District 3 Councilmember Toni Atkins received the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund’s Leadership Award at the political organization’s annual lunch, held at the Bahia Resort Hotel on Feb. 10.

Atkins, who was unanimously elected deputy mayor by the San Diego City Council last July following the resignations of Mayor Dick Murphy and Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet, held the reins of the city through a tumultuous period in its history.

“The citizens of this city wanted someone they could trust,” said Robin Brand, senior vice president of politics and strategy for the Victory Fund. “Someone they knew could do the job; someone who could get the city back on right track.”

Brand lauded Atkins’ leadership and governing skills, comparing them to past Victory Fund endorsee and New York City Councilmember Christine Quinn, who was elected in January by her colleagues to be speaker of the 51-member council. Quinn became the first woman and GLBT person in the country to serve in this capacity.

“Like other cities, New York has had its issues, yet Council President Quinn was elected by her peers because of her leadership skills, her understanding of the issues facing the city and her ability to get results,” Brand said. “Does this sound familiar? … You bet it does.”

Upon receiving the leadership award, Atkins said, “[A]s a council member, it wasn’t my five-year, 10-year strategic plan, nor certainly was it in my thought process that I would end up in the office of the mayor of San Diego.”

According to the Victory Fund, more than a dozen cities in the U.S. have had openly gay or lesbian mayors, including Chula Vista, Palm Springs, Providence, R.I.; Casper, Wyo.; Wilton Manors, Fla.; Northampton, Mass.; and Key Biscayne, Fla.

Brand outlined the progress GLBT candidates made in 2005, detailing some of the 56 Victory Fund-endorsed campaign wins in 17 states. Brand said Barbara Baier became Nebraska’s first openly gay official when she was elected to the Lincoln School Board in May. She also said that, for the first time, openly gay candidates were elected to the Cleveland and Columbus city councils.

The Victory Fund’s Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute aims to teach openly GLBT candidates the skills they need to compete and prevail in the electoral process. Intensive four-day candidate and campaign trainings are held periodically throughout the year. The trainings provide attendees with the intellectual and technical skills required for success through practical training from proven campaign professionals.

“Make no mistake. Few of these candidates have easy races, but that’s where the Victory Fund and its donor network make all the difference,” Brand said.

Teaching candidates how to stay on message if and when anti-gay attacks occur is one of the elements of the campaign training, along with advising candidates how to run strong voter contact programs via direct mail, telephone banking and door-to-door canvassing, Brand said.

“Last but not least [is] raising money through our donor network to make sure our candidates can run the best races those cities or states have ever seen,” Brand said.

San Antonio City Councilmember Elena Guajardo keynoted the lunch, detailing her victory in June where she captured 55 percent of the vote and became the first gay or lesbian to hold an elected office in San Antonio, Texas, the eighth largest city in the U.S. Guajardo was also the beneficiary of the first-ever Victory Fund independent expenditure campaign.

According to San Antonio law, organizations such as the Victory Fund are allowed to set up and raise funds separate from a particular candidate’s efforts as long as the independent committee is not involved with the candidate’s coordination and communication activities. The Victory Fund invested $20,000, which was used on phone banks and direct mailings to potential voters.

Guajardo said the odds were stacked against her before she began her campaign, and she said she took a risk in running for the seat because she had no prior experience running for public office. Her district in San Antonio is also heavily Hispanic and Catholic, a demographic that does not have a strong history of supporting GLBT rights, she said.

Guajardo said it made sense for her to run since she was single, retired, has no children and could devote all of her time and energy.

“[A]nyone who hears the call and wants to answer it risks everything,” she said.

Guajardo said she relies on her retirement distribution income since the council position pays just $20 a week.