RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Julia Boseman wants to be known as the state senator who helps get a lottery passed or secure incentives to assist Wilmington’s film industry.

For now, though – like it or not – she is best known in Raleigh as “the gay senator.”

Boseman, a 38-year-old Democrat, is the first openly gay person elected to the General Assembly – a designation she doesn’t want getting in the way of her legislative agenda.

New Hanover County voters chose her for her platform, not her sexual orientation, she said.

“I don’t care who I have to vote with, who I have to work with, even if I have to hold my nose and vote for things,” Boseman said. “I’m going to work and do everything I possibly can to bring money back home.”

She was one of 33 newly elected legislators who traveled to the Triangle for three and a half days of orientation to the ins and outs of state government before the Jan. 26 opening of the legislative session.

Like Boseman, many of the newcomers arrived with labels – ex-soldier, returning lawmaker or politician’s relative – and eager to strike out on their own.

“This is what we signed up for,” said Grier Martin, D-Wake, the son of former congressional candidate and UNC administrator D.G. Martin. “I don’t think anybody here is afraid of challenges.”

Veteran lawmakers who spoke to the group urged them not to let preconceived notions about the General Assembly and individual lawmakers get in the way of working to improve the state.

“Get to know your fellow legislators and develop that trust and confidence one at a time,” House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan, R-Moore, said. “And you won’t have any problems as you go through this place.”

As a representative body, the General Assembly will always be home to conflicting viewpoints, most markedly between Democrats and Republicans.

The partisan rancor that defined the 2001 session was quieter two years later, as Morgan and Co-Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, forged a coalition that gave them a comfortable majority on most keyy floor votes.

A sizable number of Republicans returning to Raleigh this year campaigned against Morgan and his fellow moderates, including Rep-elect Nelson Dollar, R-Wake. Boseman said she has felt welcomed at the legislative complex in downtown Raleigh. Her partner, Melissa Jarrell, participated in activities for spouses on the first day of the orientation session. The pair has a 2-year-old son.

“People are very kind and welcoming to her,” she said.

Gay and lesbian issues have been hot buttons at the Legislature in the past year.

Last summer, a majority of senators sought consideration for a bill that would propose a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in North Carolina.

The bill fell two votes short of the 30 needed to get it out of committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote, as Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, argued that state law already clearly prohibits same-sex marriages.

Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, who led the push to get the amendment heard last year, plans to file a similar bill in 2005.

A family practice physician known for his mild demeanor, Forrester said in a phone interview that he harbors no personal animosity toward gays, including his new colleague Boseman.

“It’s nothing antagonistic toward her,” said Forrester, adding he’s only trying to ensure that marriage remains between a man and a woman in North Carolina.

Boseman said her November win in a race in which the state GOP ran ads that attacked her sexuality was a victory for voters who refused to make their choice based on “fear tactics.”

Boseman, who said during the campaign that she would not seek any reversal of the law banning same-sex marriage, believes she can change lawmakers’ perception of gays and lesbians.

“It’s good to have more diversity and difference of opinion,” she said. “Seeing different people helps acceptance.”

Forrester, for one, said he is prepared to work with Boseman on a wide range of issues.

“I hear she’s very supportive of education and healthcare issues,” he said, adding that just because Boseman pushes an idea doesn’t mean “I’m not going to be in opposition to it. All new senators bring forth good ideas.”

As Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, one of three chief budget-writers in the Senate last year, pointed out to the newcomers, almost every lawmaker is someone whose support you may need someday.

“Don’t burn any bridges with anybody down here, because you’re going to need them sooner or later,” she said.