Rancho Mirage, Calif. City Council candidate Scott Hines won his election last night by just 11 votes, beating back anti-gay attacks that referred to openly gay candidates as “infecting” the city.  The campaign against Hines featured fliers mailed to area voters and automated calls with similar messages.

In neighboring Palm Springs, openly gay Mayor Steve Pougnet is running for Congress, and the fliers, sent by the Riverside County Taxpayers Association, sought to tie Hines to Pougnet by urging voters not to “let Palm Springs politics infect Rancho Mirage.”  It’s unclear whether the Association also paid for the campaign, and it refused to return calls for comment by the Desert Sun newspaper.  The group’s treasurer is the current chairman of the Riverside County Republican Party, the Sun reported.

“I am very saddened for many of my friends in this valley who live with HIV and that someone would make light of (their condition), or say if you are friends with a gay person, you infect others,” Hines told the Sun this week.

The Sun today reported Hines’ closest challenger is considering calling for a recount, which he would have to pay for.

Hines and Pougnet are both endorsed by the Victory Fund.