I haven't seen any talk about this (I haven't even seen that much about the LA mayoral results, but I will admit I sometimes miss diaries), but I was a bit surprised by this. From what I'd heard, Redondo Beach was a semi-winger part of California, very conservative. But not only did openly gay Republican Mike Gin win a tight primary, he won the general election in a
landslide, in part because of attacks against his taking money from "special interest groups" like
Victory Fund..
The media coverage on Gin barely even mentions his homosexuality. A gay Republican mayor of a semi-conservative town, in a state where the GOP is very reactionary, and nobody bats an eye. Truly bizarre and perhaps revolutionary.
Don't get me wrong, I think he's an idiot for being a Republican, especially when CA Republicans are likely to get an amendment on the 2006 ballot that will ban any legal benefits for gay couples. I'm just saying, this is really something new.