Out to win - Brief Article

Coming out is called "a potential boon" for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Joel Wachs

Sometimes when a gay candidate runs for high office, pundits and electoral handicappers say sexual orientation will not count against him. Rarely, though, do the chattering classes believe that being gay might actually be an advantage. But then Los Angeles is not your typical town, and city councilman Joel Wachs, who might one day run America's second-largest city, is not your typical gay politician.

Wachs, 60, who has represented his conservative, working- and middle-class district in the San Fernando Valley for 28 years, announced in July that he would be a candidate in Los Angeles's 2001 mayoral race. A registered independent. Wachs has a solid reputation for being fiscally conservative and socially liberal--a definite plus in politically diverse Los Angeles. Never married and a supporter of gay and lesbian rights, he has ignored rumors and backhanded questions about his sexuality. That is, until November, when, asked on a local cable TV program if he is gay, Wachs calmly answered, "I am."

A few days later the Los Angeles Times reported that Wachs's announcement might be "a potential boon," noting that some consultants said he would "receive a substantial boost, both in votes and in donations, locally and nationally" as a result of coming out.

Wachs himself was taken aback by such unbridled optimism. "I know we've come a long way, but that really surprised me," he said. "If it's really true, maybe my opponents will start saying they're bisexual." Nevertheless, he is well-positioned to capture votes. "I have a natural base in the Valley and among conservative taxpayer groups," he said. "But I also have support in West L.A., Hollywood, and among gay voters. I have a broad base of support from Democrats and Republicans alike."

"I don't see how the moderate-to-conservative constituency he serves would mobilize against him at this point," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst and senior associate at the school of politics and economics at Claremont Graduate University. "California Republicans know their image is mean-spirited, almost homophobic, and they'd better come back from that if they want to win elections." At best, she said, Wachs "won't be hurt" by coming out. And if he is helped by it? "It will be more within the gay community," she said. "And in this town that's not inconsequential."

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