Should We Be Supporting Candidates Just Because They’re Gay?
Should We Be Supporting Candidates Just Because They’re Gay?
John Hieftje, who is straight, is getting gay support over lesbian Patricia Lesko in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Like other minorities who have broken the barriers of discrimination to enter the corridors of political power, hundreds of LGBTs have been elected to public office, from City Hall to Congress.
For generations, African-Americans, Jews, Italians, Irish, and other ethnic minorities seeking a place at the political table automatically voted for one of their own. A Jewish voter would go down the list and pull the lever for anyone with a Jewish-sounding last name. Italians and Irish did the same. Blacks had "palm cards" with their candidates to take into the voting booth.
For the past several decades, while gay candidates were still a novelty, LGBT voters have been doing the same.
Some, however, are now questioning whether the community has reached the tipping point in supporting politicians primarily because of their sexuality or gender identity.
A case in point is Patricia Lesko, a lesbian running in the Democratic primary this year for mayor of Ann Arbor, Mich. The state Democratic Party’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Allies Caucus has endorsed incumbent John Hieftje, who’s straight, because of allegations of deception by Lesko.
Ironically, the first openly gay person elected in the U.S. was Kathy Kozachenko, who won a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council in 1974. The next year, Elaine Noble was elected a state representative in Massachusetts. In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office when he became a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Since then, openly gay candidates have won virtually every type of elective office except governor, U.S. senator and president.
Six openly gay people have elected to Congress. The first was Gerry Studds, who publicly announced his sexuality while an incumbent Democrat from Massachusetts. Other former members include Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin, and Jim Kolbe of Arizona, both Republicans.
Those currently in Congress are Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts, one of the most powerful, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado.
Polis is young. And he is attractive. In a recent Huffington Post reader poll of hot freshmen congressmen, Polis came in third behind Republican Aaron Schock of Illinois and Democrat Glenn Nye of Virginia.
(Schock, who’s single, has said he is straight, citing a "former girlfriend," but caused a stir among gays after TMZ posted a photo of him in a red bathing suit that revealed his six-pack abs. Anotherposted a photo of Schock at a White House picnic in a decidedly gay outfit jammed a gay staff listserv.)
If he survives the Rhode Island Democratic primary and general election, David Cicilline, the first openly gay mayor of a state capital, would join them in January 2011. He’s been endorsed by the state Democratic Committee and by the openly gay speaker of the House of Representatives, one of the most powerful politicians in the state.
When Not to Vote for a Gay Candidate
Some believe that LGBT candidates who oppose equal rights cancel out any support they hope of garnering support from community activists.
Someone not likely to get endorsements in her run for Congress this year is Donna Milo, a Cuban-American conservative Republican transgender running in Florida to replace U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a liberal Democrat. Milo, who married a woman before becoming a transgender, is opposed to marriage equality.
Writing in a blog on Change.org May 28, Jordan Rubenstein noted that there’s nothing wrong with an LGBT running as a Republican, then castigated Milo for her anti-gay positions.
"Someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity only relates to one aspect of political beliefs-LGBT equality. Transgender people face many challenges and are often misunderstood by the general public, and Milo should relate to these challenges," wrote Rubenstein. "As someone who has experienced life as a transgender person firsthand, Milo should support equal rights for LGBT people, whether running as a Republican or Democrat."
"Given her situation, her beliefs seem a little contradictory," he continued. "Milo herself has been married, in what many would consider a gay marriage. Why is gay marriage acceptable in her personal life, but not good enough for others?"
’Still a Key Consideration’
Even the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which endorses LGBT candidates, doesn’t do so exclusively because of their sexuality or gender identity.
Only about half of those who apply get its endorsement, according to Denis Dison, vice president for communications. Thus far, it has endorsed close to 125 candidates in this year’s elections.
"The U.S. has about a half a million elected offices and LGBTs only occupy about 500 of those right now, so we are still vastly under-represented," Dison told EDGE in a phone interview. "There certainly are cases where someone who is gay who is running may not be the best person for the job either because of lack of experience or for other reasons. We make those evaluations all the time."
Those who don’t get the Victory Fund imprimatur receive advice on what they should work on to qualify for future endorsement, he added.
