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Transgender Democrat Elected Treasurer of Oregon State Party

By: Teddy Partridge Wednesday January 14, 2009 1:20 pm

For the first time, an openly transgender Democrat has been elected an
officer of a state party. Laura Calvo was elected Treasurer of the
Democratic Party of Oregon. From the press release by Stonewall
Democrats <http://stonewalldem ocrats.org/ node/480> :

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Today, the Stonewall Democrats congratulated Laura Calvo upon her
election this week as Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Oregon.
Calvo, a seasoned Democratic operative, becomes the first
openly-transgender officer of a state Democratic party. A member of
the Board of Directors for National Stonewall Democrats, Calvo also
serves as Chair of the Oregon Stonewall Democrats and as Treasurer of
the Multnomah County Democrats. Multnomah County, which includes the
city of Portland, is the largest county in the state of Oregon.
-

Laura Calvo was a Hillary Clinton delegate to the Democratic National
Convention this summer and then served on the LGBT Steering Committee
for the Obama/Biden campaign. She was also a campaign adviser to
successful Blue America candidate Jeff Merkley, just sworn in as
Oregon's newest Senator.

Laura Calvo:

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"I've counted Senator Merkley as a friend since the time that we both
served together in local Democratic politics," said Calvo, referring
to freshman United States Senator Jeff Merkley. "I tell friends that
the most effective way to pass legislation on the national level is to
have elected officials who first know us as friends back home. That's
why our community was so passionate about electing Senator Merkley.
Our friendships and activism in Oregon helped to shape his elected
service on the state level, and those relationships continue after he
has moved into the halls of Congress. Stonewall Democrats has built
those types of relationship across the country. Democratic activism is
a way of shaping the direction of pro-equality issues and as Treasurer
of the Democratic Party of Oregon, I not only get to shape the
direction of pro-equality issues, but the direction of my state party
as well."
-

Calvo is the second LGBT officer of the state's Democratic Party,
joining Vice Chair Frank Dixon. The Democratic Party of Oregon
mandates strong support for issues of equality, including the freedom
to marry.

http://campaignsilo .firedoglake. com/2009/ 01/14/transgende r-democrat- elected-treasure r-of-oregon- state-party/