Bay Windows - Local News, July 22, 1999
Scott A. Giordano, Bay Windows staff

Since then, Toney has rebuilt his life, his vision and his direction. At age 32, Toney now finds himself in the spotlight again ù this time as the first openly gay man making a bid for the Worcester City Council. A lifelong resident of the city, Toney is running for an at-large Council seat and believes his experiences as an African-American, a gay man, a former policeman, and his years of social work helping people with AIDS and gay youth, have shaped him into the most well-rounded candidate for that position.

"Because you are everything as a police officer ù a mediator, investigator and community relations person, basically, those are some the things that politicians do. I have always been involved with social service issues and had my eye on a career in serving the public in one capacity or another. And I love Worcester, and I wanted to remain involved in making Worcester a better and safer place to live for myself, my family and for everyone else," Toney said. "I have never been a person who has sat by the sidelines and complained and wanted issues addressed and waited for someone else to address those issues."

And one of the issues Toney would like to address is helping the Central Massachusetts city build a more visible gay community.

"Worcester is very much a closeted community, even though it is the second largest city in New England. Worcester does not have the public transportation and effective subways that other large cities have. In order to get around, you need a vehicle. So it's not uncommon for the gay community to travel to Boston or Providence or Hartford to express their sexual orientation and come back here and live a closeted life," he said.

"[If elected] as an openly gay city council person, I am hoping we can build a gay community here and establish a community through businesses and volunteering or other avenues that is beneficial for Worcester, and help the visible diversity of this city," he added.

But Toney's key campaign issues are not gay-related. Campaign literature states his goals are helping small businesses by improving communication with city administrators, attracting private development dollars and promoting a tax rate that encourages business investments; helping neighborhoods by working with established coalitions to improve quality of life and adequately funding infrastructures like sidewalks and streets; and helping the city's Arts District to move forward by streamlining ordinances and promoting a tax classification for living/working studios.

Toney is being very careful not to run as "the gay candidate," but he acknowledges the symbolism behind running for the City Council that many claim lacks diversity for the Central Massachusetts city. The city's first African American city councilor in 50 years was just elected two years ago.

"Worcester is very much a diverse and ethnic community, but unfortunately, there has not been any representation from the minority communities until two years ago," he said. "We don't have ethnic diversity on our City Council. ... People are looking to get more minority candidates who are capable of serving on the Council, so I am getting support from residents who want diversity represented for the city we all live in."

Although he has never held public office before, Toney said his years of social work and his work as a policeman have helped him to understand the public and people's needs.

Toney first joined the Worcester Police Department in 1987, when he was 20 years old. That same year, he got married to a woman. It was in 1991 when he and his wife separated that he acknowledged his own sexual orientation and came out in the Police Department. He took two years off from the Police Department to recover from that experience before going back to the police force in 1993. He filed papers for his retirement and was granted his disability retirement in 1995. From 1996-1998, Toney commuted from Worcester to Boston, where he worked as a gay male education coordinator for the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts. He also has consulted for the Massachusetts Department of Education and worked for various non-profit agencies and corporations.

Today, Toney is a board member for AIDS Project Worcester and the executive director of the Same Homes Project of Central Massachusetts ù an organization he co-founded to meet the needs of gay youth who are homeless. In addition to running his City Council campaign, Toney is the father of a 10-year-old daughter and the foster father of two children, ages nine and 17.

A new perspective

Given his range of responsibilities, some wonder how Toney is able to keep everything in balance. He credits that mindset to nearly losing his life in 1991.

At the time, Toney and his partner Robert had just moved in together, and the couple had not even finished unpacking all of their boxes in their new condo. A mutual friend who was dying from HIV/AIDS was moving out of state to New Jersey and they were attending a good-bye party for him. While waiting for others to arrive at the party, Toney and Robert left with about five other people to eat dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Toney was still a policeman at this time.

"We had dinner and while we were leaving, three 18-year-olds were drunk and high, and I observed them ask to be served and be refused service and asked to leave. There was a verbal confrontation. At one point in time, during the argument, one of the individuals jumped over the counter and spit in the manager's face. I was off duty but I took out my wallet and badge and identified myself as policeman and told them they had to leave the restaurant," Toney recalls. "Myself and another individual had a verbal confrontation until I convinced them to leave. The three left the restaurant, and then [Toney and his companions] paid our bill and left. Unbeknownst to us, the three individuals had gone around the corner to a car, grabbed a gun and waited for us outside the restaurant.

