The Empire State Pride Agenda is committed to seizing all opportunities in the political and legislative processes to advance our public policy goals and pursue our public policy agenda. Securing the election and appointment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) supporters at all levels of government, educating political candidates and identifying, endorsing and providing campaign assistance to those who support our public policy agenda are important tools in achieving this. We believe that by supporting candidates for elected office, we can increase the number of allies in government, solidify the commitment of current allies and hold opponents accountable.
Endorsements Criteria
When deciding whether to endorse in a particular race in New York State, the Pride Agenda considers a number of factors including whether the endorsement:
- furthers our public policy agenda;
- contributes to the election of LGBT candidates;
- allows for coalition building with strategic allies;
- results in significant community or capacity building within the LGBT community; and,
- allows for specific public education on an issue of importance or has the potential to influence the outcome of an election.
We make our specific endorsement decisions based on:
- an examination of a candidate's voting record (for those who have previously held elective office) and the voting record of their opponent;
- a review of his or her public acts and statements; and,
- consultations with other organizations throughout New York State, including local LGBT organizations.
Non-incumbents are evaluated based upon the criteria above as well as the viability of their campaigns.
Endorsements Process
We usually begin our endorsements process about six months before the November general elections. The first step for a candidate to be considered for the Pride Agenda’s endorsement is to complete our candidate questionnaire. We announce the beginning of our endorsements process by posting the candidate questionnaire on our website and communicating to our supporters, LGBT organizations across the state and the political parties that the process is underway.
Click here to download the Pride Agenda's 2008 Candidate Questionnaire.
Announcement of Endorsements and Voter Guides
We announce our endorsements for both the Primary and General Elections by putting out a press release and shortly thereafter posting an online version of our Voter Guide. Following are links to Voter Guides from past elections cycles:
2008 General Election Voter Guide
2008 Primary Voter Guide
2007 General Election Voter Guide
2006 General Election Voter Guide
2006 Primary Voter Guide
2005 General Election Voter Guide
2005 Primary Voter Guide
2004 General Election Voter Guide
2003 General Election Voter Guide
2002 General Election Voter Guide
2002 Primary Voter Guide
2001 Primary Voter Guide