A gay father and a lesbian mother-to-be top a group of eleven candidates endorsed by L.I.D. for May 18th school board elections. After careful screening, L.I.D. made endorsements in District 13 (Ft. Greene, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Heights, Bedford Styvesant); District 15 (Park Slope, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Windsor Terrace); District 17 (Crown Heights, Flatbush); and District 22 (Sheepshead Bay, Midwood).
In District 15, where Jill Harris made history in 1993 with her frontrunning election to the board, L.I.D. backed five candidates, including a lesbian and a gay man: newcomer Ana Bermudez and incumbent Kevin Allard-Mendelson. Bermudez, Deputy Director for Court Services at the Center for Alternative Sentencing, is a former legal aid attorney. Allard-Mendelson, the parent of a child in District 15 schools, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in late 1998. L.I.D. also enthusiastically endorsed two other incumbents, Margaret Kelley and Mark Peters as well as newcomer Bill DeBlasio.
As it did in 1996, L.I.D. successfully challenged the petitions of several candidates in District 15 who were perceived to be opponents of the lesbian and gay community.
In District 13, L.I.D. backed three newcomers: Martine Guerrier, Marueen Walsh and Barbara Smith. As Lambda Line went to press, only nine candidates had filed for the nine seats on this board. However, several write-in candidates were considering entering the contest.
In District 22, L.I.D. enthusiastically supports 2-term incumbent Anne MacKinnon and in District 17, threw its backing to Board President Jesse Hamilton and long time board member Agnes Green. District 22 was the scene of major opposition to Children of the Rainbow in the early 1990s and District 17 has been the focus of a corruption scandal in recent years.
Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 18th. Please remember, that you will vote by paper ballot and it is crucial that you support candidates in the order L.I.D. recommends.
You simply mark the L.I.D. recommended number next to the candidates name on your ballot.
Hikind's Words Prove Hollow
For a few days following the State Assembly's March 24th passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination bill (SONDA), it appeared that Borough Park Assemblyman Dov Hikind was indeed reconciling his voting record and his rhetoric. The roll call vote showed Hikind as one of a record 105 legislators voting in favor of the measure.
But the euphoria was short lived, as Hikind quickly backtracked, claiming he was out of the chamber for the vote and, according to The Jewish Week, he has filed a memo for the record with the Assembly declaring that he would have voted no if he had been present. "I have no intention of supporting that bill, unless someone changes the laws of the Torah," said Hikind.
As we reported in last month's Lambda Line, Hikind -- who is planning a run for Brooklyn Borough President in 2001 -- told the Bay News in January that "I cannot support anyone who is homophobic. I can't and I won't." Hikind's remarks were largely aimed at Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the radical leader of Jews for Morality, who was at the time seeking the city council seat now held by Michael Nelson.
L.I.D. seized the opportunity and in a March 4th letter to Hikind, urged him to supplement his "recent supportive rhetoric with action" and support SONDA. We were optimistic that Hikind had, indeed, matured in his thinking on this issue, but were sadly mistaken.
Hikind's behavior promises to make the 2001 race for Borough President an important priority for L.I.D., and we'll be watching closely to see who lines up in support of Hikind's candidacy and who stands with those -- like us -- who believe in true equality for all borough residents.
Delegation Support For
SONDA Remains Strong
Despite Dov Hikind's disappointing move on SONDA, the good news remains that the vast majority of Brooklyn legislators support the bill. Counting Hikind as a "no" vote, our borough's lawmakers voted 16-3, with one absent in favor of the bill. Bensonhurst's Peter Abbate and Greenpoint/Williamsburg's Joseph Lentol remain the only opponents.
Of particular note is the "yes" vote of freshman Assemblyman Frank Seddio of Canarsie. Seddio was elected to the Assembly following the tragic death of our longtime friend Anthony Genovesi last fall. We are delighted and thankful for Assemblyman Seddio's support. Brooklyn's other new assemblymember, Lena Cymbrowitz, was absent for the vote.
St. Pat's Post Mortem
In 1999, it is undoubtedly hard for most lesbians and gay men of Irish descent -- particularly those living in an admittedly welcoming neighborhood such as Park Slope -- to believe that some of their neighbors are so filled with bigotry and hatred that they would deny us the chance to celebrate our ethnic heritage by marching in a neighborhood St. Patrick's Day parade.
Yet one of the lessons learned from L.I.D.'s efforts to assist Lavender and Green win a sanctioned spot in this year's Park Slope St. Pat's march is that this is indeed the case. It is a stark reminder of how elusive equality can sometimes be.
One of the other lessons learned from this year's parade is that, despite the justness of our cause, the undisputed size of the lesbian and gay community in Park Slope/Windsor Terrace and its demonstrated electoral clout, some elected officials still cannot find the courage or conviction to unequivocally stand with us in a struggle that is clearly one of right vs. wrong. We thought this was a no brainer. We were wrong.
This year's struggle for inclusion began with optimism. Lavender and Green reached out with a message of reconciliation and dialog, but was quickly met with obfuscation and disdain and, eventually, rejection. When L.I.D. entered the fray and asked elected officials to pledge to boycott the parade if lesbians and gays were not allowed to fully participate, the number who made that pledge in one shape or form was heartening, but the number who did not was equally discouraging.
We cannot help singling out Assemblyman Jim Brennan, however. Brennan represents a district that includes the largest concentration of lesbians and gays in Brooklyn and he has legislatively supported our community without equivocation.
While we do not minimize the importance of his voting record, we are disappointed and angered beyond words at his lack of courage and understanding on this issue. Mediation and compromise are admirable, and his attempts at both are to be commended. But when the final decision to exclude us was made, it was time to stand with our community, not with the bigots. That was a choice that, for some inexcplicable reason, Brennan was unwilling or unable to make and it is an action that speaks louder than any legislative vote or action. It is also an action that will never be forgotten.
St. Pat's Boxscore
Former L.I.D. President Alan Fleishman has been chosen as one of three Grand Marshals for Brooklyn Pride's 3rd annual parade, to be held June 12th. Fleishman, founder of Gay Friends & Neighbors, is currently Director of Community Relations for City Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Congratulations, Alan!
Joining Fleishman as Grand Mashals are Joo-Lung Kang, Director of the Audre Lorde Center, and Regina Shavers, Director and founder of the GRIOT Circle.
Brooklyn Pride will break new ground with New York's first ever lesbian and gay night parade. The Parade will step off at 8 pm from the corners of 15th Street and 7th Avenue in Park Slope. Watch for more details.
Survey: Gay & Lesbian Voters
a Diverse Group
A recently released study of individuals identifying themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual in exit polls during last November's elections, profiles a voting bloc more diverse than the electorate as a whole, but one inclined to support Democratic candidates.
Over all, 4% of voters self-identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual -- consistent with the 5% who so identified in 1996, the first time the Voter News Service asked a question about sexual orientation. The Voter News Service exit poll is conducted for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and the Associated Press.
More G/L/B voters are nonwhite, 32 percent vs. 18 percent, and the G/L/B constituency is younger, 88 percent under age sixty compared to 72 percent under age 60 among voters overall. The G/L/B vote consists of more men, 59 percent male among G/L/B voters, compared to 49 percent male among all voters. Gay, lesbian and bisexual voters also had lower family income, with 66 percent under $50,000 vs. 52 percent for the entire electorate.
Nationally, Democratic House candidates greatly benefited from the G/L/B electorate, receiving 65 percent of the vote, compared to only 32 percent for the Republicans. G/L/B voters are also much more active on the internet. 60 percent claim regular internet usage vs. 40 percent of voters overall.