On National Coming Out day in October 2011, after 36 years, the San Diego Democratic Club (SDDC) officially changed their name to the San Diego Democrats for Equality. The goal, as explained by the leadership and encapsulated in a coming out video, was to no longer use “cute names that blended in, but were identifiable to others like us.”
Last Thursday, they unveiled their new logo, designed by local LGBT activist Toni Duran. Among the design features are a classically symbolic triangle, two bars creating an equal sign and four stars, one each for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. When the drape went down, I loved the message.
Two hours later, I wasn’t so sure.
The logo unveiling and a series of uncontested board elections were the undercard for the forum for Democratic candidates running against Rep. Brian Bilbray in California’s new 52nd District. Two candidates, former Assemblymember Lori Saldana, and former City Council President Scott Peters, attended. Mr. Peters took more than 2/3 of the vote and the endorsement of the San Diego Democrats for Equality.
I have no argument with the process. Both candidates had equal time for statements and questions were balanced, if not slightly tilted to Saldana’s favor by some of her supporters. The discussions after allowed an equal number of each candidate’s supporters to speak.
My problem is that commitment to equality was the one metric the San Diego Democrats for Equality didn’t factor in their endorsement. In all fairness, they couldn’t. Both candidates scored 100 percent on the group’s questionnaire. Both are strong allies, supporting same-sex marriage, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Dream Act. Saldana’s record in the Assembly is unblemished, as evidenced by the 100 percent score from Equality California for her six years in office. Asked what actions he might regret from his political life, Peters sincerely repented (again) a vote he took more than ten years ago, an apology that our community should accept as a successfully changed, or merely reminded, heart and mind. For once, I agree with Ann Coulter: “I thought the reason we argued with people … was to get them to ‘flip-flop’ … sometimes it works!” Many in the room, including myself, were swayed away from a “no endorsement” position by a respected official, the vote I now regret. In lieu of a difference on equality, what seemed to carry the vote was who could accumulate more money and who could woo swing voters. If you need proof that this is guesswork, call Gov. Meg Whitman or President Hillary Clinton. One could posit that the best way to support equality is to endorse a more electable candidate, but the nuance of that argument better reflects from the SDDC than San Diego Democrats for Equality.
The truth is that names matter and words have power. In the world of LGBT and civil rights, few words matter as much or have more power than “Equality.” Voters who did not understand the meaning of an SDDC endorsement may axiomatically accept an endorsement by the Democrats for Equality as proof of a commitment to LGBT and broader equality issues. Given the real, if unintended, corollary that a non-endorsement implies a deficiency in that regard, the greater reach of the San Diego Democrats for Equality comes with a stricter duty to clarity. Endorsing Council President Peters is consistent with that duty. Denying Assemblymember Saldana an endorsement is not.
In reality, advancing both candidates in the new “jungle primary” isn’t sitting on the sidelines, but rather letting two promising quarterbacks compete. There was no need to name our starter now. To risk alienating an ally based on conjecture would have been a bad idea for the SDDC, but is even less appropriate from the San Diego Democrats for Equality. A “no endorsement” vote, or rating both candidates as acceptable, was the better call.
With that in mind, I’ll hope for two things. First, that we have such a problem again. As hard as it is to choose from a deep bench, it beats having no options. Second, that we all remember the play called by President Obama last Tuesday, that. “As long as we are joined in a common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves on, our future is hopeful.” As a political community, our purpose must include defeating enemies of equality, like Rep. Bilbray. Whichever candidate makes the general, we must have his or her back.
When I created the coming-out video for the San Diego Democratic Club that Joel’s column mentions when we became San Diego Democrats for Equality it was important to me to explain our name change as a way to better to reflect who we already were, not to become something else. Our purpose is and always has been to defend and promote the LGBT community by informing the Democratic Party and ELECTING office holders who could advance the cause of equality for all underserved/second class citizens.
Our endorsement of Scott Peters to replace Brian Bilbray in Congress is very much in keeping with that purpose. As Joel’s column points out, both Scott Peters and Lori Saldana scored 100% on our questionnaire and both have been strong and consistent supporters of our community. If elected, without question, either would be a far better servant to the District and friend of the LGBT community than the current occupant of the office. But, finding someone who will vote right is only half the issue. For us to truly fulfill the purpose of SD Dems for Equality, we must also consider who is more electable.
Joel refers to the upcoming June election as a “jungle primary”. I’d suggest that since Democrats and Republicans are no longer allowed to choose their own candidates, it is not a “primary” at all – it is the general election with the November election being a run-off between the top two vote-getters. I agree with Joel, that no one knows exactly how the new system will pan out, but running a campaign that relies only on the votes of Democrats in a race where the voters are more or less equally divided amongst Democrats, Independents and Republicans is one that could produce a win in June for a candidate ill-suited to finally beat Bilbray in November.
I have no doubt that if Lori Saldana is successful in June, Dems for Equality will whole-heartedly have her back in November – I know I will. For now however, given the choice of two candidates equally supportive of our progressive issues, it IS our duty to back the one we feel has the better chance of unseating the “enemies of equality” in November. Whether it’s San Diego Democratic Club or San Diego Democrats for Equality, for an overwhelming majority of us, that candidate rightly is Scott Peters.
As a former Vice President of the Club now known as the San Diego Democrats for Equality, I fully concur with David Warmouth’s very well written post above. In addition, for the benefits of LGBT Weekly readers, I wanted to point out that the Club’s endorsement processes do not allow for dual endorsements. club members have two choices – to endorse or to ‘rate a candidate acceptable’. Here, a super-majority of Club members voted to endorse Scott Peters, whom we feel is the best candidate to defeat the out of step, anti-equality Brian Bilbray’s. The Club has long felt an obligation to make the tough choices, rather than to take an easy way out approach. In this instance, we chose to endorse one LGBT equality advocate over another advocate, in order to have the best shot at defeating Bilbray’s with the best candidate – Scott Peters for Congress. http://www.scottpeters.com