Grimm

A Huge Win for Transgender Rights!

In the recent case of Grimm vs. Goucester County School Board, the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that The U.S. Constitution and Title IX clearly protects students from sex discrimination – including a student’s right to utilize the bathroom of the gender they identify with. The impact of this decision is extensive: After only one month aftertaking office, Trump’s administration  [through Secretary of Education Betsy Devos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions] revoked Obama’s guidance protecting trans students. This is not only an incredible victory for Gavin Grimm, but it sets the precedent moving forward that courts must recognize that transgender people are already protected under federal law and cannot be removed or reversed by an administration’s change of “policy”. The District court challenged the proposition that policies based upon “biological sex” can be implemented: U.S. District Court Judge Arenda L. Wright clarified, “attempting to draw lines based on physiological and anatomical characteristics proves unmanageable.” A major step forward in the continued fight for LGBT rights.

Watch Our Santa Clara County District 4 Candidate Forum Online Anytime

Watch Our Santa Clara County District 4 Candidate Forum Online Anytime

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BAYMEC Endorses Glenn Hendricks for Sunnyvale City Council

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
March 6, 2018

Press Contacts:
James Gonzales, BAYMEC President (510) 551-8218

BAYMEC Endorses Glenn Hendricks for Sunnyvale City Council

San Jose, CA — The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC) is excited to endorse Mayor Glenn Hendricks in his reelection campaign for Sunnyvale City Council Seat 2.

“I am proud to be associated with BAYMEC, an organization that champions respect and rights for all members of our community,” Hendricks said.  “I look forward to working hand-in-hand with BAYMEC on issues that affect LGBTQ residents of Sunnyvale and the rest of the region.”

“As Mayor, Mayor Hendricks has been a strong advocate for and ally of the LGBTQ community,” said BAYMEC Vice President Paul Escobar.  “We are proud to stand with Mayor Hendricks and look forward to collaborating with him to address the needs of the LGBTQ community.”

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The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC) is a bi-partisan lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) political action group. It has been advocating for the civil rights of LGBT people since 1984 in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

BAYMEC Endorses Mike Wasserman for Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor

Press Release

March 5, 2018

Press Contacts:
James Gonzales, BAYMEC President (510) 551-8218

BAYMEC Endorses Mike Wasserman for Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor

San Jose, CA — The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC) is excited to endorse Mike Wasserman for Santa Clara County Supervisor for District 1.

“Supervisor Wasserman has been an unwavering ally for the LGBTQ community during his time on the County Board,” BAYMEC Vice President Paul Escobar said.  “Supervisor Wasserman’s compassion, open-mindedness and accessibility demonstrate his commitment to bettering the lives of all of the residents of his district.  We are excited to support his reelection campaign and look forward to continuing our collaborative work to serve the LGBTQ community.”

“It is an honor to receive the endorsement of BAYMEC, a group that has worked tirelessly to safeguard LGBTQ rights,” Wasserman said.  “As County Supervisor, I have worked closely with Supervisor Ken Yeager to ensure that our government is helping LGBTQ individuals and communities to thrive here in Santa Clara County.”

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The Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC) is a bi-partisan lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) political action group. It has been advocating for the civil rights of LGBT people since 1984 in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.