Thirty-six Gay Leaders Head to CO to Train for Victory;

[The Straight Story]

Thirty-six Gay Leaders Head to CO to Train for Victory; Potential Candidates Will Gain Skills to Win Public Office in Four-day Training

6/2/2005 1:43:00 PM

To: State and Assignment desks

Contact: Dave DeCicco of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, 202-842-7308 or [e-mail]

WASHINGTON, June 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Victory's Candidate & Campaign Training program, run by the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute, a nonpartisan educational organization, will be held June 9-12th in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Thirty-six potential candidates, campaign personnel and community leaders from Colorado and the surrounding region are registered to attend.

Sen. Jennifer Veiga, the first openly lesbian member of the Colorado state legislature, will speak to the trainees about issues they may face while running for office. Senator Veiga was first elected to Colorado state office as a representative in 1996.

"Victory's training helps openly gay candidates overcome issues that may arise during their candidacy," said Colorado State Senator Jennifer Veiga. "It's essential that openly gay and lesbian candidates stay on message and talk about issues that matter to voters, rather than getting drawn into a protracted discussion about sexual orientation," Veiga added.

The bulk of the training will focus on campaign plan and strategy development, fundraising, communications and organizing. Potential candidates will also learn to address questions about their sexual orientation with honesty and dignity, without diverging from issues of real importance.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=48299