L.I.D. member Kevin Allard-Mendelson has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the District 15 School Board which covers Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Sunset Park, Red Hook, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill. The Board had been without lesbian or gay representation since earlier this year, when Jill Harris resigned her seat. A parent of a child in District 15, Allard-Mendelson has a particular interest in school-based technology and special education.He replaces former Board President Bonnie Nuzum, who recently resigned.
Kevin, like our other allies on boards across Brooklyn, must now turn his sights to the next school board elections in May 1999. New rules for school board elections have eliminated proportional voting and will now mandate that voters choose any four candidates (instead of 9 previously.) That means that L.I.D. will have to reconsider its pervious school board strategies and decide whether and how to endorse slates of candidates next year.
We are seeking anyone among our members who might be interested in running for school board wherever you may live. Call us at 361-3322 if you have an interest in becoming a candidate. If you have a special interest in educational issues and would like to help us choose our 1999 endorsed candidates, please reserve Wednesday, January 20, when we will hold a special board meeting to meet school board candidates from around the borough. We will meet at the home of Alan Fleishman, 140 8th Avenue, #3R at 7:30pm. Please join us.
Gentile Wins!
Bay Ridge state Senator Vincent Gentile posted a surprisingly comfortable win in his first bid for reelection, turning back a well funded challenge from former state Senator Christopher Mega by some 4,000 votes and thus delivering an important victory for the lesbian and gay community.
L.I.D. battled Mega for all of his career and takes particular delight in what appears to be a career ending defeat. We are proud of its strong financially and volunteer support we provided to Sen. Gentile in this and his previous campaign. Lesbian and gay residents of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Staten Island should be pleased that they will still have the services of a hard working, effective, progressive state Senator in Vincent Gentile. And all L.I.D. members can be proud of the fact that you helped protect a vote for a statewide lesbian and gay nondiscrimination bill by defeating Chris Mega.
Near Clean Sweep for L.I.D.
All candidates endorsed by L.I.D. this November were victorious, except for gubernatorial hopeful Peter Vallone. But aside from Gentile, the sweetest victory of the evening was, without a doubt, Congressman Charles Schumer's ousting of Sen. Al D'Amato.
We are proud that a Brooklyn native and strong supporter of lesbian and gay issues has replaced our embarrassing junior senator on capitol hill. The victory was also a vindication of sorts for individuals and organizations -- like L.I.D. -- who resented the Human Rights Campaign's endorsement of D'Amato, despite vociferous protests from grassroots activists. We hope that H.R.C. has learned its lesson and will come down from their ivory tower to commune with those of us toiling in our communities to fight for lesbian and gay rights.
Also of note was the election of city councilmember Anthony Weiner to the congressional seat vacated by Schumer. We look forward to working closely with Weiner who, rumor has it, may face yet another primary challenge from homophobic city councilmember Noach Dear in 2000.
All of our supportive and endorsed state legislators were returned to office easily, as were our friends in the congressional delegation. Two new Brooklyn Assemblymembers were also elected to replace two of our Borough's most supportive friends in the state legislature. Frank Seddio will take the seat of Tony Genovesi and Lena Cymbrowitz will replace Dan Feldman. Neither sought L.I.D. endorsement, but we are hopeful both will be strong supporters of our community as were their predecessors.
Nationally, we were heartened by the election of Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin as the first openly lesbian member of Congress. Unfortunately the news was not as good in Alaska and Hawaii, where voters overwhelmingly approved anti-same sex marriage ballot measures.
Winter Council Races on Tap
Political activity promises to heat up this winter, with 2 Brooklyn council races slated for February or March. The elections will be called to fill vacancies caused by Anthony Weiner's election to Congress and John Fusco's election as Staten Island Surrogate.
As many as 11 candidates are considering running in the Weiner seat, including our good friend Dan Feldman who lost the congressional primary to Weiner. Others mentioned include Alan Sclar, who lost the Assembly primary to succeed Feldman with C.B.I.D. support; Irma Kramer, long time staffer for Charles Schumer; Mike Nelson, aide to state Sen. Carl Kruger; and Rabbi Yehuda Levin, perennial candidate and homophobic right winger. The city charter mandates that such special elections are nonpartisan, so large fields of candidates are likely, particularly in the Weiner seat. We will be screening candidates and most likely making endorsements in the near future.
Meet the New Boss
Same as the Old Boss
Newt Gingrich's surprising departure from Congress isn't causing many tears in this corner. But what might Speaker Bob Livingston mean for lesbians and gay men?
A quick examination of their voting records leads us to conclude: not much. About the only good thing we can say about Livingston is that his office has a written policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. But his record is down the line Christian Coalition.
Members of the Log Cabin Republicans contend that their meetings over the years with Livingston left them with the impression that he was personally "comfortable" with lesbians and gays and would not pursue a viciously homo-phobic agenda. We'd like to believe that. But given the extremist nature of the Republican majority in the House, we find it more likely the new Speaker will throw some anti-gay red meat his members' way before too long.
1999 L.I.D. Board Elections Near . . .
Next January 28, L.I.D. will hold annual elections for its 1999 board. If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming more active in L.I.D., serving on our board is a great way to pitch in.
Board members are the heart and soul of our organization, and over its 20 year history nearly 100 men and women have served the Brooklyn lesbian and gay community as board members of L.I.D.
Becoming a board member can help you become better acquainted with fellow members and with the Democratic party, elected officials and the political and activist scene in Brooklyn. We need you and would welcome your interest in the club. Contact Rodrick Dial at 875-4775 today!
. . . and we Bid Farewell
Lisa King, a long time L.I.D. Board member, recently resigned her seat to pursue a wonderful job opportunity in Princeton, New Jersey. Lisa joined the L.I.D. board in 1992 and has served continuously since that time, including a term as Recording Secretary. Lisa was also an active member of Community Board #6.
We are thankful to Lisa for her years of dedication and wish her much luck and happiness in her new endeavors.
L.I.D. Joins National Stonewall Federation
In October, L.I.D. officially joined the fledgling National Stonewall Democratic Federation (NSDF). NSDF began at the urging of Rep. Barney Frank and a number of concerned lesbian and gay Democratic clubs around the country in the fall of 1997. L.I.D. was part of the initial group that met in Philadelphia to discuss the need for a national federation to, among other things, counter the national presence of the Log Cabin Republicans. Bylaws were formulated and ratified at the NSDF’s first organizational meeting last May in Kansas City.
The mission of the NSDF is to mobilize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters through a grassroots network of clubs and individuals to fight for lesbian and gay civil rights; to improve the record of the Democratic party nationally; to work for the nomination of candidates who support our fight against bigotry; to educate voters on the vast difference between the two major political parties; and to fight the anti-gay rhetoric of the Republican right wing.
In May a full-time interim Executive Director, Dan McGlinchey, was hired. An interim board of directors was elected from around the country. Since its inception, NSDF has helped new Democratic clubs form in Chicago, Atlanta, Maine, Texas and Maryland. NSDF also helped pay for Chuck Schumer advertisements in the New York Blade and LGNY in the recent U.S. Senate election.
NSDF recently launched its first membership drive to boost the individual and organizational members before the first official board election in early 1999. We urge you to consider joining the NSDF as an individual. If you join before January 1, 1999, you’ll be eligible to vote or run in the 1999 elections. Membership is $10 for members of L.I.D. (since we’re an affiliated club.) You can check out NSDF and download a membership form at their website:
L.I.D. will also offer a special discount to our members in good standing by matching $5 of the initial membership fee on a onetime basis. Call us at 361-3322 if you’re interested in joining at this rate.