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H A W T H O R N E
m R F A V iE ia
Pundits ’ jaws drop as gay Republican newcomer
bests veteran Democrat in D.C.
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1 - 8 0 0 - 2 32-5944
by Bob Roehr
avid Catania, an openly gay Republi­
can, was the startling upset victor in a
citywide special election Dec. 2 in
Washington, D.C.
D
He will serve the remaining 11
months of a term on the District Council, a 13-
member legislative body. The position brings a
salary of more than $80,000 and a staff of three.
Catania, 29, is an attorney with the high-
power law and lobbying firm Akin, Gump, per­
haps best known as the home of power broker
Robert Strauss, former chairman of the Demo­
cratic National Committee.
Catania previously served on an Advisory
Neighborhood Commission representing 2,000
people. He used the position to build a reputation
as a community activist.
During the campaign, Catania called for the
creation of an “independent law enforcement
authority” in the form of an elected attorney
general. Currently the mayor appoints a person to
handle such responsibilities.
The candidate’s idea was well received in a
city wracked by scandal and mismanagement,
and he garnered endorsements from the presti­
gious Washington Post as
well as the City Paper, an
alternative weekly newspa­
per.
Pundits had predicted
this third special election
of the year would draw a
very light turnout, with per­
haps as few as 5,000 votes
necessary for a win. But
turnout was surprisingly
heavy. Election night to­
tals show Catania with
10,221 votes— about 43
percent of the total cast in
the four-way race, and
1,400 more than his closest
Democratic opponent. Ab­
sentee ballots seem likely
to pad that lead.
“I think we’ve made two
im portant m ilestones,”
Catania told supporters at a
victory celebration. “This
is the first time a Republi­
can has beaten a Democrat
in a head-on race in the
city, and the first openly DavidCalania
gay member of the city
council. That is a breakthrough, and it shows
how.. .open minded, accepting and truly magnifi­
cent the people of this city are.”
Rick Rosendall, a Democrat and president of
the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, says,
“People crossed lines of not only party, but of
race, class and sexual orientation to vote for
David because they cared about our city.”
Rosendall calls Catania’s win a “shot in the
arm for the local political culture of Washington,
D.C., which has been in intensive care.”
He adds, “It says so much about putting the
common good above all of those differences.”
Catania overcame extremely long odds to win.
In D.C., registered Democrats outnumber Repub­
licans 10 to 1. And Catania’s principal opponent
was a well-known incumbent named Arrington
Dixon, a Democrat who has long been active in
local politics.
Under the peculiarities of D.C. law, if one of
the four at-large council seats becomes vacant,
the political party of the member who last held it
chooses the successor to serve on an interim basis.
A special election is then called to fill the remain­
der of the term.
When one of those seats became vacant last
summer, several people sought the interim ap­
pointment, including Sabrina Sojourner, a les­
bian elected last year as D.C.’s congressional
representative. Democratic Party leaders, how­
ever, went with Dixon.
During the recent campaign, gay and lesbian
issues were not a hot topic, and all of the candi­
dates were considered gay-friendly.
Catania, meanwhile, ran a tough issues-based
campaign which garnered broad popular support.
Still, the queer community came through, con­
tend some political observers.
“Support in the gay community was really
helpful,” says Carl Schmid, Catania’s press sec­
retary and former president of Log Cabin, a gay
Republican group. “The Democrats picked the
wrong candidate, [who] was part of the political
establishment from the past.”
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund did not
support Catania.
“I thought it was going to look like Custer at
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Karen Qorensen,
Little B ighorn,” says Brian Bond, the
organization’s executive director.
Bond admits he was shocked by Catania’s
triumph.
“David ran a truly classic, incredible cam­
paign,” he says. “I voted Republican for the first
time in 10 years.”
Schmid says the Victory Fund has some hurdles
to get over with respect to supporting Republi­
cans.
“Just because you are a Republican in a Demo­
cratic city doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to
win,” he says, pointing to the GOP mayors in
heavily Democratic New York and Los Angeles.
Some also believe Catania could have a major
impact on gay issues in Congress because so
many of those matters are raised via congres­
sional oversight of D.C. law.
“David comes from a very well-connected
conservative Republican family,” says Schmid.
“He’ll be up there lobbying. He can help the
community.”
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