Bay Area Reporter - July 19, 2007
Matthew S. Bajko, m.bajko@ebar.com

Bates has had to contend with the same restrictions faced by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, who testified before Congress last week that he was restricted from attending certain events and had his speeches heavily edited by the White House. Those who have watched Bates since he was appointed to his position in 2002 said despite his reputation for being a maverick, he does at times adhere to official policy.

"He tows the line when he has to. There are certain kinds of public presentations where he is absolutely as controlled as the surgeon general used to be. Where his speeches are vetted multiple times and his message is absolutely conforming to the policies of the department," said Ernest Hopkins, director of federal affairs for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, who has been friends with Bates since 1990. "There are other times where the department understands he is serving them best when he is demonstrating his ties to the community, where he has a bit more flexibility. In those instances, he is able to say what he needs to say."

Bates, 56, had such an opportunity recently at a forum in San Francisco jointly presented by the AIDS foundation, the health department's HIV prevention and STD sections, as well as the Community Partnership on Gay Men's Health. Bates spoke freely about his coming out process and experiences in government as an out gay man.

Acknowledging that at times he isn't free to speak his mind due to his government job, Bates told the crowd of 40 people at the June 26 panel discussion that he relished the opportunity to be more candid.

"I got permission to come on the federal dime to come talk about being a faggot," joked Bates.

Bates, who is African American, recounted that in 1979, two weeks prior to Christmas, he decided to come out to his parents. He said his father asked him two questions: Are you happy? What do you need?

"We didn't talk about it again," said Bates. "He was in my life."

Professionally, Bates said his being out has not impeded his career. Prior to joining the federal bureaucracy during the Clinton administration, Bates chaired the District of Columbia Mayor's AIDS Advisory Committee and helped found the D.C. Primary Care Association. In the early 1990s, he was the executive director of the D.C. Comprehensive AIDS Resources and CARE Consortium, and he spent one year as interim director of Philadelphia's HIV Commission.

"I have not experienced gay discrimination in my life. I have not been denied promotions," said Bates.

The statement seems to refute speculation back in May 2004 that Bates was not named director or deputy director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy due to his sexual orientation.

Bates had begun assuming such duties in late 2003 while still working at HHS and was expected to be officially moved into the White House. But according to the Washington Blade, the move never occurred and some AIDS agency executives speculated Bates was passed over because Bush officials were reluctant to appoint a third gay man in a row to the position.

Joining Bates on stage at last month's forum were Steve Sabin, the openly gay pastor of Christ Church Lutheran in San Francisco, and San Francisco Healing Center founder Greg Cassin, who tested positive for HIV in 1980. Ten years ago the Lutheran Church put Sabin on trial for being a "practicing" homosexual; the 2006 documentary Call to Witness retells his story.

"I told the hearing I wasn't practicing, I was proficient," joked Sabin, 48, who has two daughters and moved to the city six years ago.

Sabin said with gay pride now 38 years old and "at the cusp of middle age," gay men need to ask of themselves and their community what to do with the next half of their lives.

"As we become more mainstream we become more prey to the commercialism that plagues our society. We can do better than the larger community," he said.

Cassin, who had once wanted to become a priest in the Catholic Church, said he never thought he would live long enough to see his golden years.

"When I found out I was positive there weren't any treatments," he said. "I am having that mid-life I never thought I would have."

Bates challenged gay men not to succumb to self-doubt or loathing and to demand of their government equal treatment.

"We are masters of our ships. We are the captains of our lives," said Bates. "We should be kicking and screaming and demanding our rightful place in this society."

He later added that first, gay men need to learn to love themselves.

"We got so much internalized hatred and homophobia in our community. From tonight let us embrace ourselves first, then embrace the rest of our community," said Bates. "I am so sick of fat men thinking they have to form a club just to have someone to pop popcorn with."

"I challenge each of you to love yourself more and give yourself more credit," he added.

He also chastised those gay men waiting for others to take the lead in the fight for equal rights.

"Most straight men see themselves as a leader. Gay men don't," said Bates. "You are the leaders. It is like black folk waiting around for the next Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King is dead."

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Ad removed prior to mayor's appearance

Mayor Gavin Newsom headed to the Castro last Friday, July 13 to announce that the city will speed up the installation of mounted news racks in various neighborhoods to replace the "unsightly" free-standing ones now in use.

