A big welcome to all our out-of-town guests here for the Democratic State Convention. There will be a lot of GLBT delegates in town, and all the presidential candidates are expected to attend. I’ll be attending and will be giving you a full report in my next column.

Now that City Commissioner Robert Gleason has announced that he will not be a candidate for San Diego City Council, almost 100 percent of his supporters have called leading candidate Todd Gloria and endorsed him for Toni Atkins’ seat on the City Council. As I predicted, it looks like there will be gay candidates running for San Diego City Council in three districts. There is a good chance that there will be two gay councilmembers at City Hall in November 2008.

Congressmember Bob Filner, who is Veteran’s Affairs Committee chair, held a reception at the Hilton Resort, and many GLBT leaders were in attendance. I spotted Ben Dillingham, Bob Nelson, Todd Gloria, Steve Whitburn, Jess Durfee and Larry Baza.

Last week, GLBT Vote 2008 chair Bob Lehman and I attended a private reception in Rancho Santa Fe for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who told me that he liked my new cane and that he could have used it a month ago after his accident.

The 2010 election year may be way ahead of us, but there are already people talking about the battle for the state Assembly seat between Councilmember Atkins and Lorena Gonzales. Now comes word that former mayoral candidate Donna Frye has not yet ruled out becoming a candidate herself.

I will soon be off to Washington, D.C., for a board meeting for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

I have endorsed and will be supporting Hillary Clinton because I believe she is the best qualified and strongest leader for our nation. Clinton is America’s Margaret Thatcher and can deal with any foreign government. She has proven herself as a U.S. Senator and is respected on both sides of the Senate. Clinton is a hard worker and a voice for those who have none. She is a strong advocate for health care and will be our strongest Democratic candidate. I hope she seriously considers Gov. Richardson of New Mexico for vice president. Viva Hillary!

New Hampshire has now, and Oregon will soon grant same-sex civil unions. Still, in states that grant these rights, a recent survey has shown fewer same-sex couples are choosing to enter into civil unions or even register as domestic partners. The number of gays and lesbians who are registering for domestic partnerships drops every year – even in California. In 2000, when Vermont became the first state to create civil unions, most of the 2,091 couples to register were from out of state. In 2006, only 546 couples signed up. In Connecticut, from October 2005 to December 2006, just 1,330 couples or 18 percent of the same-sex couples who were counted in the 2000 census, requested civil unions.

I just returned from the Mile High City this past weekend. There was rain and gloomy weather in San Diego, but it was sunny and 70 degrees warm in Denver and had just snowed the week before. Denver will be hosting the 2008 Democratic Convention, and I met some of the movers and shakers who will be hosting the event. It should be one exciting week. While Denver is a moderately Democratic city, the rest of the state is mostly Republican. This state also has a huge Latino population and recently elected its first Latino U.S. Senator. I was there to give a speech to more than 600 GLBT activists, but while there I also met with some of the Latino leaders.

The one and only Chris Walsh, who is one of California’s “top iron chefs,” will soon be opening the doors to his long-anticipated new restaurant, and the whole city is buzzing about it. I got a private tour last week of Bite Modern California Bistro and Wine Bar, located right next to Baja Betty’s at 1417 University Ave. Let me tell you, this is one of the best designed and most beautiful restaurants in Hillcrest. It’s hip and classy. Walsh has a huge following because everything on his menu is always top notch and tastes fabulous. For years he has made the list of every restaurant critic. With new and exciting dishes, Bite will be no exception. Walsh, who is the former owner of Café W and a past chef at the very popular California Cuisine, has told me that Bite should open within two weeks. I predict that it’s going to be another huge and successful restaurant that will be the talk of San Diego.

For more information, call 619-299-BITE or visit www.bitesd.com.

Join Ophelia at The Hole as she celebrates 15 years of hosting the Wet ’n’ Wilder Show on Monday, April 30. After years of her grilling and prying questions of thousands of hotties in their underwear, you will have a chance to do the same. You can come down and “roast” or ask questions of the witty and over-talented hostess Ophelia. However, you will have to do it either in your underwear or have someone else up there in their underwear. Or since Ophelia is always one to give back to the community, you can donate $25 to get up on stage with her for a few minutes, and the money will be donated to the Stonewall Citizen Patrol. If $500 is raised, hunky bartender Nino will strip down to his undies and get in the shower. All the fun with surprise guests will begin at 9:30 p.m. So come down and let’s thank Ophelia for 15 fun-filled years of hosting the longest-running original underwear contest in San Diego. After entertaining us with her top comedic talents and decades of raising money for countless charities, I certainly know that I will be there.

Once again, Carlos Silva and his friends will be hosting a huge Cinco de Mayo celebration at The Center on Saturday, May 5. There will be traditional Mexican food and music, along with colorful costumes, entertainment and more. Everyone is welcome, and that includes all Latinos and Latino-lovers alike. This annual event will benefit the Tijuana AIDS Hospice. The doors will open at 6 p.m., dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Carlos Silva at 619-692-9076.