The election for Interim Mayor Todd Gloria’s Third District City Council seat isn’t until 2016 but some future candidates are already campaigning on the down-low and getting their ducks in a row. Stephen Whitburn, the popular executive director of San Diego Pride was being urged by many to take another shot at the District Three seat but now has decided against it in favor of staying at Pride which he loves – a win-win for our community.
A top council aide for Gloria, Anthony Bernal has informed me he is still in it to win it; and longtime civic leader and champion for working families and the poor, Laurie Coskey is still talking to people about a possible run.
But a clear front-runner has now emerged and he is Chris Ward, chief of staff to Sen. Marty Block, who has already filed and put together an official “Chris Ward for City Council” campaign organization and he is showing up everywhere from the Victory Fund brunch to the Imperial Court’s annual gala drag coronation. What is beyond impressive is Chris’ endorsement list, and let me tell you it has almost every GLBT political community leader on it! He has also gotten big money commitments and campaign volunteers ready to go. By the way, Whitburn was Ward’s table guest at the Victory Fund brunch … hum … but as we all know things can and do change in politics and anything can happen in two years! Also, the best to Chris Ward and his partner as they are waiting for the arrival of their first child!
Mayor Faulconer appoints five gays
Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer made history in our community with his recent appointment of five GLBT San Diegans to his Transition Advisory Council. In the past, mayor-elects have had one or none on their transition council from our community. And the five are: two past presidents of The LGBT Community Center, Robert Gleason and Bob Nelson; Aids Walk founder Susan Jester; former San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Jarmin and Nicole Murray Ramirez. (Yes, little old and I mean old me.) We already attended our first meeting with Mayor-elect Faulconer and his advisory council and the following committees were formed: Housing and Homeless, Economic Development and Jobs, Infrastructure, Water Sustainability and the Environment, Public Safety and Veteran Affairs, Creating an Open and Transparent Government through Open Data and Technology and the final committee, Education and Youth Opportunity.
The chair of my committee is the highly respected U.S. Navy Admiral Ronne Froman. The co-chairs of Faulconer’s Mayoral Transition Advisory Council are two much respected civic leaders (both Democrats): former City Council President Tony Young and “Mr. San Diego,” Steve Cushman.
Carl DeMaio’s gay journey
Every GLBT person’s journey of self-awareness, acceptance and coming out of the closet is different. Mine was very difficult and full of Catholic guilt as a teenager. Carl DeMaio lost his mother to cancer as a child and was raised by Catholic monks and only came out of the closet about seven years ago.
As many of you know at one time I was very close to Carl as he was like a son to me and so I got to really know him. Carl DeMaio loves government and public service. He has never been nor will he ever be a gay activist. When Carl first came out he was not received well by many in our community because he was a Republican. I truly believe Carl never really got to know the GLBT community and his own personal “gay journey” is still a work in progress.
I disagree with Carl on many issues and yes our personal relationship was almost completely destroyed and I was a major Mayor Filner supporter. Our community bashed Carl’s mayoral campaign (including myself)and some in our community bashed Kevin Faulconer’s mayoral campaign with false right-wing labels and now it seems the Demaio vs. Peters congressional campaign is starting off the same.
I was very disappointed in Democratic Club Vice President Will Kennedy’s KPBS interview. Carl DeMaio’s equality voting record for our community’s issues on the City Council was 100 percent, including giving council financial assistance to our community center, recovery and HIV-AIDS organizations. Was he a vocal leader on these issues? No! But not every GLBT elected official in America is an activist or cheerleader; they are all different and support their community their own way.
I will try my best in this column when it comes to politics and campaigns to not go nasty negative and I hope others will also. Let us all try to agree to disagree respectfully and factually as indeed our community is tired of all the negative and bashing politics.
