SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Gay & Lesbian News will hold a “Meet the LGBT Candidates” forum later this month at Anthology, 1337 India St.

The forum will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30, at the chic supper club.

The free event is designed to give the community a chance to meet its current and prospective LGBT elected officials.

Scheduled to attend are San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, San Diego City Councilmembers Carl DeMaio and Todd Gloria, Solana Beach City Councilmember David Roberts, Democratic state Assembly candidate Toni Atkins, Republican state Assembly candidate Ralph Denney, San Diego County Board of Supervisors candidate Stephen Whitburn and San Diego school board candidate Kevin Beiser.

“It is vital for the strength and stability of our community to have openly LGBT elected officials looking out for our best interests,” said Johnathan Hale, publisher of SDGLN and San Diego Pix. “It is essential that we continue to support LGBT candidates.”

William Rodriguez-Kennedy, president of Log Cabin Republicans of San Diego, noted the number of LGBT candidates and/or elected officials.

The fact that San Diego has “LGBT candidates and LGBT elected officials on both sides of the aisle truly speaks volumes. It shows that we are making great strides in our march to equality and that our fight is not a partisan issue,” he said.

Denis Dison, vice president of external affairs for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, said San Diego is a model for the rest of the country.

"San Diego is a Victory Fund success story. The LGBT community there has really embraced our mission, which is to change politics by electing openly LGBT candidates for public office,” Dison said.

“Some of the city's true LGBT heroes have been its elected officials, and we're proud to have played a role in that."

Also sponsoring the forum are San Diego PIX Magazine, Uptown News, Gay San Diego, FlawLess, Lavender Lens and BottomLine magazine.