Obama Opts for No Gay Cabinet Members

California Representative Hilda Solis (Democrat) has been appointed to the position of Labor Secretary in Obama’s cabinet, which for many means the aspirations of gay rights leaders for a cabinet-level appointment have diminished.

As reported earlier on GayAgenda.com, Mary Beth Maxwell, an out lesbian, who is the founding executive director of American Rights at Work and has been instrumental in gaining support for the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act, was considered to be a strong contender for the position..

In meetings last week, members of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team met with dozens of gay and lesbian activists which gave hope a cabinet-level appointment to a GLBT person may be in the making, but no openly gay, bisexual or transgender person has served in one of the fifteen cabinet secretary positions that report directly to the president to date, and it looks as though it may not happen yet either.

During that meeting, the president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, Chuck Wolfe, cleary stated to the transition team that he felt the political aspirations of the gay community had not yet been fully realized.

He stated:

“We have paid our political dues, but still have not benefited greatly from that. In the spirit of honest communication, if America’s promise is going to apply to all Americans it is time that LGBT people be appointed to the cabinet and to the highest ranks of government service.”

GA Meets Congressman Barney Frank

I was recently in D.C. to attend the LGBT Blogger Initiative which was hosted by Mike Rogers of Page One Q and sponsored by GLAAD, HRC, The Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Bolthouse Farms, The Victory Fund, nlgja Microsoft and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The mission of the initiative is to foster citizen journalist by supporting high-impact and emerging bloggers via grants, technical assistance and ongoing training. The Initiative has partnered with national and statewide organizations, such as the HRC, Victory Fund, Microsoft, GLAAD and the NLGJA to integrate bloggers into their programs and will expand the reach of the LGBT citizen journalist into the larger progressive blogging community.

While there, I had the distinct honor of meeting Congressman Barney Frank after he spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the Victory Fund.

Born March 31, 1940, Barnett “Barney” Frank is a congressman in the United States House representing the Massachusetts 4th congressional district, and has done so since 1981. In 1982 he won his first full term and has been re-elected ever since by a huge margin.

In 1987 Frank became the first Representative to come out as gay of his own volition and, at that time, was the most prominent openly gay American politician.

President Bill Clinton’s former speechwriter Josh Gottheimer noted in his book, Ripples of Hope: Great American Civil Rights Speeches, that Frank is one of the nation’s “brightest and most energetic defenders of civil rights issues”.

In 2007 Frank became the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee which oversees housing and banking industries. The New York Times called Frank one of the most powerful members of Congress noting “his ability to build bridges across party lines to pass legislation”.

Frank has continued to fight for equality for all citizens including those in the LGBT community.

Below is a clip from his resent speech, I know it’s fuzzy, but the lighting was poor. Also, he speaks with a thick accent, so to help clarify, I’ve notated a few important passages.

“There are big lies that the Hate-Crimes bill will somehow infringe on free speech.”

“One of the nice things about becoming a chairman on a major committee is that you aquire a lot of new friends without having to become any nicer.”

In reference to the Hate-Crimes bill - “It has nothing to do with expression, it only criminalizes physical behavior.”

And my favorite line - “If this bill becomes law tomorrow, it will still be perfectly legal to call me a fag. I just wouldn’t advise it if you’re in the banking business.”

Before Elections, Gay Candidates Have Won

From OnTopMag.com:

Months before the general election, voters endorsed two openly gay candidates to elected office.

In Portland, Oregon, the mayoral election was decided in May, when openly gay Sam Adams won a mail-only primary over several opponents. There will be no general election for Adams because he secured the majority vote (59%).

Adams will become the Portland’s first openly gay mayor on January 1st, and the first to run one of the 30 largest cities in the United States.

A first-term city commissioner, Adams was endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a group committed to increasing the number of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender elected officials at all levels of government.

Read more by clicking here.

Victory Fund Candidates Win in Lousiana

Louisiana’s GLBT community is making progress and moving up in the gay world.  Two openly gay school board candidates in Louisiana mark the election of the state’s first two openly gay elected officials. Thomas Robichaux and Seth Bloom both endorsed by the  Victory Fund, won their elections to the Orleans Parish School Board. The wins effectively remove Louisiana from the Victory Fund’s “Horizon State” list which lists states without political LGBT representation. States still on that list includes; Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota and South Carolina.

As reported earlier on GayAgenda.com, the Victory Fund has endorsed over 100 GLBT candidates nationwide for 2008.

Victory Fund Annouces 100 GLBT Candidates

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund announced it has endorsed 100 openly GLBT political candidates in 2008. This is the Fund’s largest group to date. The GLBT candidates supported by the group are running for offices at all levels of government including school board elections to the U.S. Congress.

The Victory Fund’s president and CEO, Chuck Wolfe claims the increase in openly GLBT candidates 2008 is a direct reflection on the GLBT community’s willingness to take on roles of political leadership. He said, “I think reaching this milestone is a testament to a new attitude in our community about how to achieve political change. We don’t have to accept sitting on the sidelines and hoping others will do the heavy lifting. We can roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves.”

According to Laura Eqquivel, The Victory Fund’s senior vice president of political affairs; “This is a really exciting political season for the LGBT community. We’re extremely proud of the out candidates who are stepping up to run for office all across America, and of the role that the Victory Fund plays in preparing and supporting these candidates. We’ll endorse in even more races in the next couple of weeks, putting us well past 100 candidates for the year.”

For more information, visit www.victoryfund.org.

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