As a proud
Democrat, I am a steadfast advocate for social change. Our party’s core values
resonate deeply with me, and I want to continue playing a leadership role in
embedding those values throughout our city, our state, and our nation.
One of our values is equality and standing up
and speaking out against injustice. I have spoken out against injustice by
working to break down barriers impacting underserved communities, such as the
LGBTQ community. I challenged the military’s policies prohibiting gays from
serving, and publicly came out as a lesbian naval officer and took a leadership
role in working to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In 2010, I was
recognized for this and given the honor of standing next to President Obama
when he signed the repeal of DADT. In 2011, I was awarded Woman of the
Year in Senate District 8 for my commitment to the LGBT, women’s, and veterans’
communities.
I served for 22 years in the Navy and Navy
Reserves and was also a leader of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which
set the groundwork for opening up military service for LGBT service members. As
Co-Chair of Alice, I worked closely with candidates and elected officials to
help communicate the wishes and desires of the LGBT community.
- 1st Vice Chair of the SF DCCC, unanimously elected by my peers
- Chair, SF DCCC Finance Committee, helping to raise the money necessary for a strong local party
- Co-Vice Chair, CA Democratic Party’s LGBT Caucus
- Member, CA Democratic Party’s Finance Committee
- Immediate Past Co-Chair, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
- Former 2nd Vice Chair, CA Democratic Party’s Veterans Caucus
Lastly, I currently serve or have recently
served in a number of party leadership positions:
In addition to these roles in the Democratic
Party, I also serve on the San Francisco Library Commission.