Gay San Francisco mayor candidate releases ad featuring daughter
Tue. October 4, 2011 4:35 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
bevan dufty with daughter in campaign ad
photo credit // youtube
Openly gay candidate runs as family man
San Francisco, CA -
In what's believed to be the first time a campaign ad has ever shown an openly gay candidate's child, Bevan Dufty released a television campaign ad Monday featuring his daughter.
Dufty, one of 16 candidates running for mayor of San Francisco, is seen in the ad with his five-year-old daughter, Sidney, who he conceived with a lesbian friend.
The ad shows Dufty and his daughter taking a ride on the San Francisco Municipal Railway while the candidate says, "I ride MUNI everyday. I enjoy it most when I'm with Sidney. She doesn't notice that it's too crowded or that it can run a half-hour late… Sidney thinks MUNI is magic… I want all of us to see it that way."
Although gay parenting, just as gay marriage, has seen a rise in public support, response to the campaign ad has been mixed.
One response on Twitter called it ‘exploitative.'
Dufty took to the social networking site to write, "We are very proud of the ad and it was a great present for Sidney who turned 5 yesterday."
The candidate was faced with controversy when he first announced he was to have a daughter with his best friend, Rebecca Goldfader, in 2006.
At the time, a local radio host, Pete Wilson, criticized the decision.
"The Dufty-Goldfader baby is, in my mind, a travesty," he said, "or a potential travesty. Perhaps that's a better way of saying it."
Many people called for Wilson to be fired over the insensitive comments, but Dufty responded in an email saying, "In no way do I want to see you resign or lose your position over this incident."
Wilson, who has since died from a heart attack in 2007, was able to keep his job after making a public apology.
If elected, Dufty will become the first openly gay mayor in San Francisco's history.
Dufty, one of 16 candidates running for mayor of San Francisco, is seen in the ad with his five-year-old daughter, Sidney, who he conceived with a lesbian friend.
The ad shows Dufty and his daughter taking a ride on the San Francisco Municipal Railway while the candidate says, "I ride MUNI everyday. I enjoy it most when I'm with Sidney. She doesn't notice that it's too crowded or that it can run a half-hour late… Sidney thinks MUNI is magic… I want all of us to see it that way."
Although gay parenting, just as gay marriage, has seen a rise in public support, response to the campaign ad has been mixed.
One response on Twitter called it ‘exploitative.'
Dufty took to the social networking site to write, "We are very proud of the ad and it was a great present for Sidney who turned 5 yesterday."
The candidate was faced with controversy when he first announced he was to have a daughter with his best friend, Rebecca Goldfader, in 2006.
At the time, a local radio host, Pete Wilson, criticized the decision.
"The Dufty-Goldfader baby is, in my mind, a travesty," he said, "or a potential travesty. Perhaps that's a better way of saying it."
Many people called for Wilson to be fired over the insensitive comments, but Dufty responded in an email saying, "In no way do I want to see you resign or lose your position over this incident."
Wilson, who has since died from a heart attack in 2007, was able to keep his job after making a public apology.
If elected, Dufty will become the first openly gay mayor in San Francisco's history.