Dison doesn’t believe the community has reached the tipping point on automatically supporting LGBT candidates.
"Our community can benefit greatly from having LGBTs elected in office, so it’s still a key consideration," he said.
One of the fund’s endorsement criteria is that candidates must demonstrate support for equality issues, Dison emphasized. "It’s a purposely fungible criterion because we need to look at their record and ask them questions about what they are supportive of. We don’t have a particular check list but we do take into account their views."
Party affiliation is not a criterion, he pointed out. This year, the Victory Fund has endorsed Richard Tisei, the openly gay Republican candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, and Tony Japour, a Republican candidate for Florida state representative.
The organization does not comment on candidates until they are endorsed, so it’s unclear whether Lesko or Milo have even applied. Milo has not yet sought the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay GOP organization, according to spokesperson Charles Moran.
"Would we disqualify her based on one particular issue, such as marriage equality? The answer would be no," Moran said in a phone interview. "We judge every candidate on any number of issues, so we don’t have a litmus test."
The same policy goes for straight Republicans who seek Log Cabin endorsements. Moran mentioned Congressmen Joe Cao of New Orleans and Charles Djou of Honolulu, neither of whom support same-sex marriage, but do favor repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. "They are very vocal about having LCR at the table," he reported.
New York’s primary LGBT political lobbying group reached the tipping point a long time ago.
"Just being LGBT is not the dispositive factor and hasn’t been for some time," Ross Levi, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, told EDGE.
"I’m not comfortable supporting any LGBT person who doesn’t stand for equality and justice. It would be very troubling for me to endorse any LGBT person who didn’t stand for justice principles, racial justice, economic justice or the ability to access reproductive health."
He recalled a gay Democratic candidate from upstate some years ago who was anti-choice. The organization endorsed the Republican incumbent instead.
If there are straight candidates who support gay rights running against one who is gay, sexuality takes a back seat. One example in this year’s elections is Todd Giroux, a relatively unknown independent candidate for governor of Rhode Island, making his first run for public office. Every Democratic candidate in that state supports marriage equality and say they will sign it into law if passed by the state Legislature. There’s also one Republican who, while personally opposed to same-sex marriage, said he would sign a bill.
For generations, African-Americans, Jews, Italians, Irish, and other ethnic minorities seeking a place at the political table automatically voted for one of their own. A Jewish voter would go down the list and pull the lever for anyone with a Jewish-sounding last name. Italians and Irish did the same. Blacks had "palm cards" with their candidates to take into the voting booth.
For the past several decades, while gay candidates were still a novelty, LGBT voters have been doing the same.
Some, however, are now questioning whether the community has reached the tipping point in supporting politicians primarily because of their sexuality or gender identity.
A case in point is Patricia Lesko, a lesbian running in the Democratic primary this year for mayor of Ann Arbor, Mich. The state Democratic Party’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Allies Caucus has endorsed incumbent John Hieftje, who’s straight, because of allegations of deception by Lesko.
Ironically, the first openly gay person elected in the U.S. was Kathy Kozachenko, who won a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council in 1974. The next year, Elaine Noble was elected a state representative in Massachusetts. In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office when he became a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Since then, openly gay candidates have won virtually every type of elective office except governor, U.S. senator and president.
Six openly gay people have elected to Congress. The first was Gerry Studds, who publicly announced his sexuality while an incumbent Democrat from Massachusetts. Other former members include Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin, and Jim Kolbe of Arizona, both Republicans.
Those currently in Congress are Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts, one of the most powerful, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado.
Polis is young. And he is attractive. In a recent Huffington Post reader poll of hot freshmen congressmen, Polis came in third behind Republican Aaron Schock of Illinois and Democrat Glenn Nye of Virginia.
(Schock, who’s single, has said he is straight, citing a "former girlfriend," but caused a stir among gays after TMZ posted a photo of him in a red bathing suit that revealed his six-pack abs. Anotherposted a photo of Schock at a White House picnic in a decidedly gay outfit jammed a gay staff listserv.)
If he survives the Rhode Island Democratic primary and general election, David Cicilline, the first openly gay mayor of a state capital, would join them in January 2011. He’s been endorsed by the state Democratic Committee and by the openly gay speaker of the House of Representatives, one of the most powerful politicians in the state.
