Beth Doglio Could Become Washington State’s First LGBT+ Person To Be Elected To Congress
July 30, 2020Washington state representative and Democratic Congressional candidate Beth Doglio could be the state’s first LGBT+ person to be elected to Congress.
Doglio wants voters to know that she’s a fighter. “I don’t give up,” she told ‘LGBTQ Nation’. “I will fight tooth and nail for this district.”
Doglio, who identifies as bisexual, is running in Washington's 10th district and has the potential to become the state’s first out LGBTQ congressperson.
“It would be awesome,” she said. “I mean, it’s really unfortunate that I would be the first. Here we are in 2020 and there has not been a single other person…The time has come when this should take place. So I am super excited about it. I’m looking forward to being a very strong advocate for the LGBTQ community, as I have been as a state legislator.”
A member of the LGBT+ Caucus, Doglio said she has enjoyed “standing side by side, and encouraging and empowering my LGBTQ brothers and sisters to speak out.”
“It’s really important that people see people in positions of leadership talking about their identity,” she said, “and hopefully that helps people feel comfortable, and know that regardless of how they identify themselves that they, too, can move through this world and have role models, and know that other people are able to succeed.”
Doglio is running for Congress, she said, because she feels the stakes are too high not to.
“I think our very Democracy is under attack,” she said.
She is intent on passing sweeping climate change solutions and she also supports Medicare-For-All. Running in a district that also contains one of the largest military bases in the nation, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Doglio says she is also committed to fighting for the rights of trans people to serve in the military.
“Actually passing landmark legislation through my relationship building and my ability to bring the outside advocacy power into the walls of the policymaking arena is really what makes me stand out,” she said.
“I have over 135 elected officials because I have worked closely with them,” she added, “Not just as a legislator, but as an advocate for thirty years as well…and I’ve actually delivered and gotten things done, and I’ve passed policies that really make a difference in people’s lives.”
Doglio was the founding Executive Director of Washington Conservation Voters. She also worked for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Audubon Washington, and has worked at Climate Solutions since 2007.
The first bill she ever introduced, back in 2017, focused on police accountability. “It was very controversial at the time, but I went out and supported my families in my community who deserve accountability when there is excessive use of force.”
Expanding access to housing, she said, is another priority of hers, as it is a really significant issue in her district.
“I’ve worked really hard on a federal housing plan. There’s a lot of work to be done to reform our federal programs to make sure they’re meeting the needs of people who find themselves without a home. I think the federal government has not been an equal partner, that it has really been left to the state and local governments to work on housing issues, and I think the feds really need to step up, and I’m going to play a big role in making sure that happens.”
Above all else, Doglio emphasised, she is prepared to keep fighting.
“I’ve been part of the fabric of this district for the last two decades. I raised my family here…I’d be absolutely honored to represent us in Congress.”
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