Political Notes: October calendar chock-a-block with political events and queer surf fundraiser

The month of October is filling up with various political events and a special fundraiser for a San Francisco-based queer surfing group being held at a city park that has made political waves of late. The filing deadline for next June’s state primary races is now less than five months away on March 6, while ballots are already being cast in California’s special congressional redistricting election taking place November 4.

To bolster turnout in support of Proposition 50, which will redraw the Golden State’s U.S. House districts to make five more likely to be won by a Democrat, the progressive political group Our Revolution is hosting a virtual town hall Monday (October 13) in support of the ballot measure. It is officially titled the Election Rigging Response Act due to Republican President Donald Trump and GOP leaders in various states gerrymandering their congressional seats to make them easier for Republicans to win next year.

Among the leaders taking part in tonight’s online Yes on Prop 50 gathering, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, are Congressmember Ro Khanna and state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, both Democrats from San Jose. Nonbinary California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Chair Alfred Twu, an elected Berkeley Rent Board commissioner, is also scheduled to take part.

To register for the free event, visit this webpage .

It comes as support for Prop 50 builds across the state. Last week, the Napa County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to endorse it.

“Here in Napa County, we know the importance of making sure every person – from our vineyard workers to our small business owners, families, and seniors – is counted and heard. Prop 50 is about transparency, accountability, and ensuring that politics doesn’t outweigh people,” stated Supervisor Belia Ramos, who sponsored the North Bay board’s resolution.

Meanwhile, state GOP leaders have been ramping up their rhetoric for why Republican voters need to cast ballots against Prop 50. California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin has implored people to donate to the No on Prop 50 campaign in order to stop Governor Gavin Newsom’s “REDISTRICTING COUP dead in its tracks” in emailed fundraising requests.

“It’s clear as day that every Republican in the country is counting on YOU,” wrote Rankin. “They say ‘As goes Texas, so goes the nation.’ But the TRUTH is that if Republicans like you and me fail to fight back RIGHT HERE IN CALIFORNIA, America will be overrun by open borders, open jails, and open drug markets… Making conservatives like you OPEN SEASON.”

Beckman kicks off North Bay Assembly bid
Speaking of the North Bay, bisexual Corte Madera Town Councilmember Eli Beckman is hosting a campaign kickoff fundraiser this month for his bid next year to become the first out state legislator from Marin or Sonoma counties.

As the Bay Area Reporter’s Political Notebook column first reported in April, Beckman is seeking the open Assembly District 12 seat that straddles the two counties. He first needs to survive the June 2, 2026, primary where the top two vote-getters regardless of party will advance to the fall ballot.

Also vying to be the first LGBTQ and first Jewish leader elected to the seat is lesbian Tiburon Town Councilmember Holli Thier, currently serving as the town’s ceremonial mayor. The attorney and environmental advocate was first appointed to her council seat in 2017 and was just reelected last year to a four-year term.

Back in 2002, Thier had run for Assembly in a district that also covered San Francisco. She and several other candidates lost to gay San Francisco supervisor Mark Leno.

The winner of the 2026 race will succeed Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), who is seeking the open state Senate District 2 seat on next year’s ballot. Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan is also running https://www.ericlucan.com/ for Connolly’s seat.

Former legislative staffer and farmers advocate Steve Schwartz also launched a bid for the seat. The Sebastopol resident and farmer had run to serve in the Assembly in 2022 and previously served on the Gravenstein Union School District board.

Also seeking the seat is Rohnert Park City Councilmember Jackie Elward, who grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her 2020 election marked the first time a Black woman had won a seat on her city’s council.

As for Beckman, he will officially launch his campaign publicly with an event from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, October 26, at The Key Room, located at 1385 N. Hamilton Parkway in Novato. The city happens to be where Lucan grew up and served on the City Council prior to his 2022 election to the county Board of Supervisors.

Tickets to Beckman’s event begin at $45 and can be bought online.

Queer surfing drag event
In San Francisco this Saturday, October 18, the nonprofit Queer Surf – All Bodies All Boards is hosting a ‘DRAG ME 2 THE BEACH’ fundraiser at Sunset Dunes Park adjacent to Ocean Beach. Headlining it will be Pattie Gonia, an Oregon-based drag artist and content creator who is an advocate for the outdoors.

Earlier this year she took part in hanging a giant transgender Pride flag at Yosemite’s El Capitan, a mecca for rock climbers. She also was named to Time magazine’s list of 100 creators for 2025.

As the B.A.R. noted in a profile this year about the nearly decade-old Queer Surf group, it aims to foster connection within the LGBTQ surfing community and attract more queer and trans people to the ocean sport.

“Queer Surf provides a huge, you know, blanket to allow you to explore something that’s very magical, and I think can help heal you as a person, especially someone who faces microaggressions every day as a queer person,” Bibi Benitez Benitez, a queer transgender Latina, had told the B.A.R. about getting involved with it.

The fundraiser will be from 2 to 7 p.m. at the city park near its Noriega Street entrance onto the former Great Highway. City voters last November passed a ballot measure to turn the roadway into a public promenade for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The controversial proposal was spearheaded by gay District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio and led his constituents outraged over the closure of their major commute route to recall him from office last month. His last official day will be this Friday, October 17, while Mayor Daniel Lurie has yet to say whom he will appoint to fill the vacancy. (The person will need to run for the rest of the term through early January 2027 on the June primary ballot then for a full four-year term on the November ballot.)

A suggested donation of $15 is being asked for the Queer Surf beach party. At 4 p.m. Pattie Gonia and other drag artists are set to perform through 5:30. Afterward DJ YNG GMA will preside over a dance party until the sun sets.

For more information and to RSVP, visit the website.

Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko and on Bluesky @ https://bsky.app/profile/politicalnotes.bsky.social .

Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected] .