Kathryn Lybarger, a queer labor leader, is running for the East Bay’s open 7th District Senate seat in California. As one of five Democrats vying to succeed termed-out Senator Nancy Skinner, Lybarger is proud of her deep connections to labor unions and advocacy for working people. With endorsements from various unions, Lybarger is confident in her campaign’s strength, having already secured a significant amount of funding.
Lybarger’s life story is full of cross-country moves and activism, from working with AIDS protest group ACT UP to serving as president of AFSCME Local 3299 and the California Labor Federation. With her wife, Nina Ackerberg, Lybarger fought for marriage equality, marrying during the Winter of Love in 2004, only to see their marriage annulled that summer. They wed again in 2008, only to have their marriage overturned by Proposition 8 later that year.
Despite the setbacks, Lybarger has remained an activist, fighting for the rights of LGBTQ families like hers, which recently secured legal connections to their children through changes in California custody laws. Lybarger is also a trailblazer in her use of they/them pronouns, as she identifies as androgynous, although she also refers to herself as a “gay woman” depending on her audience.
If elected, Lybarger would be the first member of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus who identifies as queer. She is competing against Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb, former Assemblymember Sandré Swanson, and lesbian AC Transit board member Jovanka Beckles for the seat. Beckles is vying to become the first out Black female state legislator from the East Bay, potentially tripling LGBTQ Black representation in Sacramento.
In other California political news, out gay Lynwood City Councilmember José Luis Solache has received the endorsement of termed-out Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in his bid for Rendon’s District 62 Assembly seat, which includes several Gateway Cities and Southeast L.A. County communities. Solache has also fought for funding schools, creating jobs, and ensuring clean and safe drinking water for residents.
