Leader of Sacramento gay Democrats builds a political force

In the hardscrabble steelmaking area of Sparrows Point overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, Ed Bennett cut his political teeth, working gritty precincts east of Baltimore to re-elect President Nixon.

It was an unlikely beginning for the man who 36 years later would lead Northern California's largest Democratic Party organization and the Sacramento region's campaign to keep same-sex marriage legal.

"I've never missed an election. And, I've voted Democratic ever since," Bennett says of the 1972 election year that hooked him on politics.

Bennett, 49, is president of the Sacramento Stonewall Democrats, at the helm during a pivotal year for gays and lesbians.

A Navy veteran who came out to his mother during a heated discussion about singer Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade in the 1970s, Bennett is building the 5-year-old organization into an influential political force.

Democrats, whether they are running for school trustee or Congress, have sought the club's endorsement recently.

"Part of what Ed's tried to do is see that Stonewall is positioned to have influence," said Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, who won a Stonewall endorsement early in her re-election bid.

Bennett is a levelheaded leader and a consensus builder who is not afraid to seek advice, said fellow advocates and politicians.

"He's so comfortable with himself he's able to advocate," said Tina Reynolds, a Sacramento lesbian who owns a multimedia firm. "There's no closet about this man."

Darrick Lawson, a chiropractor and former Stonewall president, said that while he is sometimes guided by emotion, Bennett is more analytical.

"He approaches things like a recipe: First you boil the water and then you do this," Lawson said.

Within days of becoming president, Bennett got a call while river rafting: A man perceived to be gay was attacked at Lake Natoma. That was in July 2007. Satender Singh, 26, died from his injuries. Bennett went to work, creating a community coalition that would quell rumors and anger, but push for justice. In a strategic move, he chose a straight woman to lead the coalition.

"In the end it was a wise choice," said Georgette Imura of the Council on Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership. Imura, who was the chairwoman, said: "It made the community and media look at this from a broad perspective, not just a gay and lesbian perspective."

Leader of Sacramento gay Democrats builds a political force
Sacramento Bee,  USA