Will our state houses and city halls be filled with gay politicians before gay marriage becomes a reality? While many will see 2009 as a failure when it comes to marriage rights, the year should be remembered as a success for the politician who happens to be gay.

From Annise Parker in Houston, Charles Pugh in Detroit, and Sandra Kurt in Akron, Ohio gay politicians won general elections across the country. According to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, eight years ago there were 257 out gay and lesbian  politicians. This year 445.

This might be strange considering the tough road marriage equality has had, and will have. But Patrick Egan, a professor at New York University, thinks the rise of the gay pol is a better barometer of gay freedom than same sex marriage initiatives failing or  passing.

“Gay marriage ballot measures are not the best measure,” said Egan. “They happen to be about the one issue the public is most uncomfortable with. In a sense, they don’t give us a real good picture of the opinion trend over the last 30 years.”

This could be a problem for activists; gay pols winning elections are not shying away from their families, but they are not running on gay agendas. Their platforms follow the standard playbook, promising to work on everything from taxes to garbage pick up (gay rights get a bare mention). If a candidate is well known in a community and has a track record of success, she will get votes even if marriage is a pipe dream (look at Texas Sheriff Lupe Valdez).

The fact gays and lesbians are working up the political food chain is a good thing, but if marriage is your goal you are going to have to continue doing the same work. Pols who are gay do not belong just to us. Their job is to serve the entire community and they join a movement only when its safe to do so.

1. Why does  anyone care what former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair thinks?

2. Should  lame duck governor Jon Corzine sign a gay marriage bill?  At first blush, I say no.

3. Why do people always include the word “hot” when they use the term Latin band.

4. Will pushing for gay marriage save New York’s David Paterson?

5. This story about  premature aging for some who are on HIV medications, proves again why safe sex is important. Wear a condom peoples.

6. Congratulations to Charles Pugh and Sandra Kurt. Local elections are just as critical as the national ones.

7. No work for me today. Levi Johnston is apparently in New York for his Playgirl photo shoot.

8. Anyone have any Palm Springs Pride stories? Please if you want to moan about how ashamed you are about Dykes on Bikes or some other “freaks”, keep the diatribe to a minimum. We all know gay marriage would be the law of the land if gays and lesbians just wore J. Crew and acted right.

9. Discovered Hill Street Blues on Hulu. I’m screwed.

10. Too many books. Not enough time.

Victory Fund candidate Charles Pugh will become the first openly gay member of the Detroit City Council.  But the political newcomer could also become the city council president if he continues to hold on to the top spot among 18 candidates vying for 9 at-large city council seats.

“I was truly humbled,” said Pugh. “I know there were people who didn’t vote for me because I was gay … but I think people looked at me to see who I was as a complete person and where I was on the issues and that’s what made the difference.”

Pugh will now move on to the November 3 primary. He was one of 18 candidates to advance after earning 8.9 percent of the vote with 59,560 votes. He received almost 10,000 more votes than City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr., who came in second.

The Detroit gay community has expressed their excitement over Pugh’s success, but several religious institutions in Detroit have backed him as well. Both the AME Ministerial Alliance and the Council of Baptist Pastors have decided to support Pugh despite the fact that Detroit churches have historically condemned homosexuality.

“He was young and energetic, and he had good ideas,” said Rev. Lonnie Peek, a spokesman for the Council of Baptist Pastors. “He’s just the right person to bring about change. He did great.”

Kevin Mumford, a University of Iowa professor whose book “Interzones” examines race and sexuality in 20th century America, said that even though black communities have historically looked down upon homosexuality, they may sympathize with Pugh and his awareness of discrimination.

“On the level of civil rights and fairness, it may be that black politicians and the black electorate are more aware of the injustices of bias than the general population,” he said.

Read the full Detroit News story here.