Kevin Norte

Don Korotsky Norte is an American gay rights political activist. He is one half of a Los Angeles gay couple who have been together since meeting in high school in 1978. Don's initial desire to marry his high school sweetheart made headlines in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article when the couple expressed their desire to hop on a plane to Hawaii and then seek to enforce their marriage rights in California. The Times article was one of the first that documented the rise of Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA a year later. In 2008 Advocate Magazine featured Don's marriage to his spouse during the Summer of Love in 2008. Don and his spouse were both Log Cabin Republicans during the campaign for marriage equality.

Don Norte is credited with being one of the first openly gay Republican appointees to a governing body, when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. The Governor's Committee is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to assist disabled youth and adults to enter the workforce by focusing on the needs and interests of the worker, the employer, and the community. Don's appointed position did not require Senate confirmation and the position does not receive a salary. Don's term does not expire but Don serves at the will of the Governor of California. That Governor is now Jerry Brown. Don was the first Log Cabin Republican to remain an appointee under Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's administration.

In 2004, Don was involved in the Bobby Shriver for Santa Monica City Council Campaign and was one of about 10 named prominent community leader endorsers in Shriver's campaign literature.

Don Norte's career covers over twenty years of public service with Federal, State, and local government, including the US Defense Department and the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

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