Gay voters should blame themselves for Prop 8, not black Californians.
In part, Prop 8 failed because of inept LGBT leadership.
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By Allen Roskoff
Thursday, September 18, 2008
I believe that term limits will be extended from eight years to 12 years.
What does that mean for the LGBT community? First off, two out lesbians on the City Council will be able to stand for another term: the well-respected, good-humored and hard-working Rosie Mendez as well as Christine Quinn. Of course there is also Council member Vincent Gentile from Brooklyn who voted against a state gay rights bill while serving as a state senator (later, in the council, he was embroiled in a sex harassment suit from a male employee).
According to David Seifman in the New York Post, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is polling council members to make sure his Deputy Mayor in charge of the City Council (a.k.a. Quinn) has enough votes to remain speaker. Council members I’ve spoken with believe that Quinn would be voted out as speaker because she’s disliked and because of her authoritarian ways.
New York voters have already spoken for term limits, and a mayor should not be tampering with the internal vote of what used to be an independent legislative body. I find it most disturbing that a female speaker can be so subservient to a male mayor. It makes me yearn for the days of Congresswomen Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Patricia Schroeder, former White House aide Midge Costanza, Council members Ronnie Eldridge and Miriam Friedlander and other strong independent women who stood on their own.
• Nora Anderson, endorsed by both the Stonewall Democratic Club and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, won in the race for Manhattan Surrogate. Nora campaigned often in the gay bars and parties of Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen and Fire Island.
• Marty Connor lost his state Senate seat to marriage equality opponent, Sen. Charles Schumer, err, excuse me, to Schumer’s former aide Daniel Squadron, an ambitious trust-fund baby with no resume of issues. Lambda Independent Democrats, Jim Owles and Stonewall all endorsed Connor. The self-proclaimed progressives who backed Squadron bear no resemblance to the real liberals of the 1960s. They call themselves “progressives” only out of the necessity of geography. You will see other “Squadronites” running for office throughout the city. More on this in a future column.
The Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) and Stonewall also endorsed Assembly Speaker Shel Silver, who won by a wide margin.
• When marriage equality foe Sen. Charles Schumer first ran for U.S. Congress in June 1998, he and lobbyist Emily Giske showed up at a Bryant Park Gay Pride Rally to meet and greet. As he shook hands with people in the crowd, I would remind them that Schumer had voted for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and was no friend of ours. Schumer and Giske left after about 10 minutes. At least I made sure he was early for his next appointment.
I happen to be thrilled that lobbyist Giske has bought an apartment in the same building in which I live. If Giske moves in, she would be leaving an apartment on the floor above Quinn in London Terrace. I am flattered that she thinks it more important to be close to me.
• Anti-choice State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx refuses to commit to supporting a Democrat for majority leader when the Senate convenes next year. He is one of three questionable Democratic senators who can cost the Democrats their predicted control over the state Senate. Diaz has organized massive demonstrations against our right to marry and sued to close the LGBT Harvey Milk High School. He is very capable of abandoning the Democratic Party and delaying our efforts for marriage equality.
His son, Assembly member Ruben Diaz Jr., voted against marriage equality in the Assembly. There are those who believe Junior deserves re-election because he has been good on other issues affecting the LGBT community. No self-respecting member of our community should support the candidacy of an Assembly member who has such contempt for our basic civil right to marry. The argument that we should not use this as a litmus test belittles our quest for equality and insults us all. Politicians who refuse to recognize this important right cannot be trusted with our rights. We must draw the line. I stand tall with the eloquent Alan Van Capelle of ESPA on this vital issue.
• Closeted Edward Koch has endorsed Barack Obama, but I intend to continue supporting Obama anyway. I believe that Bush-backer Koch is supporting Obama in an effort to paper over the poor race relations during the Koch administration. It seemed as though he thrived at insulting people of color. Some of us will never forget.
Lastly, am I the only one who takes offense at Sarah Lyall’s front-page article on Daniel Radcliff (a.k.a., Harry Potter) in The New York Times’ Arts & Leisure section this past Sunday? She writes ”he may or may not be currently involved with a girlfriend.” I don’t like people who assume everyone is heterosexual. Has she ever considered that perhaps he is gay? We can only hope.
Allen Roskoff is a longtime gay rights activist and co-author and lobbyist for the nation’s first gay civil rights bill. He is now president of the citywide Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.
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