A fundraising reception for Anthony Portantino, a Democratic candidate running for a state Assembly seat in the 44th District will be held on Thursday, March 31, at the home of Gay & Lesbian Times publisher Michael Portantino.

Carol Liu is the Democratic incumbent in the district but will term out in 2006. The primary election for Liu’s seat will occur in June of 2006 with the general election to be held in November.

Democrats Brian Center and Diana L. Peterson-More are also running for the open seat.

Portantino resides in La Cañada Flintridge and currently serves as mayor. He was a city council member before becoming mayor this year.

“In my city several elections were cancelled because of a lack of interest. That’s the first time I thought about running for office,” said Portantino. “For any town it’s important to have a discussion, to have a dialogue, to have a debate of issues periodically and when there’s no elections, you don’t have that.”

Portantino is committed to improving the quality of people’s lives in his district and across the state of California, he said.

“I looked at the state that needs some pragmatic, strong leadership to fight for public education and fight for desperately needed infrastructure funding. I’m the kind of guy that puts my head down and charges and gets things done,” said Portantino.

Councilmember Toni Atkins, State Senator Christine Kehoe and Congressmember Bob Filner will also co-host the fundraiser. All believe Portantino is a strong candidate who will be supportive of GLBT issues and concerns.

“Anthony Portantino understands the issues and challenges that our LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities face, and will advocate on our behalf in the California State Assembly,” said Atkins.

“Anthony is a coalition builder who will be able to work both sides of the aisle to get things done without compromising his democratic principles.”

Kehoe said, “Anthony will make a great legislator in the state Assembly. He’s hard working and understands LGBT issues. That’s the kind of ally we need. Until the LGBT community has equal rights and protections as other Californians do, it is imperative that LGBT-supportive legislators are elected. Anthony supports equal rights for all, and we should support his candidacy.”

Portantino stated he believes the GLBT community should not be denied any rights due to their sexual orientation. “I’m not going to look across the dinner table at my brother or anybody else and say he has any less rights than I do.”

Even though the primary election is over a year from now, Portantino has gained a lot of support from across California.

“It’s important to come out early and make a strong statement. I’m in the fundraising lead. I’m in the endorsement lead and I’m working hard to do anything I can to have a positive message and win at the end of the day.”

Portantino is already supported by various environmentalists and has been endorsed by 36 local government officials including San Diego’s 79th District Assemblymember Juan Vargas.

“We need people like Anthony Portantino in Sacramento to fight for those issues that matter to us most – jobs, healthcare and education,” said Vargas.

Additional high-profile community endorsments include San Francisco Assemblymember Mark Leno, West Hollywood Councilmember Jeffery Prag and political activist Eric Bauman.

The 44th Assembly District includes various communities in Los Angeles County, which include the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, Temple City, Duarte and La Cañada Flintridge; the communities of Altadena and Mayflower Village; portions of Arcadia and Monrovia; and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Glassell Park and Highland Park.

Democrats make up 47 percent of registered voters in this district, Republicans account for 34 percent, and 14 percent of voters are registered with other parties or decline to state. As a whole the district includes 233,711 registered voters and is demographically diverse. Almost 18 percent of registered voters are Latino while another 9 percent are African American.

The fundraising reception will be held Thursday, March 31, at 3453 Cromwell Place in Normal Heights from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Call (619) 331-7111 to RSVP.