8/19/2023 0 Comments Barney frank on bernie sanders![]() “Being represented gives you a seat at the table.” “Having people who are openly gay or lesbian is essential,” he said. Have we reached the point where alternative sexuality is so commonplace that it isn’t necessary to elect a gay representative? Frank doesn’t think so. But gay Supervisor David Campos is termed out this year, and both candidates for his job are straight. There have been two gay or lesbian members on the Board of Supervisors since 2000. San Francisco may have been ahead of the curve, but it’s interesting to think that this election may leave the city with the fewest LGBT representatives in years. If Wiener loses, he’ll finish his term and leave office after the 2018 election, and it’s almost certain that a gay candidate will win the LGBT-heavy District Eight race.īut with widespread acceptance of LGBT individuals, it’s a new day in American politics. ![]() ![]() Of course, if Wiener wins, Mayor Ed Lee will appoint another LGBT supervisor to fill the seat, and the line will continue. The election of Milk in 1977 to the Board of Supervisors started an unbroken line of nearly 40 years with at least one gay or lesbian representative on the board. Meanwhile in San Francisco, a movement was under way. Chris Dodd crafted the landmark Dodd-Frank legislation, which imposed financial regulation on federal agencies. “If you only wanted to do LGBT issues, you wouldn’t be working much,” he said.įrank eventually became chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, and with Connecticut Sen. House of Representatives in 1980, he recognized that he couldn’t be a one-issue politician. I might as well have tried to pass legislation allowing me to levitate.” “And it didn’t take long to get defeated. “In the ’70s in the (Massachusetts) Legislature, I introduced gay-rights legislation,” Frank said. Significantly, Frank didn’t make his mark by crusading for gay issues. “When people started coming out, it was a case of reality beating prejudice.” “When no one was coming out, there was no way to refute these terrible stereotypes,” Frank said. He was a big, big deal in Congress.”įrank’s theory is that when more and more men and women announced their sexual orientation, it changed the conversation. “When you’re a gay man, you get stereotyped as not being strong enough,” Wiener said. Smart, witty and fearlessly blunt, Frank was also a reply to the tired gay cliches. As a young, gay man, that was significant to me.” He was a gay man in public office at a time when it was a heckuva lot harder than it is today. ![]() “After Harvey Milk, he was the leading LGBT figure on the national stage. “I’ve been following him since I was a teenager,” Wiener said. Gabrielle Lurie / Special to The Chronicle 2016 ![]() Supervisor Scott Wiener, who is running for State Senate posed for a photo with Supervisor David Chiu (center) during Wiener's election party, at Blackbird, in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, June 7, 2016. For Wiener, having Frank’s support is especially meaningful. He’s sort of the gay version of Kim supporter Bernie Sanders. Mark Leno, who is gay, now holds the seat but is termed out.įrank is in town Thursday to support Wiener’s campaign. Yet we should take note of this: If Supervisor Scott Wiener loses this year’s election for state Senate against Supervisor Jane Kim, it will be the first time since 1996 that San Francisco hasn’t elected at least one LGBT representative to the state Legislature. “When I got married (to longtime partner Jim Ready in 2012), my marriage polled better than the financial reform package.”īeing a gay politician isn’t remarkable anymore, especially in San Francisco. “It reached the point where being gay was more socially acceptable than being a politician,” he said this week. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |