Steve Michael Gallardo, a fourth generation Arizonan, was born on October 25, 1968 to Jose Luis Gallardo and Alice Carrillo. He grew up in Maryvale, Arizona. He attended grade school at Starlight Park Elementary School in the Cartwright Elementary School District and Trevor G. Browne High School in the Phoenix Union High School District.
Gallardo continue his education at Rio Salado Community College. He went on to serve as Maricopa County Campaign Finance Director and Training Officer for 14 years.
Janet Napolitano, the Governor of Arizona, appointed him to the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board, where he served from 1998 through 2002. In 2001, he was appointed to the Maryvale Village Planning Committee by the Phoenix City Council. Gallardo served on the Governing Board of the Cartwright Elementary School District beginning in 2001. He served through 2004, and was elected in 2010 to another four-year term. He also served on the Governing Board of the Phoenix Union High School District from 2004 through 2008.
In February 2002, Gallardo resigned from Maricopa County Election Department and announced his candidacy for the Arizona House of Representatives. He was elected in November 2002 to represent Legislative District 13 covering areas of Maryvale, Glendale, Tolleson, Cashion, and Avondale. Gallardo was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. In January 2009, Gallardo stepped down from Arizona House of Representatives to work for a consulting firm.
Shortly after the enactment of Arizona SB 1070, the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in the U.S., he announced his candidacy for Arizona State Senate for Legislative District 13. He was elected in November 2010 and reelected in 2012. In 2012 he sponsored legislation to repeal the anti-immigration legislation.In January 2013, he introduced a series of bills to enhance the rights LGBT persons by ending the state's ban on same-sex marriage, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, and ending the state's preference for married persons over single persons in adoption. In October 2013, Gallardo was elected Minority Whip of the Arizona Senate by his Democratic colleagues.
In 2014, Gallardo again introduced legislation to repeal Arizona's anti-immigration law. He noted that the legislation he wanted to repeal took four years to pass and "It may take us longer to get it repealed. But we are not going to stop until we get it repealed."Following the passage of Arizona SB 1062, which sought to allow businesses to deny services to gay individuals based on their religious beliefs, and its veto by Governor Jan Brewer.
The controversy over Senate Bill 1062 prompted him to go public with his sexuality.
"I am gay, I'm a Latino, I'm a state senator and it's OK," Gallardo said at a press conference.
"After I stood up on the floor and argued against 1062, as I've done on many bills before, I sat down and said, 'Wow. This bill affects me. It affects me directly,'" Gallardo said at the press conference.
"Seeing the people out there, protesting. I thought it's time," he added. "It's time to let people know about me. And to send people a message. I'm more interested in letting people who struggle with this know that it's okay."
Gallardo is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 7th congressional district in the 2014 elections, following the retirement of incumbent Ed Pastor.
Asked if this had something to do with his campaign for the 7th Congressional District seat he told reporters that his coming out has nothing to do with his congressional bid.
"I couldn't care less," Gallardo said. "This is about standing up and doing the right thing."
12 comments:
Very well written spotlight yet again Special. Sorry that Anonymous chooses to be lazy and predictable and not acknowledge what a solid researcher and writer you are. But I imagine it is very very hard hitting the "Z" button many times while juggling a TV remote and 6 beer cans and looking over their empty social calendar for the day. Some people's lives are just so hard!
Steve certainly did do the right thing. He sounds like the perfect man to be elected to the US Congress. I hope he wins.
My working life starts all over again today, whole new way of learning, whole new ways of doing things. Starting new chapters.
I've been through this many times before - you cannot fear change to the point that you just stop in the middle of the road, you guys. Yeah, it's scary but you just gotta go with it and give it your best shot. I'm surrounded by the best team and we're all in this together and clinging tight, lol.
Short lunch break, back at it.
See you all later!
LOL Roma. And I agree, another great Spotlight. I had read what Gallardo did, so it's nice to learn more about him.
Dont forget about the nasty smelly butt crack Roma :-)
Djuan Trent, a Former Miss Kentucky, Comes Out as 'Queer'
Djuan Trent, who won the crown of Miss Kentucky in 2010 and finished in the top 10 of the Miss America competition in 2011, has made history by coming out as a lesbian – the first national pageant contestant to do so.
