Candidates show that running for office does not require a declared faith
Contact: Ron Millar, rmillar@cfequality.org, 202-238-9088 ext. 201
(Washington, DC, Aug. 4, 2016)—The Freethought Equality Fund Political Action Committee announces its latest round of endorsements of nonreligious candidates for public office: Washington State House candidate for the 22nd Legislative District—Position 2 Beth Doglio, who is agnostic about religion; US House candidate for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, Fatima Rita Fahmy, who does not identify with any religion; and Florida State House candidate for the 47th District Beth Tuura, who identifies as a humanist and a freethinker.
“We are encouraged to see more and more religiously unaffiliated Americans recognizing that running for state and federal offices does not require a declared faith,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the Freethought Equality Fund. “According to the Pew Research Center, almost a quarter of the American public does not identify with any religion, and it’s about time that secular Americans were represented in their government.”
Beth Doglio is seeking election to Washington’s State House as the 22nd Legislative District State Representative – Position 2. Doglio, who in her early childhood was raised Catholic, is now agnostic about religion. For the past 30 years, she has focused her efforts on working for civil and environmental justice. She currently is the campaign director for the environmental protection organization Climate Solutions. She has also worked and volunteered for other environmental, reproductive rights and educational organizations as well as for local and federal political campaigns. She is running for an open seat because the Democratic incumbent is running for the State Senate. Deligo has built strong connections in her district, demonstrated by the fact that she was unopposed in the primary. No other Democratic, Republican or third party candidates filed for this seat.
Fatima Rita Fahmy is seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 10th Congressional District. Fahmy does not identify with any religion and supports the complete separation of church and state. As a member of Congress, she “will be a fighter and never back down against Washington special interests. She supports full equality for all Americans, a living wage, a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, affordable health care for all, a real plan to combat climate change, comprehensive immigration reform and to expand and protect Social Security and Medicare.” Fahmy faces three well-funded opponents in the Democratic primary on August 30.
Beth Tuura is seeking election to Florida’s State House in the 47th District. Tuura identifies as a freethinker and humanist and says that the separation of church and state is the “corner stone of our democracy.” She has a successful career in broadcast television sports, winning three Emmy Awards for her work and participating in eight Olympics, the Kentucky Derby, and the Super Bowl. Tuura was inspired to run for State Representative because “of the threats that the legislature is making on our healthcare, our environment, our schools and on our freedoms.” She will be a champion of LGBT rights, gun control and reproductive rights. Tuura faces two Democratic opponents in the primary on August 30.
More information about candidates endorsed by the Freethought Equality Fund PAC is available here.
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The mission of the Freethought Equality Fund (FEF) is to change the face of American politics and to achieve equality by increasing the number of open humanist and atheists, and their allies, in public office at all levels of government. FEF supports progressive candidates who are strong advocates for the separation of religion and government and the protection of American’s civil liberties. FEF is affiliated with the Center for Freethought Equality, which is the advocacy and political arm of the American Humanist Association. To learn more about the Freethought Equality Fund, visit Facebook and Twitter.
