BayWindows.com

Provincetown Selectwoman Sarah Peake is cranking up her campaign for the Fourth Barnstable District House seat that will soon be vacated Republican Rep. Shirley Gomes, who is retiring when her sixth term ends in November. Motivated in large part by Gomes’s vote against marriage equality, the openly gay Peake, a Democrat, put Gomes on the ropes in 2004. While she didn’t unseat the incumbent, Peake is now well positioned in the free-for-all to succeed Gomes. “I’m well-known in the district now. I’m not an unknown coming out of Provincetown,” says Peake, who’ll kick off her campaign at the Orleans Inn on Feb. 25.

Being a known quantity will serve Peake well given that she’ll have a little more competition in the Chatham-Eastham-Harwich-Orleans-Provincetown-Truro district this time around. She’s facing two primary opponents — Chatham Selectman Ron Bergstrom and Barnstable Assembly of Delegates member Ray Gottwald, who is also openly gay. Two Republicans are also making a grab for the seat: Harwich Selectman Don Howell and Aaron Maloy of Eastham, who is also openly gay.

“It’s an open seat,” Peake observes about the crowd. “I like to say, I guess everybody saw what a great time I had in 2004, so now they all want to jump on board.”

And guess who’s the only candidate in the race that doesn’t support same-sex marriage, according to the Cape Codder newspaper? If you said the gay Republican you would be right. Go figure.

I would say yes since she is married to a woman and she is running as an openly gay candidate. Her opponet Aaron Maloy is also openly Gay.