THE HARVEY MILK Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club decided in this election to take the high road. We believe that you, the informed voters of San Francisco, deserve better than to have to endure the kind of negative elections that have defined our process in the past years.

So in the democratic 13th District state assembly primary, I had hoped that the honor of having several members of the LGBT community to choose from would allow for a race defined by where the candidates stand on the issues. There's a very clear difference between these candidates, particularly Harry Britt and Mark Leno, who have offered very different solutions to our city's challenges. This seemed a great opportunity to show the positive side to politics.

Now, in the last week before the election – in spite of reassurances given to me by the leadership of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club – the mudslinging from the Leno camp has begun. The lies and misinformation first splattered by Leno and his political consultant, Robert Barnes, on the pages of the Bay Area Reporter are now being reprinted by the Alice club – as if to say that the more you reprint the lies, the truer they get. There will likely be more. It is likely that the Leno campaign, through various soft-money committees, will be littering your mailbox with the same kinds of negative lies that you have endured for the past few campaigns – the reprints of misleading stories and the invented histrionics that have turned off voter after voter in election after election.

The Milk club endorsed Britt for the 13th District assembly seat because of his impeccable history on the issues. Britt is a civil rights leader who fights for more than just the interests of the gay community. He fought for farm workers alongside Cesar Chavez and sponsored legislation to divest funds from South Africa. Britt championed such important issues as rent control, accountable planning, child care, and responsible development. Britt fought for comparable pay for women, helped create the Office of Citizen Complaints to allow civilian oversight of the San Francisco Police Department, and made domestic partner benefits a reality for our community. He also fought for the adoption of Proposition M, which limited development and required developers to contribute to transit and affordable-housing construction.

Britt's work on all these issues changed things for the better for all of us in San Francisco. Our club trusts Britt to continue fighting for these issues in Sacramento. The membership of our club clearly felt that Leno has been an inconsistent vote on issues of economic justice, tenants rights, development controls, and political reform. For example, one of the highest priorities for our club was the passage of Tom Ammiano's living wage ordinance. Leno blocked the passage of that legislation, voting instead for a much weaker version. On issues of importance to all San Franciscans and the LGBT community, Britt simply has a better and more effective record.

The Milk club is proud of its reputation as a progressive, thoughtful group. San Franciscans expect that our endorsements will result from a process of questioning the candidates on their stands on issues and evaluating their accomplishments in tasks they have undertaken. Britt overwhelmingly got the nod from our members, partially because of Leno's unwillingness to take positions on hard issues and to initiate change through the kinds of tough battles Britt is famous for winning.