She made the announcement in a lengthy post on her blog.
"I have written and re-written and deleted and restarted this post more times than I care to share," she wrote, "and after all of that I have finally realized: 'There ain't nothin' to it, but to do it.' So, here we go folks …"
"I am queer."
Trent, 27, said she struggled with her decision but decided to come out because of Kentucky's current battle over gay marriage. The state's ban on recognizing out-of-state gay marriages was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge last month.
"People can't know that their best friend, brother, sister, co-worker, neighbor, news anchor, favorite singer, or local coffee shop barista is being oppressed and denied the rights in which their heterosexual counterparts [that] are so happily welcomed partake, unless you open your mouth and say it," Trent wrote.
In a follow-up post, Trent wrote that she had three goals with her announcement – self-liberation, inspiration and awareness – and said her "heart is warmed from the overwhelmingly positive and encouraging words" from her supporters.
She also wrote about Ellen Page's decision to come out, which happened a week before Trent's announcement.
"Listening to her speech, I was able to relate on so many levels," Trent wrote. "But this is what really hit me: 'I am tired of lying by omission…' Girl, what?! For real! Lying by omission and using non-descript pronouns … that gets really old, really quick."
"Listening to her speech, I was able to relate on so many levels," Trent wrote. "But this is what really hit me: 'I am tired of lying by omission…' Girl, what?! For real! Lying by omission and using non-descript pronouns … that gets really old, really quick."
Wow, that's great. I'm ecstatic for her.
People like Ellen Page are inspiring others in the community and it is just building this snowball.
Unfortunately in Jake's case, it's not just what he omits and leaves out, it's what he hurls out onto the table in overabundant excess.
Yes, another movie promotion interview season has begun.
You know what the hugest crime is? The biggest crime of this whole Jaustin affair?
That Jake really is doing some great things in the background. I firmly believe he's taking great care of his family. I think he's making great efforts to be with his kids. I bet both of these guys are some of the funnest, most adorable dads ever.
But this isn't the public persona he wants to be known. This isn't the public persona that is allowed to be.
Instead he's pretending to be someone he's not. He has to look like and come across as a real cad.
Just Jared
10 March 2014 at 8:25 pm
Robbie Rogers keeps his total concentration on the soccer ball in this brand new feature from Flaunt magazine’s latest issue.
Here’s what the 26-year-old openly gay soccer star had to share with the mag:
On his past inner conflict: “There were a lot of moments where I was just miserable when I should’ve been happy. ‘Guess I’ll go play professional soccer in England!’ but I’m still miserable. Being closeted was affecting the way I played; it was affecting my relationships. It just really destroys you—your mental health and your confidence. I was just like, ‘I’m over this.’”
But I'm still miserable
I stopped reading him about 2 years ago. I think Toothy Tile was real, but when it got too close to 'you know who', Ted was instructed to switch gears and take the BI into a different direction. To this very day, he has [n]ever ruled out the one actor that everyone thought it is. So this is a cliffhanger that will never be solved.
He also jumped the shark with the Twilight pimping, it was horrendous for anyone with more than 10 brain cells and over 30. I think he got kicked to the curb after he became irrelevant to E!
by: I used to like Ted
Ted C Gone from E!
3 words jumped out at me:
Ted was instructed to switch gears and take the BI into a different direction.
As time continues to pass, it becomes clearer and clearer to me that Ted was set up and fired. He was shut up from speaking anymore about what he knew.
Whoever that 'Gossip Girl' person was who came on here in October 10 2013 and then again on October 11, two articles that were so cleverly and uniquely written, I am betting that person was told to stop posting and stop posting "now". Or else.
Jonathan Jaxson? Shut up. He became toast.
People on the Dave Cullen Forum who wished to discuss Jake's possible sexual orientation? Shut up. Forbidden to speak about the subject any longer.
I think I see a trend going on.
You can't post about Austin being with Jake or even being gay over at Waiting for Toothy either. It will be deleted. How ironic is that? A supposed gay blog, doesn't want any posts about Jake being with Austin or even tolerate the notion that Austin is gay. That's how you know WME has taken over that site. Prior to 2012, that was never the case.
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