Stampp Corbin is my publisher, and has been a guiding force in my involvement in politics. Hilllcrest Mayor Nicole Murray Ramirez saw something that made him suggest me as a City commissioner. As I consider both to be my mentors, I have followed their recent dueling columns with all the joy of a child watching his parents fight. I had hoped the discussion of how to reconcile party and LGBT loyalty would end with the mayor’s race, but former congressional candidate Carl DeMaio’s ad with his partner have ensured that San Diego, and the nation, will continue the discussion.
It is important that opposing voices find a way to disagree without being disagreeable. It is also important that we realize that everyone has a piece of the truth.
The few interactions I have had with Mayor Faulconer suggest he is a good man who will do what he believes is right for San Diego. I believe his commitment to the LGBT community is real. Even if I didn’t, I would think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. As a community that moves forward by changing hearts and minds, we can’t forever relegate new allies to the type of second class status we refuse to accept.
We can ask them to step up when opportunities arise, but only within the bounds of political reality. If we demand that every Republican who supports LGBT rights renounce the GOP’s leadership, and its money, we soon won’t have many Republicans with whom to work.
Mayor Faulconer, however, isn’t every Republican. He is now the only Republican running any of America’s twelve largest cities. In a party that believes governing is best done close to home and that executives are the ones who get things done, he is an important voice. Given the weak California bench, he is suddenly among the best Republican prospects for statewide office. Short of announcing that he’s a Democrat, he can say what he likes. So I hope he will denounce discrimination against the LGBT community, be it in Arizona or at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where a pro-LGBT group was accepted as a guest, as though it were progress.
As LGBT activists, we can applaud such statements, as I believe we should DeMaio’s ad. It is a beautiful mix of revolution and the status quo. It screams “I will not hide my sexuality” while simply putting his family in an ad, like every other candidate. Regardless of the omitted soundtrack, it moves LGBT causes forward in the Republican Party.
Whether that applause changes your vote, however, is a more personal decision. My re-engagement with politics was the “No on 8 Campaign”, and the image burned into my memory is inter-racial couples, who couldn’t have wed not so long ago, walking into “The Call” to beg God to take away my right to marry the person I loved. I decided that, win or lose, I wouldn’t sign on to take away the rights of any families, be they transgender, immigrant, working at minimum wage, all of the above or other.
So I’ll support anyone’s actions for LGBT rights. Supporting a candidate isn’t so simple, taking into account more than a party affiliation and a stance on marriage equality. I don’t know if that puts me more in line with Stampp or Nicole, but I will continue to listen to both, because what they contribute to the truth helps me discern my own.
