Bowen and Gay Marriage: Yay or Nay?

Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who is running for the vacant 36th Congressional District seat, stated in a 2002 questionnaire that marriage should be restricted to a relationship between a man and a woman.

But her voting record and actions—including officiating some same-sex marriages—refute that position.

Information listed on Project Vote Smart's 2002 National Political Awareness Test is incorrect, Bowen's campaign team said Tuesday.

Her record and actions put her firmly in the camp of those in favor of same-sex marriage, said Bowen's campaign spokesman Steve Barkan.

As a state senator, Bowen twice voted in favor of same-sex marriage: in 2004 on Assembly Joint Resolution 85, which opposed the federal marriage amendment, and in 2005 on Assembly Bill 849, which would allow same-sex couples to marry in California.

Bowen has even officiated some same-sex marriages, including the wedding of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Zeke Zeidler and his husband Jay Kohorn, Barkan said.

Montana-based Project Vote Smart sends its National Political Awareness Test, now known as the Political Courage Test, to candidates in state legislative, congressional, gubernatorial and presidential races.

The survey asks for their views on a variety of issues, including hot-button topics such as abortion and gun control.

Bowen was running for re-election for a state Senate seat and filled out the survey in 2002. She was elected as Secretary of State in 2006, after being term limited out of the state Senate.

Project Vote Smart sends the surveys to candidates, who fill them out and return them, said Kristen Vicedomini, the organization's national director.

In some instances a campaign worker or representative can fill out the survey, but the candidate herself must sign off on it. Three different Project Vote Smart employees check the information before putting it online.

Barkan doesn’t know how it came to be that Bowen’s 2002 survey said she was against gay marriage, he said.

“It could’ve been an error on the part of her. She didn’t have a campaign staff in 2002… More likely it was an error by a volunteer,” Barkan said. “What’s more important is her record.”

Gay rights organization Equality California, which has put out a legislative scorecard every year since 2004, has given Bowen consistently high marks for voting in favor of gay-friendly legislation as a state senator.

She had a 100 percent rating in 2004 and 2005. The group scored her at 93 percent in 2006.

"She voted for the marriage bill in California and has been a strong and vocal supporter of marriage equality," Equality California spokesman Vaishalee Raja wrote in an e-mail.

Project Vote Smart allows candidates to update their answers if their positions have changed, but since Bowen's survey is from 2002, “it’s a little bit past the window to update that,” Vicedomini said.

Project Vote Smart, however, plans to send new surveys to the candidates now running for the 36th Congressional District seat.

Usually the group allows a six-week testing period, with the goal of having all answers in at least a week before the election, which is expected to be in June. The new surveys will likely be sent out in April or May, Vicedomini said.

Bowen is among a diverse field of candidates who have stated their intention to run in the upcoming election to replace Jane Harman, who to join a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

Other Democratic candidates who have said they will run include and activist .

Republican candidates so far include , and Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb.