Sheila Kuehl
Kuehl was elected to the California State Assembly in 1994, becoming the first openly gay person elected to the California legislature. While running for office Kuehl found she was able to offset some negative stereotypes people had about lesbians thanks to their familiarity with her role as Zelda. She told an interviewer "When people know gay people personally, they tend to feel differently about the whole community. And all of a sudden, here's a person that they knew very well that they found out was lesbian."
Tom Mechler
Mechler has been a grassroots leader since first becoming involved in Republican Party politics in 1986 in Wasilla, Alaska where he was first elected as a Precinct Chair, followed by his election as the District 16 Vice-Chair and subsequently becoming the District 16 Chair and member of the Alaska Central Committee. He held these positions until leaving Alaska to attend the Wharton Business School in 1990. He became reinvolved as a Republican grassroots leader when he was elected the Gray County GOP Chair in 1993 (Pampa, Texas), a position he held until he moved to Armstrong County in 2000. He became the County Chair in Claude, Texas in 2001, serving for a year when he was elected to the Texas State Republican Executive Committee where he served from 2002-2006. Mechler first became involved in politics because of his strong pro-life beliefs which he continues to hold to this day.