Washington Blade - October 29, 2004
Lou Chibbaro Jr., lchibbaro@washblade.com.

In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a nine to one margin, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is expected to defeat President Bush in the District of Columbia by a landslide on Nov. 2, capturing the city's three electoral votes.

The Democratic candidates for seats on the D.C. Council who emerged as winners in the city's September primary are also expected to breeze to victory over their Republican or Statehood Green Party rivals. Among them is former mayor Marion Barry, who ousted incumbent Democrat Sandra Allen in the primary for the Ward 8 Council seat.

All have expressed support for gay and AIDS related issues, although some have received higher ratings than others from the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance [see chart on Page 10], which assesses the candidates on a wide range of issues of interest to the gay community.

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, a local gay group, is supporting the Democratic nominees, said club president David Meadows.

The Council's lone Republican, Carol Schwartz, who enjoys widespread support from Democrats, including gay residents, is set to become another winner, according to political observers, despite her opposition to same-sex marriage.

The other at-large candidates are the Statehood Greens' Laurent Ross and independent Tony Dominguez.

D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), a longtime proponent of gay rights, is the odds-on favorite to join Schwartz and the Democratic Council candidates in victory on Nov. 2.

ANC races hold all the drama

This leaves the races for two D.C. school board seats and dozens of contested Advisory Neighborhood Commission seats as the only races where the winners are yet to be determined.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, known as ANCs, serve as advisory bodies on regulatory issues in neighborhoods throughout the city. They play a key role in advising the city on the approval of licenses for nightlife and entertainment establishments such as bars, nightclubs and restaurants.

At least 11 openly gay candidates are running for ANC seats, with some of them on the opposite side of regulatory policies that gay nightlife advocates say could be harmful to gay bars.

In the school board race for District 1, which includes Wards 1 and 2, four candidates are competing for the seat being vacated by incumbent Julie Mikuta, who announced she would not seek re-election.

Only two of the four District 1 candidates, Keenan R. Keller and Christopher D. McKeon, completed a questionnaire on gay related school issues for GLAA, a small group of local gay activists.

Keller received a GLAA rating of +8 while McKeon, a member of the anti-gay Unification Church headed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, received a û7. GLAA rates candidates on a scale of û10 to +10.

The other two candidates, Jeff Smith and Eleanor Johnson, received a GLAA rating of 0 because they did not return the questionnaire. Smith stated at a meeting of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club last week that he supports gay rights and favors the gay and AIDS related school issues.

Gay D.C. Council member Jim Graham and gay at-large school board member Mirian Saez have endorsed Smith, saying they believe he is supportive on gay issues and has the overall qualifications needed to serve on the school board.

"I would not have endorsed him if I thought he was not supportive on these important issues," Graham said.

However, during his appearance before the Stein Club, Smith did not specifically commit himself to the policies that Keller expressed support for in the GLAA questionnaire. Among them is a call by GLAA for the recognition of the "right of our public school students to organize clubs to promote lesbian and gay civil rights, to combat homophobic violence and prejudice, and to provide socializing opportunities for gay youth."

Other issues that Keller supported in the GLAA questionnaire include the following:

*the right of students to "bring dates of the same sex" to school proms and other school functions;

*efforts by the gay parents group PFLAG to provide "gay positive books" in school libraries and opposing efforts by school administrators to censor or ban such books in school libraries;

*allowing teachers to invite openly gay speakers to address their classes and answer students' questions about homosexuality;

*a comprehensive sex education program that "teaches that homosexuality is a part of the normal range of human sexuality, consistent with existing school policy"; and

*support for the D.C. school system's existing condom availability program, which allows school nurses to provide condoms to high school students under certain circumstances.

In his response to the questionnaire, McKeon expressed opposition to most of these initiatives and various restrictions to others.

He said he would not object to allowing gay students to bring same-sex dates to school functions but said non-gay students should also have the right to express their opinion against same-sex dating "in any what they choose, so long as they don't violate laws or school policies."

McKeon said he strongly opposes condom distribution in public schools and opposes "any materials in the public schools that discuss human sexuality in any way other than procreation."

He added, "Public schools are not a testing ground for sexuality or counseling centers [on] sexual orientation."

District 2 race

In the race for District 2, which includes Wards 3 and 4, six candidates are challenging incumbent school board member Dwight Singleton. Singleton did not return a GLAA questionnaire but received a +2 rating for his record of support on a number of gay-related issues, GLAA said.

Among Singleton's challengers, Hugh Allen received a +6.5 rating, Victor Reinoso received a +3.5, and Laura McGriffert Slover received a +2.

Candidates Mai Abdul-Rahman, Thomas J Dawson III, and David A. Jordan each received a 0 rating for not returning the questionnaire.

Allen, Reinoso and McGriffert Slover expressed support for the same issues on the questionnaire backed by Keller of District 1. GLAA said they received lower ratings than Keller because they did not provide the detail and depth of understanding that Keller presented in his responses.

GLAA also credited Keller with having a record of support of gay rights in his work as an assistant to Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee.

041029
WB041031

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .