Senator's sexuality not her focus

Julia Boseman is like any other first-term state senator.

She wants to improve the state job market, increase spending for higher education and fight for her district in the N.C. legislature.

But she and her fellow lawmakers have one difference: Boseman is the first openly gay candidate to reach the General Assembly.

On Nov. 2, the New Hanover County native narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Woody White to take the 9th District seat vacated by former Senate minority leader and Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine.

White was a partner in Ballantine's law firm and was appointed by Gov. Mike Easley in May to finish Ballantine's term.

Boseman took 51 percent of the vote, while White held 49 percent.

"We worked hard and had a lot of help, and that's why we won," she said. "I just think people vote for the person instead of the party."

During her campaign, Boseman's personal life was brought into the spotlight through ads run by the N.C. Republican Party that questioned whether the fact that she was an open lesbian would affect her work as a senator.

Boseman said that she expected the attacks to happen but that her track record as vice chairwoman of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was proof enough of what she could do.

"I think people want to hear what you're going to do for them and not details about your personal life," she said. "Citizens of the county are fair-minded people. They look at what you can do instead of responding to personal attacks."

Bob Greer, chairman of the Board of Commissioners, said that though he and Boseman often agreed to disagree, they were always able to get along. That attitude, he said, will help Boseman in the Senate.

"I think that on any elected board or position, you have to work with everyone," he said. "And I think from my experience with her she's willing to do that."

Across the United States, 21 of the 30 openly gay candidates for state legislature won their races Nov. 2, said Dave DeCicco, vice president for communications at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute.

The group supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates and officials.

But it's hard to say whether Boseman's election will open the door to others who are openly gay and looking to run for office, said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life.

"My view is that because she has gotten somewhat more attention than the average first-term legislator, she's gonna operate in something of a hotter spotlight then others in her class," he said. "But beyond that, she faces the same challenges of proving herself both to her colleagues and to her constituents that other first-term legislators face."

He added that women appeared to do well in this year's state elections. But other factors such as her campaigning method and her hard work probably were key, he said.

"I suspect that it was local conditions, her skills as a candidate and the dynamics of the campaigning that had more to do with her winning than her sexual orientation."

New Hanover County Commissioner William Caster said that though conditions seemed ripe for problems between him and Boseman, their disagreements never got in the way of a strong working relationship. "I'm an old Republican and she's a young Democrat," he said. "We certainly butted heads."

Though he supported White, an old friend, he said he looks forward to having a fellow commissioner in the Senate who knows county issues.

Boseman said she doesn't plan to push gay rights issues during her time in the legislature. She was elected to fight for jobs, increased education spending and a state lottery, she said, and that's what she intends to do.

First on her list is allowing citizens to vote on the state lottery issue, a cause for which she is already drafting a bill.

She also said she will continue to find ways to attract jobs to the state and to help businesses already in North Carolina, an area in which she has experience from her work on the Board of Commissioners.

Guillory said that focusing on the issues is key to a successful term for Boseman and that if she can prove herself just like any other first-term senator must, she'll do well. "If she shows that she's willing to get in there and work on a day-to-day basis ... then she will do fine," he said.

"There isn't any reason why if she works hard, builds strong working relationships and sticks to the issues that she can't serve the people of the state and of her district."

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.