As the national and local political season begins, our community should expect something from all political candidates; authenticity. We have all come to expect anything but authenticity from a politician and that is one of the things wrong with our political system.
There has been a controversy concerning mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio’s treatment of his partner Johnathan Hale during a San Diego Union Tribune interview. While Carl and Johnathan profess to be in a committed relationship, DeMaio told the Union Tribune he was single.
While it has been argued that from a “legal” standpoint what DeMaio said is correct, we all get an uneasy feeling given the relationship the couple presents within the LGBT community. Why would DeMaio not say I am in a committed relationship? Since we cannot get married, the term was practically invented for the LGBT community to help the broader community understand when our relationships have moved beyond casual dating.
My father was a light skinned black man and during the 1960s people often thought he was anything but African American. In those days when a person was able to deny their ethnicity, particularly being black, it was called passing.
Passing allowed an individual to escape the prejudice and segregation that was a part of daily life of those of their true race. My dad did not pass, although it would have been financially beneficial to my family. Usually with the decision to pass, a person was repudiated by their true community. After all they turned their back on their racial identity, so why should they be welcomed with open arms by that same community?
In our world today, many in the LGBT community pass as straight at work. While it is a personal decision, we should expect better from those who are public figures. We should not expect politicians to be open with our community only to hide their true selves before groups that may be averse to the LGBT community.
We only need to look to Houston Mayor Annise Parker as a model for someone running for office while maintaining her authenticity. When she was a candidate, Parker was honest and open about her relationship, as well as being a lesbian. She did not try to say I’m single from a “legal” standpoint.
We can also look to The Victory Fund, whose mission is to change the face and voice of America’s politics and to achieve equality for LGBT Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBT officials at all levels of government. The organization counsels political candidates to be open about their sexual orientation and helps them to address the issues that might arise because of their authenticity. The Victory Fund has helped elect thousands of candidates at the state, local and federal level.
Candidates who are not open and honest about their sexuality tarnish the legacy established first by Dr. Al Best in his run for San Diego City Council in 1979, then Neil Good, Christine Kehoe and Toni Atkins. They collectively blazed a trail for openly LGBT candidates in San Diego. Some of these brave individuals even suffered through death threats to remain authentically gay or lesbian.
You can get elected and still be totally open about your relationship and sexual orientation in San Diego. Anyone who tells you something different is misleading you. Just ask Kehoe, Atkins or Todd Gloria.
While it is a person’s choice to come out on their own terms, our community should expect our politicians to be authentic if they want our financial support and our vote. It matters. If a person wants to be the representative of all the citizens of San Diego, then they should not hide who they are to the general electorate.
Most importantly, we want our LGBT politicians to send the right message to our youth; you can live authentically and still be elected to be the mayor of America’s Finest City.
BY STAMPP CORBIN, Publisher
San Diego LGBT Weekly