"They attempted to have another verbal confrontation [with us.] I tried to ignore them and walked away. I turned around and [the gunman] had started to lift up a gun from underneath his jacket. I was facing him directly about eight feet away. I turned sideways and he shot me and the bullet went through my shoulder, through my lung and chest and stopped about a quarter inch from my heart. I went down to the sidewalk," he continued. "The person we were having the party for tried to grab the gun, and he was shot in the neck. My lover Bobby jumped before the bullet that was meant for me when the gunman went to shoot me for the second time. ... Bobby ended up dying in my arms on the sidewalk."

Two of the individuals involved in the shooting were apprehended within 24 hours; the gunman was not captured until about two months later. Meanwhile, Toney was forced into retirement and to reevaluate his life.

"The budget was lodged in soft tissue around my heart. As I was recovering from the hospital, my physician told me I had one of two options: I could leave the bullet in and not do anything stressful for the rest of my life, or I could have surgery, with no guarantee I could make it through surgery, to have the bullet removed. ... I opted for the second and to have some quality of life as opposed to none. I said my good-byes to all my family members before I left for surgery in case I didn't survive," Toney said. "I went through the surgery and made it, but the shooting changed and shaped my life because I now do not take anything for granted. I do not sweat the little issues. It gave me a new perspective on life; I am here and here for a reason. I'm the only one who survived. There must be some reason why I am still here."

Community routes

Toney's roots in Worcester run deep. He was born and raised in the Central Massachusetts city and graduated from Holy Name High School and attended college at Quinsigamond Community College and Worcester State. He worked as a policeman for the Worcester Police Department for eight years before he was forced into early retirement. Today, he runs the Same Homes Project to address the growing needs of gay and lesbian youth who are homeless and still serves on the board of directors for AIDS Project Worcester.

Because of his years of community work in Worcester, Toney said people know him as a person and he has not received any criticism because of his sexual orientation.

"There are no more skeletons in my closet. Everyone knows that I am gay and has known for a while. It was beneficial to come out after I already established a name for myself," he said. "People have been very supportive. One of the things that people have seen through my actions over the years is that I am very much involved with a lot of boards and very much involved with a lot of community and neighborhood groups and activities. They have seen that I am an effective worker and I do have vision and I do care about the city and its citizens."

His work at the Safe Homes Project has enabled him to work on issues that are close to his heart, helping youth who are struggling with their sexual orientations and many who have been kicked out of their homes.

"I started [the Safe Homes Project] to provide homes for gay and bisexual youth, and we have foster-parenting and mentoring programs. We also opened up a drop-in center in Worcester that is open two days a week. We are now in the process of opening a building and our goal is to provide the first-of-its kind shelter for gay youth throughout the state. It's probably going to be a two-year process [until that is completed,]" he said.

The Safe Homes Project receives about one-to-two calls each week from either gay youth in need of services or social care workers who are in need of referrals for gay youth they are serving.

Because the program is less than two years old, a lot of people still aren't aware of its services, Toney said, adding that the rewards are the personal gratification of seeing many troubled youth set their lives back in the right direction.

"We have kids who have been out on the street who have been prostituting themselves for a place to stay, food and for money. We have been able to take kids who have dropped out of school and lost their jobs and got them into a safe supportive environment and get them jobs through connections in our business community. If the kids haven't gotten back to school, we helped them get their [general equivalency diplomas.] We have been able to connect to people," he said. "If we can help take care of their essential needs of food, shelter and housing, they can deal with their other adolescent needs and we can refer them to services."

There are now 13 candidates who are running for the City Council, which means the city may need to hold a primary election this September in order to weave the candidates down. Toney is one of six people running for the only at-large seat this is opening up. Final papers need to be submitted to the city's Elections Division by July 27, so more or less people may actually end up declaring their candidacies.

In order to run an effective campaign, Toney said he needs to raise about $25,000. So far, he has raised bout $7,500 through two fund-raisers. A July 28 spaghetti dinner fund-raiser will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the American Legion Main South Post, #341, 1023 Main St. in Worcester. Donations are $10 per person and $25 per family. For more information, call 508-853-3457.

(Toney's campaign can be contacted via Toney Consulting Service, 1A Idalla Ave., Worcester, MA 01606; you can also call 508-853-0430.)
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