Voters in New Orleans heading to the
polls Saturday will consider sending an openly gay candidate to the
Louisiana Statehouse for the first time.
Thomas
Robichaux is among the six candidates vying for the House seat
vacated by Karen Carter Peterson when she ascended to the state
Senate.
The candidates are campaigning to
represent District 93, a racially mixed district that includes
portions of New Orleans' Garden District, Central Business District
and the French Quarter. The fairly liberal and mostly
Democratic-leaning district also includes the lion's share of the
city's gay and gay-friendly bars, restaurants and lodgings.
Robichaux first gained local notoriety
in 2008 when he became the first openly gay member of the Orleans
Parish School Board. Having adopted a son out of the foster care
system, he calls reforming the state's educational system and
championing the foster care system his first priorities.
The city's gay and lesbian community
has rallied to Robichaux's side, turning the 41-year-old into
something of a cause celeb. If elected, Robichaux would make history
as Louisiana's first openly gay state representative.
Robichaux has been endorsed by the Gay
& Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that supports openly gay
elected officials.