To no one’s surprise City Councilman Carl DeMaio became the first person to officially throw his hat in the ring for the 2012 mayoral race (about a dozen candidates are expected to run). But to my surprise, I started to receive calls from different political writers and bloggers planning to do interim stories on DeMaio and, yes, some are asking questions about his partner Jonathan Hale. Support and attacks on DeMaio have already begun on the Internet and some are getting pretty nasty. “There’s nothing more appetizing to some folks than facing such a polarizing conservative Republican (DeMaio) in a city that is now heavily Democratic,” stated San Diego civic leader Lorena Gonzalez to the press. Indeed Carl DeMaio has become a very controversial political figure in San Diego. Recently Hank Turner, President of the San Diego Deputy Sheriff’s Association stated, “I am thankful we do not have to deal with an egocentric city councilman like Carl DeMaio.” Latino leaders I have talked to have also stated that they will not support DeMaio because of his lone vote on the city council when it came to the Arizona anti-immigration law. Interestingly enough, almost all LGBT leaders I’ve talked to have also stated that they would not endorse DeMaio, preferring Bonnie Dumanis, Chris Kehoe, Bob Filner and some even Nathan Fletcher for mayor. Let’s not forget Carl DeMaio’s famous attack on what he called our community’s “Golden 30” leadership at the Diversionary Theatre. There is some ongoing debate about whether DeMaio’s partner Jonathan Hale is fair political game?? Well Hale has already been the subject of news stories in the Reader and CityBeat concerning his personal and business relationship with DeMaio…and from the calls I’m getting they’re not going to stop. The wife or husband of all political candidates does receive some media spotlight and Jonathan Hale has himself entered the political arena by hosting candidate forums and endorsing candidates.
The election is 22 months away and my advice is everybody better fasten their seat belts, because it is going to be a very bumpy ride. Some early polls show Carl No.1 and No. 3 in a race of about 12 candidates…. Yes, I know that I am the one to have introduced Carl DeMaio to our LGBT community and we were once very close friends that at times talked ‘til 3 in the morning, and yes Carl confided in me about many things. But I must now make a decision on how I’m personally going to handle my opinions, knowledge, experiences and past relationships with Carl DeMaio, as well as Jonathan Hale and some incidents with him….trust me, I’m going to think long and seriously hard about this and have in the meantime refused to be interviewed or give public comment to any reporter or writer. The reason I bring all this up is because of the Arizona incident and the discussion of elevating the public tone in politics from being so negative and ugly, and it seems to have already started and may get worse in the upcoming mayor’s race. I, like many of us, have a lot to think about.
Last week I got a call from the Portantino family asking me to help them put together a Cele-bration of Life in memory of Michael Portan-tino (this Saturday, 1:00 pm at the LGBT Center)…I was honored and touched to be asked, and in the last two weeks have been working on this Satur-day’s event. Michael would have wanted an uplifting and wonderful celebration, not sadness….This coming weekend there will be many Martin Luther King celebrations and I want to most sincerely thank all those who took the time to answer all my calls; Portantino celebration speakers: Congressman Bob Filner, State Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, County Supervisor Ron Roberts, former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, Ben Dillingham and George Biagi….all long time friends of Michael…..also Michael’s brother State Assemblyman Anthony Portan-tino and his daughter Tatiana will speak on behalf of the Portantino family.
Dr. Delores Jacobs will welcome everyone….the MC will be Big Mike Phillips and a big thank you to A.J. Turner, who made the printed program. Frank Lechner and Allan Spyere will also assist with the event. Sad to say I will not be there as I had a Washington speaking engagement booked a year ago for this coming weekend.
Please know my thoughts and prayers will be with you all this Saturday afternoon, and it was once again my deep honor to have been asked to put the program together for this community Celebration of Life.
For over forty years, as a gay and Latino activist, I have had meetings and interaction with sheriffs, police chiefs, and D.A.’s…from the homophobic and racist reigns in the 1970s of then Police Chief Hoppler to Sheriff Duffy. People of color and gays were targeted by them and beaten and harassed so many times by their departments and officers. In fact, I organized and participated in pickets of the Police and Sheriff Departments in the 1970’s when it came to the treatment of Latinos, Blacks and “homosexuals.”
I am blessed to have lived to see so many changes in San Diego when it comes to law-enforcement. Credit must go to our city’s first Jewish police chief and then Sheriff Bill Kolender, as well as Police Chief Jerry Sanders, who when in these offices began to change these departments. Right now, our current Police Chief Bill Lansdowne is one of the best in the country and so is our new sheriff. Our new Sheriff Bill Gore is the man responsible for stopping the mistreatment of transsexuals, who were booked in the county jail and just last Saturday I called the Sheriff on his cell to look into a report I got about an inmate who was not getting his HIV-AIDS medication. Sheriff Gore looked into this matter within an hour. This is the kind of fair and compassionate man who is leading our county’s Sheriff’s Department and I know we all are damn lucky to have him as our sheriff…thank you Sheriff Gore.
Mark your calendar for Sunday, January 23 for popular San Diego personality Big Mike’s Birthday Party at the Caliph from 4:00 – 6:00 pm…and you’re all invited!!! There will be a fabulous buffet and lots of surprises and fun. In lieu of gifts, Big Mike and the Imperial Court (party organizers) ask you to bring or send a donation to the Trevor Project, part of a year-long campaign by the International Court system entitled “2011: The Year of Our LGBT Youth”…for more info call (619) 692-1967 or (619) 300-1232.
Sadly, America is one of the most violent countries in the world with one of the highest murder rates and attempts….I’ve long supported stronger gun control laws, but the reality is that the gun lobby is one of the most powerful in our nation’s and state capitols. Almost any psycho or nut case can get a gun, if not in his state, in another one…The tragic killings in Arizona were in a state where the current state legislature is considering a bill which would allow Arizona’s teachers and students to carry concealed handguns on campuses…what is this world coming to???
