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>Date: Sat, 5 Aug 95 19:16 PDT
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>From: rwinters@seanet.com (Roger Winters)
>Subject: Sen. Cal Anderson Died 8/4/95
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from the Seattle Times (not by permission)

by Carole Beers, Anne Koch, and Dee Norton

Cal Anderson, the Legislature's first openly gay member, died yesterday,
ending his battle with AIDS.

Secretary of the Senate Marty Brown said Anderson was found dead by his
partner, Eric Ishino, at their SEattle home when Ishino came home from work.

Anderson, a Democratic senator from Seattle's 43rd District, was absent
for most of the 1995 legislative session, battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma,
an AIDS-related cancer.

Anderson went to Olympia periodically to cast crucial votes in the
Senate, where his party had only a one-vote majority.

In April, Anderson announced that chemotherapy had eradicated the
lymphoma, but he was left weakened and susceptible to more illnesses. In
June, he missed being grand marshall of Seattle's gay-pride parade
because of blood clots in his legs and lungs.

...
Before entering the Legislature, Anderson served in Vietnam, winning two
Bronze Stars and two Army Commendation Medals.

Anderson, 47, was appointed to the House in 1987 and won subsequent House
elections, until he captured an open Senate seat in 1994 with 81 percent
of the vote. He took an interest in civil rights, the environment and
legislation dealing with elections, ethics and state government.

For years, Anderson waged an unsuccessful battle to have the Legislature
adopt a gay-rights bill. He was a major force in fighting anti-gay rights
initiatives in 1994.

...
In an interview last month, Anderson looked ahead: "One of my dreams is
to go back to Olympia next year and say 'I'm still here.' AIDS isn't the
death sentence you all think it is."

Anderson declined to resign from the Senate because he loved the work and
was still able to do it.

While he was diagnosed HIV positive before he was first elected, Anderson
declined to publicly reveal it: "What would have happened is I would have
become the poster child for AIDS, not a legislator."

Anderson called himself "a Democrat who happens to be gay."

...
A $2.6 million, 24-unit apartment complex for low-income people with AIDS
was dedicated to Anderson last month.
______________

As a long-time activist in Seattle's gay community, I'd like to say that
few individuals have had the impact which Cal had in our state. He knew
he was fortunate to have the opportunities he had and he turned them to
achievements. He was known as one of the most effective state
legislators. He cannot be replaced in terms of talent and impact. It was
a privilege to know Cal and it is tragic that he is not with us any more.
His time with us further strengthened the community here and we are all
better off for his having walked with us.
                                             --Roger Winters
                                               rwinters@seanet.com