Washington Blade - May 17, 2002
Lou Chibbaro Jr.

But some gay activists surprised Graham last week when they expressed opposition to the idea on ground that gay city residents already had sufficient access to the mayor and city agencies and departments and don't need an extra layer of bureaucracy to achieve their political objectives.

"I'd rather see the money used for AIDS or for a gay community center," said Carlene Cheatam, president of the D.C. Coalition, a local group representing African-American gays.

Cheatam, speaking for herself and not the coalition, said the city's gay community has already established itself as an influential political force and voting bloc and doesn't need a new office devoted solely to gay issues.

"We expect, and I think we can obtain, the services and responses we need for all city agencies," Cheatam said.

Graham said he doesn't dispute Cheatam's assertion that gays have become a prominent force in city politics but said a gay affairs office, with a support staff and a budget, would increase the gay community's advocacy in local government.

"We're recognized as an important group, but we still have issues that need attention," Graham said. "I don't know how this can do anything but strengthen our hand."

Graham's bill, called the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Issues Act of 2002, calls for creating "within the District of Columbia government a single administrative unit, responsible to the mayor, to administer such programs ... to promote the welfare of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community."

The bill says an executive director appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the D.C. Council would head the office. It says the salary of the executive director would be equal to or above a D.C. government pay grade of DS-15, which is about $60,000. Graham's bill says the executive director would have "such staff as is approved in the D.C. budget and federal or private grants, plus any temporary staff approved by the Office of Budget & Resource Development."

Graham said he modeled his legislation on similar bills that created a D.C. Office of Latino Affairs and an Office of Asian-Pacific Islander Affairs.

He noted that Mayor Williams, in effect, created a one-person GLBT office in 2000, when he established a full-time position of special assistant to the mayor for GLBT affairs. Williams hired veteran gay activist Phil Pannell to fill that position and after he resigned to take a job as chief of staff for D.C. school board president Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Williams appointed lesbian activist Wanda Alston to the post.

Graham said his bill would institutionalize Alston's position by making it a part of the city government. He said he envisions a modest budget for the office, which Graham said would provide for a director and one or more staff members to assist the director. He said he would expect Williams to name Alston as the director if his bill passes the D.C. Council.

Support from council, community

Graham said D.C. Council member Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5), who chairs the Council committee with jurisdiction over the bill, has agreed to co-sponsor the measure. Orange has said he would call for a hearing on the bill and seek a full council vote on the measure as soon as the body's legislative calendar would allow.

Republican David Catania, the Council's other openly gay member, said he's inclined to favor the bill but wants to meet with Graham to discussed details of the proposal before making a final decision.

"This formalizes the status quo," said Kurt Vorndran, president of the gay Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. "It prevents the position Wanda now holds from being eliminated in the future by another mayor."

Vorndran said most of the city's gay activist leaders support the bill. Cheatam, however, isn't the only voice of opposition. Bob Summersgill, president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, told members of Williams' gay community advisory committee on May 6 that GLAA has "strong reservations" over the Graham bill.

According to Summersgill, GLAA is concerned that creating a GLBT office within the office of the mayor could reduce the incentive by officials with city agencies and departments to address gay issues. Like Cheatam, Summersgill said the city's gay political groups are capable of effectively lobbying the city on gay and AIDS related issues.

Jeff Coudriet, former president of both GLAA and the Stein Club, said he saw no point in creating a GLBT office "other than making the government bigger."

"We already know how to advance our concerns with the city," Coudriet said. Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, who serves as an informal adviser to Williams on gay issues, said he was persuaded to support the bill after Graham agreed to remove a provision that created a 15-member Commission on LGBT Issues, which would serve as an advisory body. Rosenstein and other activists said existing gay community groups, and a gay advisory committee Williams created three years ago, already serve that purpose.

"What Jim's bill would do is make permanent the one-person office we already have and allow the mayor to improve it," said Rosenstein. "It would not let the city agencies off the hook," he said. "It would improve our ability to improve the agencies' response to our concerns."

News reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. can be reached at lchibbaro@washblade.com.

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