(A quick reminder for folks in the Bay Area, Tony Woods is having a fundraiser at 6:30 tonight at Pisco Lounge. Deats/tickets here. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

With Ellen Taushcer officially out of Congress, Gov. Schwarzenegger can now choose the election date.  But with several strong candidates, the campaign has already been on for a while now. UPDATE by Brian: See the flip for more.

 Anthony Woods was interviewed in the Washington Post on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York for his perspective on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, running for Congress as an openly gay man, and more. Here’s his take on the reality of DADT in today’s military:

Q) When it was first implemented, the policy was allegedly supposed to preserve morale and unit cohesion. How does that fit in with your experience in Iraq?

A) The thing that soldiers care about is, is their leader competent and does he or she care about them. And if they had a choice between a straight superior who was not very good at their job or a gay superior who was very good at their job, I think they would choose the one who’s going to help ensure that they come home to their families.(WaPo 6/28/09)

Incidentally, if you are in San Francisco, you should consider coming to a fundraiser with Tony and Lt. Dan Choi, two outspoken young leaders pushing hard against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Even if you aren’t in SF, you can still free to drop a few dimes on the Woods Campaign here. Note that the Calitics Editorial Board has taken no position on this campaign as of yet.