“I think his (Cabaldon’s) constituents should applaud him and support him because I think we want nothing less in our public officials than being truthful in their public offices as well as in their private lives,” he said. Christine Kehoe of San Diego, Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica and Carole Migden of San Francisco. Six members of the California Legislature have disclosed they are gay: Assemblymen Mark Leno of San Francisco and John Laird of Santa Cruz Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg of Los Angeles and state Sens. Most, however, have made their orientation known before they run for office.
While the number of openly gay elected officials has increased in recent years, both nationally and within California, most of California’s gay politicians represent solidly liberal coastal towns. It’s not every day a sitting elected official tells the public: “I’m gay.” A crew working for the Logo channel has been shadowing Cabaldon for the better part of a week. The 41-year-old mayor’s unusual “coming out” will be carried in documentary form on an MTV Networks cable channel featuring gay-themed programming.
