Thursday evening the San Diego Democratic Club (SDDC) voted to endorse Remy Bermúdez in the District 8 City Council race. At the same meeting, the SDDC reversed its previous decision not to endorse in the District 2 race, and is now endorsing Lorena Gonzalez.

To make their recommendations, SDDC members review a candidate’s qualifications through a questionnaire with topics specific to the GLBT community, and invite each candidate to a forum. Then, the membership votes to endorse one candidate in each race, or decides not to endorse any candidate. If no candidates receive the club’s endorsement, then they have the opportunity to designate several candidates as acceptable.

At the club’s August meeting, seven of the 17 candidates in the District 2 race attended the forum – all of which scored 100 percent on their candidate questionnaire. After a four-hour debate, discussion and multiple votes, the club chose not to endorse any of the candidates. After further discussion, only Lorena Gonzales received an acceptable rating.

“Last month the membership came within one vote of endorsing Lorena Gonzalez. Because the membership did not endorse any candidate, it voted to single out Lorena Gonzalez for an acceptable rating,” said SDDC President Steven Whitburn. “Many members felt, however, that if we were going to single out Lorena Gonzalez for an acceptable rating, we might as well go ahead and endorse her, and that was what the membership overwhelming decided to do at this meeting.”

With the new endorsement, the club adds its name to a list of organizations backing Gonzalez, including the San Diego County Democratic Club.

“There is one strong Republican in the District 2 race,” Whitburn said, referring to Kevin Faulconer. “Given that the San Diego Democratic Club clearly favored Lorena Gonzalez, the club at our September meeting decided to go ahead and endorse Gonzalez so that we can put the whole weight of the San Diego Democratic Clubs’ endorsements behind her to better help her defeat Faulconer in the election.”

“When she found out, she was very honored to have received their endorsement,” Gonzalez’s campaign manager, Mathew Kostrinsky, told the Gay & Lesbian Times.

District 2 includes Mount Soledad, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Midway, Middletown, Old Town, Mission Hills, Park West and major portions of downtown. The candidate elected replaces former Councilmember Michael Zucchet, who resigned in July after being convicted on corruption charges.

In contrast, the District 8 endorsement was decisive and swift.

“In District 8, the membership voted overwhelmingly to endorse Democrat Remy Bermúdez” Whiburn said. “She scored 100 percent on our candidate survey and has a compelling vision for the 8th District. We are very eager to help her win this election.”

Three of the nine candidates for District 8 attended the meeting. Bermúdez was two votes shy of receiving a unanimous vote from the membership. One vote went to Matthew Moncayo, and one vote was cast in favor of no endorsement. The third candidate in attendance, Luis Acle, did not receive any votes since he is a Republican and cannot be endorsed by the SDDC.

District 8, the smallest in San Diego, encompasses areas from Golden Hill to San Ysidro. Ralph Inzunza, who was convicted with Zucchet on corruption charges, vacated the District 8 City Council position in July.

These two endorsements are the last to be made by the SDDC before the Nov. 8 election. The club has previously announced its support for a mayoral candidate, as well as its positions on the various state propositions.

“We have endorsed Donna Frye for mayor, Lorena Gonzalez for District 2 City Council, Remy Bermúdez for District 8 City Council, and on the propositions we have taken a position against Propositions 73 through 78, and have taken a position in support of Propositions 79 and 80.” Whitburn said, adding, “In the District 2 race we rated Kevin Faulconer as unacceptable.”

For the SDDC, these decisions are not just a verbal endorsement. Up through the election, the membership now dedicates its time, energy and resources to assist these candidates – “our candidates,” as Whitburn calls them – to be elected.

“The reasons why candidates value the San Diego Democratic Club’s endorsements are because there is a lot of support that goes along with it,” Whiburn said. “We have fund-raisers for our candidates, we will send a voter guide to 10,000 LGBT and LGBT-friendly households encouraging voters to support our candidates, we have booths at street festivals where we tout our candidates, and we have members who are walking precincts and making phone calls encouraging people to vote for our candidates.”