It’s a rare occurrence during an election season, even in a special election like the upcoming mayoral race, that the GLBT community is befriended by multiple candidates. Commonplace is the lone and exposed Democrat – brave but subject to an unavoidable beating by religious conservatives and the Republican Party. Certainly few, if any, Republican candidates actually break from party politics in support of what has become known as “the gay agenda.”

Sure to be tested in the upcoming mayoral forum – featuring six mayoral candidates, which takes place at The Center on Friday, June 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – the three leading candidates, Republican and Democrat alike, appear to stand behind our community.

On Monday the San Diego County’s Republican Party officially endorsed Steve Francis for the July 26 San Diego mayoral election despite attacks by anti-gay activists against Francis and his wife, Gayle, for their involvement with the GLBT community.

Rarely has a candidate’s wife been targeted during a campaign in San Diego. The attacks began with Gayle’s attendance at our annual Nicky Awards, where she stood in place of her husband because he was out of the country. Steve Francis and his wife were also blasted for Gayle’s work producing The Laramie Project, a compelling play and HBO movie about the 1998 anti-gay slaying of Matthew Shepard, and, as if that wasn’t fodder enough, she has a lesbian sister who formerly produced the hit television sitcom “Will and Grace.” (Makes you wish Gayle was running for mayor, doesn’t it?)

Following relentless digs and denigrating e-mails, Steve Francis appeared on KOGO’s Roger Hedgecock radio show last week and countered his assailants, naming them “bigots” and “people who spew hate,” adding, “it’s despicable, but unfortunately, this is what happens when you run for office.”

Can I get an Amen for Steve Francis! Finally a Republican with the balls to stand up and say what he truly believes, despite the possibility of losing an endorsement or taking a hit at the polls. His rebuttal was poignant and powerful, and on Rodger Hedgecock no less – proving he’s tough and unbeholden to bullshit.

It’s not the practice of the Gay & Lesbian Times to editorialize positively on members of the Republican Party. We’ve even heard our publisher quip that the only good Republican is a dead Republican, but how can we not commend Francis? The more politicians stand firm against hate – instead of cowering before it – the less powerful it becomes.

Lasting late into the night, Hartline and his band of hate mongers lobbied the Republican Party against Francis and his support of the “gay agenda,” but to no avail. Dare we say Bravo to the Republican Party?

All of the front-runners – Jerry Sanders, Steve Francis and Donna Frye – support the GLBT community at varying degrees. Frye, donning “the balls” from the beginning, has shown unwavering support on all of our issues, including full marriage equality. Sanders, known more as “gay friendly,” will have an opportunity to go on the record as to his position on such issues this Friday. And Francis, who is now confirmed to be at The Center’s and Gay & Lesbian Times’ mayoral forum, has granted us a glimpse of his character and support.

Provided Sanders and Francis remain consistent, our vote for mayor is becoming increasingly difficult to determine. With a majority of our community sworn Democrats, Sanders’ and Francis’ moderate views may allure members of the Frye camp to cross over – making this close race more difficult to call.

The Gay & Lesbian Times has taken the position that all candidates are in play regardless of their party affiliation at a time of urgency in the history of our city. Editorializing on the importance of this election, as well as our list of priorities, we somewhat reluctantly urged the GLBT community to look beyond the Boy Scouts and same-sex marriage and instead focus on the issues most critical to the success of the city. Now, with even the leading Republican candidate seemingly pro-gay – a real debate can ensue as to who is truly the best and most qualified to run the city of San Diego.