In a twist that is so very Bay Area, the candidate for mayor who's increasingly becoming the favorite among black churches in Oakland is Rebecca Kaplan, a Jewish lesbian City Council member who lives with her wife and was once a rabbinical student. Kaplan has been making her way around to churches, well-thumbed Bible in hand, quoting scripture and singing with choirs of people who were some of the most vocal local opponents of Prop 8.

Per the NYT/Bay Citizen:

“You have got a Jewish lesbian white woman who comes to black churches and sings with the choir and quotes Scripture better than the members — I just love her,” said Pastor Ray Williams of First Morning Star Baptist Church, who spoke at rallies in favor of Proposition 8, the bar to same-sex marriage. He is now endorsing Ms. Kaplan.

Kaplan still trails behind opponents Don Perrata and Jean Quan in polls, however she's favored among the younger demographic and, increasingly, the powerful segment of African-American church-goers who seem to like her style. Says Kaplan, "Oakland is the city in California with the highest per capita of churches and the highest per capita of lesbians." So is synergy inevitable?