When Not to Vote for a Gay Candidate
Some believe that LGBT candidates who oppose equal rights cancel out any support they hope of garnering support from community activists.
Someone not likely to get endorsements in her run for Congress this year is Donna Milo, a Cuban-American conservative Republican transgender running in Florida to replace U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a liberal Democrat. Milo, who married a woman before becoming a transgender, is opposed to marriage equality.
Writing in a blog on Change.org May 28, Jordan Rubenstein noted that there’s nothing wrong with an LGBT running as a Republican, then castigated Milo for her anti-gay positions.
"Someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity only relates to one aspect of political beliefs-LGBT equality. Transgender people face many challenges and are often misunderstood by the general public, and Milo should relate to these challenges," wrote Rubenstein. "As someone who has experienced life as a transgender person firsthand, Milo should support equal rights for LGBT people, whether running as a Republican or Democrat."
"Given her situation, her beliefs seem a little contradictory," he continued. "Milo herself has been married, in what many would consider a gay marriage. Why is gay marriage acceptable in her personal life, but not good enough for others?"
’Still a Key Consideration’
Even the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which endorses LGBT candidates, doesn’t do so exclusively because of their sexuality or gender identity.
Only about half of those who apply get its endorsement, according to Denis Dison, vice president for communications. Thus far, it has endorsed close to 125 candidates in this year’s elections.
"The U.S. has about a half a million elected offices and LGBTs only occupy about 500 of those right now, so we are still vastly under-represented," Dison told EDGE in a phone interview. "There certainly are cases where someone who is gay who is running may not be the best person for the job either because of lack of experience or for other reasons. We make those evaluations all the time."
Those who don’t get the Victory Fund imprimatur receive advice on what they should work on to qualify for future endorsement, he added.
Dison doesn’t believe the community has reached the tipping point on automatically supporting LGBT candidates.
"Our community can benefit greatly from having LGBTs elected in office, so it’s still a key consideration," he said.
One of the fund’s endorsement criteria is that candidates must demonstrate support for equality issues, Dison emphasized. "It’s a purposely fungible criterion because we need to look at their record and ask them questions about what they are supportive of. We don’t have a particular check list but we do take into account their views."
Party affiliation is not a criterion, he pointed out. This year, the Victory Fund has endorsed Richard Tisei, the openly gay Republican candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, and Tony Japour, a Republican candidate for Florida state representative.
The organization does not comment on candidates until they are endorsed, so it’s unclear whether Lesko or Milo have even applied. Milo has not yet sought the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay GOP organization, according to spokesperson Charles Moran.
"Would we disqualify her based on one particular issue, such as marriage equality? The answer would be no," Moran said in a phone interview. "We judge every candidate on any number of issues, so we don’t have a litmus test."
The same policy goes for straight Republicans who seek Log Cabin endorsements. Moran mentioned Congressmen Joe Cao of New Orleans and Charles Djou of Honolulu, neither of whom support same-sex marriage, but do favor repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. "They are very vocal about having LCR at the table," he reported.
New York’s primary LGBT political lobbying group reached the tipping point a long time ago.
"Just being LGBT is not the dispositive factor and hasn’t been for some time," Ross Levi, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, told EDGE.
"I’m not comfortable supporting any LGBT person who doesn’t stand for equality and justice. It would be very troubling for me to endorse any LGBT person who didn’t stand for justice principles, racial justice, economic justice or the ability to access reproductive health."
He recalled a gay Democratic candidate from upstate some years ago who was anti-choice. The organization endorsed the Republican incumbent instead.
If there are straight candidates who support gay rights running against one who is gay, sexuality takes a back seat. One example in this year’s elections is Todd Giroux, a relatively unknown independent candidate for governor of Rhode Island, making his first run for public office. Every Democratic candidate in that state supports marriage equality and say they will sign it into law if passed by the state Legislature. There’s also one Republican who, while personally opposed to same-sex marriage, said he would sign a bill.
Peter Cassels is a recipient of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s Excellence in Journalism award. His e-mail address is pcassels@edgepublications.com.
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