Several years ago, two men ran groundbreaking political campaigns with the same goal in mind - to become the first openly gay person elected to public office in Queens.
Neither Edward Sedarbaum in 1998 nor James Van Bramer in 2001 achieved that distinction, but both helped to further the dream.
Next year, however, that dream could finally come true - perhaps more than once.
At least five openly gay or lesbian Queens residents are eying runs for City Council in 2009, setting the stage for a possible watershed year for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender politics in the borough.
"I wish that all five could win," said Van Bramer, 38, of Sunnyside, who is considering a run in the 26th Council District, currently occupied by Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside). "But four would still be tremendous."
Van Bramer, a Democratic committeeman who narrowly lost a primary to Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights) in 2001, wasn't making any endorsements.
He was highlighting the fact that two of the openly gay Council hopefuls - Daniel Dromm and Alfonso Quiroz, both of Jackson Heights - could possibly square off in the race to replace Sears in the 25th District.
Dromm, 62, a Democratic district leader and founder of the Queens Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade, and Quiroz, 35, a public affairs manager for Con Edison, are both considering - and raising funds for - their first runs for public office.
Lynn Schulman, 50, of Forest Hills, an attorney and former Council staffer, is raking in dollars for a possible bid in the 29th District, where Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) is term-limited.
Charles Ober, 55, a gay civic leader from Ridgewood, is mulling his first run as well, in the 30th District for a post currently occupied by term-limited Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village).
All five possible precedent-setters told the Daily News they are running on the strength of community issues, not strictly gay-rights platforms.
But they said the prevalence of openly gay candidates in the 2009 Council races reflects a dramatic change in the way gay and lesbian candidates are received in Queens today.
"It's very nice to see that people who are openly gay can come out and run and talk about issues that are important to people regardless of their sexuality," Quiroz said.
Dromm said the success of an openly gay candidate could come down to party backing - something that neither Sedarbaum nor Van Bramer had in the past.
Nevertheless, Dromm said Queens' gay community has made great strides in developing party backing.
"In the early '90s, we couldn't get elected officials in the borough to have their pictures taken with us," said Dromm. "Now we are fielding four or five Council candidates."
"I think we've gotten to the point where we are part of the mainstream," Schulman added.
Sedarbaum, 62, the first openly gay person to run for office from Queens, said the number of candidates is a "wonderful sign" that old taboos are dying out. Yet he said that finally realizing the dream will come down to more than sexual orientation.
"Being gay is not a reason to get elected, because being gay does not automatically make you a progressive," Sedarbaum said. "My money would be on the progressive candidate, not on the gayest candidate."
