The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials in US political life.
The Victory Fund was founded in 1991 by Vic Basile and William Waybourn, with Waybourn becoming its first executive director. It provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates and officials across the United States, helping them win elections at local, state and federal levels. Victory has helped elect several hundred openly LGBT candidates to Congress, state legislatures, school boards and city councils. The organization also offers programs and training to elected officials.
The Victory Fund endorses dozens of openly LGBT candidates each year, increasing exposure to potential donors and providing both strategic and material support. Past endorsees include Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, Sean Patrick Maloney, David Cicilline, Lupe Valdez, Victoria Kolakowski, Patricia Todd and Virginia Linder. The first candidate the Victory Fund endorsed was Sherry Harris, who was elected to the City Council in Seattle, Washington, making her the first openly lesbian African-American elected official.
In 1995, the Victory Fund was a principal organizer of a meeting between representatives of the Clinton administration and several dozen leaders of gay and lesbian organizations.
In 2008, 80 of the group's 111 endorsed candidates won their elections.
In 2009, the Victory Fund played an important role in the election of Annise Parker as mayor of Houston. In electing an out lesbian as its chief executive, Houston became the largest city in the country to have elected an openly gay person as mayor. Local gay groups, particularly the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, had nurtured Parker's political career and were openly supporting her race. The Victory Fund became a huge player in the race by providing a much-needed source of cash for Parker's grassroots efforts and helping her stay financially competitive with her two chief rivals, both of whose campaigns were lavishly funded. After the campaign, Parker referred to the Victory Fund as her "secret weapon" and thanked the organization for its help.
The Victory Fund is the nation’s largest LGBT political action committee and one of the nation’s largest non-connected PACs. Its President and CEO since 2003 is Chuck Wolfe.
Famous quotes containing the words gay, lesbian, victory and/or fund:
“Good luck is the gayest of all gay girls;
Long in one place, she will not stay:”
—John Milton Hay (1838–1905)
“When you take a light perspective, it’s easier to step back and relax when your child doesn’t walk until fifteen months, . . . is not interested in playing ball, wants to be a cheerleader, doesn’t want to be a cheerleader, has clothes strewn in the bedroom, has difficulty making friends, hates piano lessons, is awkward and shy, reads books while you are driving through the Grand Canyon, gets caught shoplifting, flunks Spanish, has orange and purple hair, or is lesbian or gay.”
—Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)
“[holds her by the hand, silent] O mother, mother!
What have you done? Behold, the heavens do ope,
The gods look down, and this unnatural scene
They laugh at. O my mother, mother! O!
You have won a happy victory to Rome;
But, for your son, believe it—O, believe it—
Most dangerously you have with him prevailed,
If not most mortal to him.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“School success is not predicted by a child’s fund of facts or a precocious ability to read as much as by emotional and social measures; being self-assured and interested: knowing what kind of behavior is expected and how to rein in the impulse to misbehave; being able to wait, to follow directions, and to turn to teachers for help; and expressing needs while getting along with other children.”
—Daniel Goleman (20th century)