by Rex Wockner
U.S. NEWS
Two of San Diego's four declared mayoral candidates are gay, as is a third candidate who has opened a campaign committee.
Republican District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Republican City Councilman Carl DeMaio, both openly gay, are officially in the race, and openly lesbian state Sen. Christine Kehoe, a Democrat, is officially exploring a run.
Two straight candidates have declared as well: Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, a Republican and former Marine, and U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego.
The primary election will be June 5, 2012. If any candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, he or she wins the mayoral race. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will advance to a general-election runoff.
Pro-gay Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders can't run again because of term limits.
Sanders has attended several rallies against Proposition 8 and he testified in the federal case that led to the anti-same-sex-marriage amendment being struck down. That ruling now is on appeal.
San Diego has had more than its share of openly gay/lesbian officials over the years, including four City Council members, two state representatives, one state senator, a fire chief, a district attorney, an acting mayor, two mayoral spokesmen, a school board trustee, and five Superior Court judges.
It is America's eighth-largest city.
