When Jo Becker’s book Forcing the Spring: Inside the fight for marriage equality was published earlier this year, it set off a firestorm of arguments about who had contributed how much to the effort and when. Given the breadth of the title, some long term LGBT activists felt it focused too much on Hollingsworth v Perry, which overturned Prop. 8, and not enough on events going at least as far back as Hawaii’s Baehr v. Lewin (later Miike) in the early 1990s.
I was not interested in the battle over credit, but it did cause me to think about the contributions of San Diegans, particularly in the Decline to Sign and No on Prop. 8 campaigns. It occurred to me that while we lost those battles, we trained a number of LGBT leaders who continue to contribute to our community. Our Pride Yearbook edition seemed the appropriate place for a “Where are they now” list of some folks with whom I am proud to have worked.
Cara Dessert was the regional field director for the No on Prop. 8 Campaign. She was unmatched in volunteer recruitment and fundraising – if Moses could get water from a rock, Cara could have gotten $100 and a volunteer shift. After the campaign, she briefly returned to her position in public policy at The San Diego LGBT Community Center before going to law school at the University of California Los Angeles. She continues to defend our rights in the consumer law section of the California Attorney General’s Office.
Fernando Lopez was working for marriage equality as early as 2004, long before it was sexy and when many thought it was bad strategy. He was the regional campaign manager for the too often forgotten Decline to Sign (D2S), which failed in keeping Prop. 8 off the ballot, but created crucial infrastructure for the No on Prop. 8 efforts. After 2008, he went right back to work with Marriage Equality USA, and in 2010 worked for Stephen Whitburn’s campaign to be the first openly gay County Supervisor. He is currently the public affairs director with San Diego Pride, and reunited with Executive Director Stephen Whitburn, helps to organize our annual Pride celebration and other events throughout the year.
As the deputy field director for No on 8, Vanessa Cosio trained and organized many of the volunteers. After honing her organizing and information technology skills on additional campaigns and in the private sector, she joined the staff of The Center as the informational technology manager and database administrator.
Brandon Tate started with No on Prop. 8 as a volunteer and ended as the field manager and deputy director of Election Day. After stints on the development teams of the Environmental Health Coalition and Equality California, Brandon returned to San Diego as the director of development for The Center.
Toni Duran’s work on the D2S and No on 8 campaigns earned her the titles of “Jack of All Trades” and “Super Volunteer”. She joined the staff of Equality California in 2009 and worked on the No on 1 campaign in Maine. Currently, she goes by “Toni D”, so she won’t be confused with her current boss, California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, who she serves as a field representative.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Jacqueline Palmer is working for the City, Kate Lyon is working to get Scott Peters re-elected and other staff and volunteers have spread throughout the country. We may have lost the fight against Prop. 8, but the campaign certainly has advanced our San Diego LGBT community.
