Doing it for ourselves: after decades of pounding on the wafts of government, fighting to be heard, gays and lesbians have finally secured positions inside those walls. There are currently more than 370 openly gay elected officials nationwide, with at least 100 more expected to run in 2008. Meet six trailblazers who ran as openly gay candidates and won—in red states, no less

GUY PADGETT

Former mayor of Casper, Wyo.

Elected: 2004

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In 2004 the city council of Casper, Wyo.--Matthew Shepard's hometown-unanimously elected their first openly gay mayor. Guy Padgett, who at 27 was also the town's youngest mayor ever, says he "never wanted my sexuality to be the focal point. It's part of who I am. If anybody had doubts at the beginning of the year, by the end they were convinced that sexuality was not a characteristic that inhibits being a good public servant or a facilitator to a council of nine people."

Nonetheless, Padgett is well aware of the significance of sexuality. He and Matthew Shepard were friends in junior high school, and the two had reconnected shortly before Shepard's death in 1998.

"We would go out to coffee," remembers Padgett. "He would tell me these fantastic stories about Switzerland and Saudi Arabia; I was always a little bit jealous, honestly. I regret we didn't have more time."

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Wyoming entered the spotlight again in late 2005 with the release of Brokeback Mountain, and Padgett became a go-to gay for the media.

"A lot of times, the press would come to me for my opinion," says Padgett, adding that as mayor he had to weigh in on a lot more than a gay cowboy film. "I'd get all sorts of calls on all sorts of issues, from barking dogs to potholes. The interest in me as a gay man has come from outside the community rather than within."

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AL McAFFREY

Oklahoma state house member

Elected: 2006

Al McAffrey, 59, has lived a life of service. Before becoming a legislator, he had careers in both the Navy and the Oklahoma City Police Department. McAffrey said his sexuality wasn't a central issue during his race for the district 88 seat in the Oklahoma state house, but that changed one day when he knocked on the door of a house displaying his opponent's sign on the front lawn.

"The guy said, 'I have only one question to ask you: Are you gay?'" recalls McAffrey. "And I thought, Oh, shit, how am I going to answer this? Well, I'm a pretty point-blank guy, so I said, 'Yeah, I'm gay. Does that mean you're not going to vote for m?' He looked at me and said, 'No, I am going to vote for you, because you're honest.'"

The man took down the opponent's sign right there and then.

JOLIE JUSTUS

Missouri state senator

Elected: 2006

Jolie Justus, 36, knows the power of words. The progressive Democrat has seen firsthand the effect of saying "gay" or "lesbian" in the company of other legislators.

"It's a whole lot easier to demonize a whole population of people when you don't have someone sitting at the table there with you," says Justus. "I think one thing I've done for the LGBT community is have a seat at the table. I'm just a regular person--I've got bills to pay, a kid to feed, and I have hopes and dreams just like everybody else." And in the process she was "able to get some great things passed and, as a member of the minority party, stop some bad stuff-which is almost more so my role than passing stuff."

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KATHY WEBB

Arkansas state house member

Elected: 2006

While waging her 2006 campaign to represent district 37 in the Arkansas state house, Kathy Webb was asked by some of her future constituents whether she might have trouble being effective, given that she's a lesbian.

"Of course my answer was no," says Webb. "I grew up in Little Rock, I'm over 50, and I have a very, very long and substantial resume of dealing with so many issues, environmental issues. There was way too much data on my resume for people to say I had not been effective as a businessperson, as a community person, as an activist."

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LUPE VALDEZ

Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas

Elected: 2004

Lupe Valdez, 59, is a triple threat in the Dallas County Sheriff's Department. She's the first female, the first Latina, and the first openly gay sheriff in the county's history.

"All of my identities have been significant," says Valdez. "You've got the gay group saying, 'I got you elected,' and the Latina and women's groups saying the same. The truth is, having so many identities, so many people can identify with me. So many people can say, 'Hey, the sheriff is like me.'" And yet, Valdez says she's more than the sum of three parts. "Hardly anyone focuses on my spiritual side, which is also very strong."

Throughout the course of her term, Sheriff Valdez says Dallas County has become increasingly tolerant, and she prides herself on her ethics and integrity on the job. "When you are obviously supporting all groups, it shows you're fair to everybody and everybody gains their rights," she explains. "As the citizens of Dallas become more accepting of others' rights, they end up becoming more accepting of their own." *

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