The League of California Cities has established the first GLBT caucus of a state municipal league.

The Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Local Officials Caucus is the latest addition to the league’s African-American, Latino and Asian Pacific Islander caucuses, and will work to further the issues faced by the GLBT communities throughout the state.

The caucus will focus on promoting diversity in the League of California Cities and the state Legislature through “networking, information sharing, public education, and advocacy on issues that are of particular importance to the LGBT community,” according to a recent press release issued by the city of West Hollywood.

The League of California Cities has a commitment to “restore and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians,” according to its Web site, and is primarily a networking group for city officials throughout the state of California.

The league was founded in 1898 on the principles of local control and interagency cooperation. Since then, it has grown from a handful of public officials to include the voluntary membership of 478 California cities. Members are able to utilize the group as a vehicle for sharing knowledge and combining resources to influence policy decisions that affect cities.

The league has a number of different opportunities for involvement available to each member city, and does this through various committees, advocacy programs and an annual conference. This year’s conference will take place in San Diego, Sept. 6-9.

In an effort to promote diversity within the league, city governments and the California Legislature, various caucuses of the League of California Cities have formed. These caucuses include the Latino Caucus, the African American Caucus and the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus.

Based on an idea modeled after the International Network of Gay and Lesbian Officials, West Hollywood Councilmember Jeffrey Prang and Coronado Councilmember Frank Tierney, both members of the League of California Cities, came up with the idea of establishing the GLBTLO Caucus. The pair will serve as the provisional chairs of this newly formed group.

The California caucus is the first statewide organization of its type.

Because of the unprecedented number of openly GLBT public officials in the state, Prang said he felt it was the right time to organize such a group.

“There are at least 30 openly gay and lesbian municipal officials in California,” he said. “We have reached a critical mass of LGBT officials [in California].”

Prang hopes to see the caucus achieve a number of goals. Of course, a primary focus will be to advocate for issues important to the GLBT community. The caucus will be able to discuss and collaborate on issues before bringing them to the greater League of California Cities.

The caucus will also serve as a vehicle for collecting support for GLBT officials in the Legislature by gathering a collection of cities that support certain legislation. Prang also noted that the group will work to “combine resources and training to help recruit and nurture candidates for higher office.”

Of particular importance will be the caucus’ support of California cities with less hospitable climates toward GLBT issues and people.

“Places like West Hollywood and San Francisco have learned a lot,” Prang said. “They can use their strengths to help the less-friendly places out.”

California is a leader in electing GLBT officials to local and statewide offices. In San Diego alone, since the election of Christine Kehoe to the City Council in 1993, several openly GLBT officials have been elected to office. These include District 3 Councilmember Toni Atkins, who served as mayor pro tem of the city for several months last year, Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Superior Court Judge-elect David Rubin and a number of city commissioners, advisory board members and key city staff. Kehoe now serves in the California Senate.

Prang is confident that the GLBTLO Caucus will be a vital tool for organizing GLBT officials at the state level, providing them with a means to work together on local and state issues. “The caucus provides an important opportunity for the LGBT community to enhance our voice in local government,” he said.

The newly formed GLBTLO Caucus will hold its first officially-recognized meeting on Thursday, Sept. 7, at 7:00 a.m. at the 2006 League of California Cities Annual Conference in San Diego.

More information about the League of California Cities can be found at www.cacities.org and more information about the GLBTLO Caucus is available from the offices of Councilmember Prang at (323) 848-6460 or Councilmember Tierney at (619) 522-7320.