Republican Mike Gin is vying to
represent the people of California's 36th congressional
district. If elected in the May 17 non-partisan primary, Gin would
become Congress' first openly gay married man. (If no candidate wins
more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election between the top
vote-getters will be held on July 12.)
Gin, who is currently serving his
second term as mayor of Redondo Beach, California, lists education
and economic issues as priorities at
his campaign website, but in an
interview with gay weekly The
Washington Blade, the 48-year-old talked about his role as an
openly gay elected official.
“Certainly, we all need role models,
and being gay and being married is just a part of who I am,” Gin
said. “If somehow my election would provide some inspiration or
maybe help a young person that's very conflicted about being gay,
then I think that's a wonderful thing.”
Gin has been with his partner, animator
Christopher Kreider, 50, for over 16 years. The couple married on
November 1, 2008 – just days before voters approved gay marriage
ban Proposition 8, which overturned a Supreme Court ruling legalizing
gay nuptials in the state – at the Redondo Beach Historic “Morrell
House.”
Gin is trailing in the polls behind two
well-funded and visible Democratic candidates: California Secretary
of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles City Council member Janice Hahn.
Last November, Congressman David
Cicilline of Rhode Island became the latest openly gay House member,
joining Representatives Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin
of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado.
Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet
challenged Republican Representative Mary Bono Mack last fall for her
seat, becoming the first openly gay married man to run for Congress.