Citing her new responsibilities as attorney-in-charge of the Manhattan public defender's office, Jill Harris is resigning from the District 15 School Board effective February 1st.
First elected in an historic landslide in 1993, Harris became Brooklyn's first openly lesbian or gay elected official. In a campaign dominated by the controversial "Children of the Rainbow," Harris overcame the well orchestrated opposition of the Christian Coalition to outdistance her nearest opponent by nearly 2-1. She was re-elected in 1996 by an even wider margin, helping her Goods Schools Coalition running mates to an unprecedented 7-2 majority on the board.
"My election was a real breakthrough," said Harris, pointing out that until 1993 no openly lesbian or gay candidate had been elected to a local school board anywhere in the city. "For the future this will be a less controversial issue. The next lesbian or gay person on the board will not have to deal with a perception that we somehow should not be represented. I'm proud of that."
Harris, who was president of the school board for its 1996-97 term, also pointed to her role in "holding the board together through the divisive process of choosing a new superintendent" as an important point in her tenure. She also expressed pride in the middle school program, the result of years of work, which will be implemented in the district beginning next fall.
One goal left undone according to Harris is the formation of a task force on lesbian and gay issues. "This is something that I think the district has needed. I am hopeful that the board will see this as important and take it on."
"This district is perceived as pretty welcoming for lesbian and gay parents, and it generally is," said Harris. "However, there are pockets of this district where that is not the case and the board should deal with that."
The board will vote on a replacement to fill the remainder of Harris' term, and she expressed hope that the new board member would be openly lesbian or gay. L.I.D. shares these sentiments and has met with one such interested candidate, Kevin Allard-Mendolson, an openly gay P.S.321 parent who is Director of Information Technology at the Brooklyn Public Library. An active P.T.A. parent, Allard helped write a grant that resulted in $250,000 for computers.
We are proud of Jill and her leadership and accomplishments and wish her well.
Silber Joins Bench
In an emotional ceremony attended by several hundred friends, well wishers and elected officials, Debra Silber was sworn in as Brooklyn Civil Court Judge on January 8th, becoming the borough's first openly lesbian gay official elected county wide.
With her life partner and daughter at her side, Silber took the oath of office from Judge Margaret Cammer at Borough Hall and was robed by Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.
A founding member of L.I.D. and a former member of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Silber made a pitch for the elimination of county wide judicial elections in remarks following her swearing in. Noting that this was her "last political speech," Silber said that doing away with county wide elections would go a long way toward "diversifying the judiciary" which she said needed "more people of color, more women and more lesbians and gays."
Silber, who has initially been assigned to Criminal Court in Manhattan, also expressed concern over the lack of funding for alternative sentencing programs in that borough which currently restrict drug treatment programs to felony offenders.
Apuzzo to Keynote
LID 20th Anniversary Dinner
Virginia Apuzzo, special assistant to the President, will be the keynote speaker at a dinner celebrating the 20th anniversary of Lambda Independent Democrats. Apuzzo, a founding member of L.I.D. and one of the nation's most articulate advocates for lesbian and gay rights, will deliver the address at the April 3rd event to be held at the Grand Prospect Hall. The dinner marks a return to the same venue which hosted the 1st Lunch With Lambda in 1983.
This year's honorees include Dr. Marjorie Hill, director of the office of lesbian and gay concerns under former mayor David Dinkins. She will receive the Peter B. Vogel Award. Brooklyn Lambda Award winners for 1998 are Brooklyn Pride, organizers of the borough's first lesbian and gay pride festival last June and Alan Hevesi, New York City Comptroller. The Clyde Moss Award for distinguished volunteer service to L.I.D. will be presented to Peter Fleming, former club treasurer and long time chairman of Lunch with Lambda.
Save the date on your calendars and look for your invitation in the coming weeks.
February 3rd Special Election
for Polonetsky Seat
The resignation of Assemblymember Jules Polonetsky to become Consumer Affairs Commissioner in the Giuliani adiminstration has created a vacancy in his Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Ocean Parkway, Coney Island seat that will be filled in a special election scheduled for Tuesday February 3rd.
The Democratic candidate will be long time L.I.D. friend and local district leader Adele Cohen. L.I.D. has endorsed Cohen in several previous races and will consider endorsement in this race at its January 28th meeting.
You will recall that Polonetsky bolted the party to run with Mayor Giuliani as the Republican candidate for Public Advocate last November. He was soundly beaten by incumbent Mark Green. While we appreciate Polonetsky's support of lesbian and gay non-discrimination legislation while in Albany, we are pleased that he will likely be replaced by a Democrat with unquestionable loyalty.
L.I.D. Helps Found National Gay Democratic Group
On November 23rd L.I.D. participated in the inauguration of a national Democratic organization of gay, lesbian and bisexual clubs and individuals.
Club President, Rodrick Dial, attended the meeting in Philadelphia which was organized by openly gay Congressman Barney Frank. Over 60 political activists from around the country met to discuss creating a national group to rival nonpartisan groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and the Victory Fund.
In many ways the meeting in Philadelphia was a continuation of discussions which began at a February 96 meeting of lesbian and gay dems called by the Democratic National Committee for the Clinton/Gore 96 reelection and continued at a May 1996 conference of lesbian and gay Democrats called Win with Pride in 96.
Congressman Frank opened the meeting with his own thoughts about the need for lesbian and gay Democrats to push the party and become full participants in the political system. He also stressed the need to convince lesbians and gay men to join the Democratic party and to organize a national partisan presence before the presidential race in 2000. He further committed to personally raise $100,000 to help a new organization to have a full-time presence in Washington, DC.
'98 Promises Heated Contests
The recent entry of Geraldine Ferraro into the U.S. Senate race is just one more indication that 1998 is shaping up as one of the most contentious election years in recent memory for Brooklyn Democrats. Here is a sampling of some of the expected high profile contests:
Congressman Ed Towns faces a likely three way primary with Rev. Al Sharpton and former Assemblymember Tom Catapano. Many Democrats, furious with Towns' endorsement of Mayor Giuliani, are gunning for Towns. Sharpton won much of the Towns congressional district in last year's mayoral primary and Catapano represented an East New York Assembly district until defeated by Towns' son Darryl in 1992.
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez will not only have to contend with new district lines but a primary as well. Cypress Hills Councilmember Martin Milave-Dilan is said to be organizes a challenge to Velazquez in a district redrawn to include parts of Brooklyn Heights as well as Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
The seat left open by Rep. Charles Schumer's U.S. Senate race is expected to draw at least three high profile elected officials: Assemblymembers Dan Feldman and Malinda Katz and Councilmember Anthony Weiner.
Add to these local races the three way U.S. Senate primary between Ferraro, Schumer and Mark Green; a gubernatorial primary expected to draw City Council Speaker Peter Valone, Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes, Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey Ross and James LaRocca among others; and an Attorney General primary with contenders such as former Attorney General G. Oliver Koepell, state Senator Catherine Abbate and Elliot Spitzer and you have the makings of an exceedingly competitive primary season.
Looking ahead to the general election in November, former Sen. Chris Mega -- a staunch conservative enemy of our community -- has publicly stated his interest in runing to regain his Bay Ridge state Senate seat currently held by Vincent Gentile. We will be keeping a close eye on the possible return of this long time L.I.D. foe.
Beginning with this month's general meeting, L.I.D. will be inviting many of the major contenders to visit with our members. Stay tuned.
Lambda Line Now
Available Via Email
Beginning this month, L.I.D. is taking its commitment to new technology one step further by offering members the option of receiving Lambda Line via email. All L.I.D. members for whom we have email addresses of record were notified of this option earlier this month. If you did not receive such a message, that means we don't know your email. Why not send it to us at LID@nycnet.com, so that we can keep you informed via the internet.