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."
Kimble Sutherland
He first became active in politics in 1981, when he joined the local NDP riding executive during a provincial campaign. Sutherland also had a labour background, having served as a shop steward with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1977 while working at the Zehrs grocery store in Ingersoll.