In response to Franko’s commentary

Last week’s issue of LGBT Weekly included a “guest commentary” by popular Latina drag queen entertainer Francesca “Franko” Guillen, a former “princess royale” and community activist. Everything seems to be fair game in politics and many times “letters to the editor” and “commentaries” are ghostwritten for well-known individuals. Many of us laughed our heads off as we all suspect Council candidate Anthony Bernal was behind this commentary. If you know Francesca you absolutely know it’s almost impossible that she wrote that whole commentary!

So to Francesca and his ghostwriter, it was very obvious you were responding to my column about the Third District Council race and Anthony Bernal. No one says that any Council seat is reserved for a person of a particular origin or background, but my dear drag queen sister Francesca and Anthony, if you knew your city’s history since “district elections” all of the Eighth District councilmembers have been Latino and Fourth District have been African American. The Third District’s last councilmembers Kehoe, Atkins and Gloria have all been from the LGBT community. They have traditionally given a voice for the communities that for decades never were at the table.

I do agree that this Third District Council race will be about qualifications and experience, and Anthony Bernal lacks them compared to Chris Ward. Sadly, Bernal’s claim to fame and legitimacy is almost totally based on being a paid staff member to his popular boss, Todd Gloria.

The cold hard facts are that a vast majority of LGBT, Latino, Democratic and neighborhood leaders have endorsed Chris Ward not Bernal (just look up both of their Web sites).

As a Latino/LGBT activist for over 45 years, I can honestly tell you that in the last decade I have hardly ever seen Anthony Bernal at a major Latino or LGBT event (until recently). The truth is after meeting and getting to know Anthony, I soon realized he not only does not really know the LGBT San Diego community but even his own San Diego Latino community. I do give him credit for trying to take a “crash course” these last two years.

Now don’t get me wrong, Anthony Bernal is a nice enough guy but he is just not ready to be elected to public office and trying to ride on Todd Gloria’s coat tails will just not do it. Maybe because you have not really been active in the Latino, African American or LGBT communities you really don’t understand how important it is to us to have a voice at the “city hall table”. By the way, my dear Anthony, next time get a more believable author for your campaign’s guest commentary pieces. Sure, Francesca wrote that last one, just like I wrote the United States Constitution!

Mother’s Day

The LGBT community is indeed a very unique one. Many have two families, their “blood” family and their “chosen” family because so many LGBT people have been rejected by their very own families. I have been very honored and blessed to play a gay “mother role” to many LGBT people (including Russell Roybal, Todd Gloria, Michael Zarbo, Carl DeMaio, Carolina Ramos, Julia Legaspi, Allan Spyere, Big Mike, Coco Lachine, Kurt Cunningham and many more) these last decades. I’ve also been blessed to play a “grandmother role” especially now as the “Queen Mother of the Americas.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my fellow “mothers”. To all of my “children of the corn” please remember I can’t eat chocolates and don’t really like flowers!

Editor’s Note: San Diego LGBT Weekly makes every effort to give our readers the opportunity to have their say. ‘Letters to the Editor’ and ‘Guest Commentaries’ are accepted in good faith as the opinions of the author.