Just prior to the mayor's press conference, someone removed an advertisement from a mounted news rack nearby that could have been an "unsightly" backdrop for Newsom, who is running for re-election and has faced questions about the veracity of his statements that he has not used cocaine.

The ad for Absolut vodka showed a politician standing at a podium apparently during a press conference. The man's nose is stretched like a tree branch, similar to what happens when the puppet-turned-boy Pinocchio is caught lying. In its place went up a Verizon Wireless ad with the tagline "Most reliable network."

Asked if the mayor's office had ordered the ad's removal, Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said, "Not to my knowledge."

Along with Supervisor Bevan Dufty , who has pushed to see the mounted news rack zone incorporate the Castro District, Newsom announced 305 of the fixed pedestal racks would be installed by the end of the year, bringing the city's total to 550. The city's Department of Public Works and media company Clear Channel oversee installation of the racks.

"It's about time we replaced the antiquated system of having five unsightly news racks every few blocks," said Newsom.

Residents and business owners have long complained about newspaper companies' news racks, which are often tagged by graffiti artists or covered by stickers, blocking sidewalks and ruining street views. Protesters in turn have used the racks to block street traffic or hurl them at police.

The city changed its news rack ordinance in 1998 to allow for the freestanding racks to be replaced, but publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle sued the city to stop the program, citing their First Amendment rights. It wasn't until 2004 that the two sides came to an agreement and the city began to implement the program.

"It has been like a soap opera without the sex," Dufty said of the difficulties in getting the program off the ground.

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City loses appeal of workers comp claim

An administrative law judge has rejected the city's petition for reconsideration of her decision to award up to $50,000 to a gay San Francisco sheriff's deputy who endured anti-gay harassment by fellow officers who posted homophobic comments on an unofficial Web site.

As the Bay Area Reporter reported earlier this month, Deputy Jon Gray filed a worker's compensation claim against the city and his employer, San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey, after the sheriff told him he was hamstrung on what actions he could take in the matter since the postings were anonymous and did not take place while on the job or on a city-sanctioned Web site.

Hennessey told the B.A.R. he didn't like seeing what Gray went through due to the postings online. He said he informed his officers in a letter he sent out department-wide of laws prohibiting the creation of a hostile work environment and asked them not to participate in the online site.

Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge Jacqueline C. Duncan ruled in June that Gray was entitled to the award because of the psychiatric injury he not only endured from his fellow employers who posted the comments and printed them out at work, but also by the "lack of support" he received from his superiors when he reported the problems back in April 2002.

On June 21, the city asked Duncan to reverse her decision, arguing that Gray had not convincingly proved his psychiatric problems were work related and that the judge lacked the evidence to support her ruling. The city also argued that the judge was going down a "slippery slope" by holding the sheriff accountable for controlling employees' access and use of the Internet.

In a decision signed July 5, Duncan denied the city's request.

"There is a causal link between the applicant's psychiatric injury and the psychological harassment of anonymous coworkers further compounded by the lack of support of his superiors when he reported the problem," wrote Duncan.

Duncan also dismissed the city's argument that the case involves First Amendment rights.

"It is not a question of the rights of one's co-employees freely expressing themselves on a sanctioned website, but rather whether the defendant is liable for psychiatric injury suffered as a consequence," wrote Duncan.

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Bell ringer wins cash for AIDS research

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will donate $750 to the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California at San Francisco on behalf of Scott Bastable with KOIT radio after he came in second place in the 45th annual Cable Car Bell-Ringing contest.

Bastable competed in the amateur division during the competition, which took place last Thursday, July 12 at Union Square. It was Bastable's first time taking a stab at the local tradition.

"I was a last minute addition. My strategy was more to have fun and make sure I was ringing that bell as much as possible," said Bastable, 45, who joined the station three months ago as its general sales manager.

Bastable, who is straight, said his gay older brother, Jimmy , 52, learned he was HIV-positive in 1987.

"I was there the day he found out," he said. "He lives in Chicago, where I am from. Due to a lot of different concoctions of drugs, being smart, and safe, he is still kicking. A lot of our friends are no longer with us."

He chose the AIDS institute because he had read about some of its work. In particular, he pointed to its research into the effectiveness of medicinal marijuana for AIDS patients.

"I have seen their name come up now and then. They are known worldwide and are right here in the city. I thought it would be a smart thing to get behind," he said.

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