When The Blade asked Paterson last year whether he’d be in the fight
for marriage equality, he responded: “I’m not going to be in that
fight—I’m going to be in front of that fight.” AP photo.
Diverse activists and allies lobby Albany for LGBT causes, including GENDA and Marriage Equality. But that’s not the real power of Equality & Justice Day.
An emotional West Village vigil marks the national Day of Silence and a slain teenager.
Aesthetic Realists wrest $4,000 in state funds for a program that allegedly teaches art to Brooklyn senior citizens. But the group has a history of “converting” gays to heterosexuals.
War, the economy and health care matter more to a majority of LGB voters.
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By Trenton Straube
Friday, March 07, 2008
In June 2007, as the state Assembly was about to vote on same-sex marriage equality, David Paterson did something extraordinary: as lieutenant governor, he walked onto the floor and personally reassured, encouraged and cajoled lawmakers to pass the bill.
And this is just one of many instances when Paterson showed staunch and vocal support for LGBT equality.
“This is a guy who couldn’t be more gay friendly,” said Ethan Geto, a democratic political consultant and gay activist. “He’s an enormous ally.”
At any time, that’s good news for the gay community. But this week, it’s great news for the gay community.
Lt. Gov. Paterson, 53, will become the state’s 55th governor, replacing Eliot Spitzer, who resigned, effective Monday, March 17. (For anyone just tuning in to the Albany soap opera: The role of “Mr. Clean” is now being played by “Client 9,” as Spitzer was identified in a high-end prostitution sting.)
Salacious jokes aside, Spitzer was an important ally to the community—he made good on a campaign promise and introduced the marriage equality bill in April—so it’s a relief that we have not lost a supporter in Gov. Paterson.
In fact, Paterson may prove to be a better champion in the long run because he can exert his influence and considerable diplomacy where it’s most needed: the state senate. And as New York’s first African-American governor, he is in the unique position to reach a population often at odds with gay issues: the black community.
“He supports a very robust civil rights agenda for the LGBT community,” Paterson Chief of Staff Charles O’Byrne said.
At an inauguration party for Paterson last January, The Blade asked whether he’d be helping in the fight for marriage equality. Paterson’s response: “I’m not going to be in that fight—I’m going to be in front of that fight because my first day as [Senate Minority Leader] was the day we passed the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA).”
Paterson worked in the Senate to pass a hate crimes bill in 2000. He also advocates protecting transgender people from discrimination—on the state level, he supports the Gender Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA); on the federal level, he backs a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Add to that list, the statewide anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act and same-sex marriage equality.
Statewide gay advocacy group Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) endorsed Paterson many times. “Paterson’s leadership is a story of commitment to civil liberties and human rights,” ESPA said via a release. “He believes in equality and justice for all New Yorkers and has demonstrated this time and time again in both words and actions. He has been a strong and consistent friend of the LGBT community ever since he was elected to public office.”
To refresh your memory: Paterson, who will become the nation’s first legally blind governor, has been a state senator since 1985, representing parts of the Upper West Side and Harlem. He was elected Senate Minority Leader in 2002, a post he left to become lieutenant governor in January ’07.
His senate leadership is important because that Republican-controlled chamber has blocked all gay-friendly legislation. For example, the Democratic-controlled Assembly passed marriage equality 85-61 in June. Neither that bill nor GENDA has seen a floor vote in the Senate, a scenario unlikely to change under current Republican Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Thus, the Democrat’s overriding goal has been to gain control of the Senate—and they’re close. After a special election this February in North County, in which Democrat Darrell Aubertine won what was a GOP spot, the Republican lead dwindled to a single seat (the count is now 30–32).
“It is my belief that same-sex marriage cannot pass while Republicans are running the state Senate,” Paterson told The Blade last January. “They will probably take that quote and use it in some of their campaigns, but I am speaking truth to power and hoping that citizens are going to get it.”
Paterson himself has aggressively worked to earn a Democratic majority. “He is unequivocally committed to winning the senate,” O’Byrne said. “If you look at Paterson’s immediate past, as a legislative leader he has won three seats from Bruno.”
And here’s the kicker: despite their opposition, Bruno and Paterson retain a good working relationship. “They are personal friends,” O’Byrne noted.
Geto attributes this to Paterson being a “cordial, friendly guy who tries to negotiate.”
Such traits make Paterson well suited to speak for LGBT issues, particularly in the Senate, where a majority of lawmakers must be wooed.
“Without taking anything away from Spitzer, Paterson is much more conciliatory, a much warmer personality—he’s more of a diplomat, more collaborative, and he’s very well-liked,” said Democratic consultant Geto. “I think he will wind up being a better leader, figurehead and public persona for the Democratic State Senate candidates to identify with.”
Compare that with the argumentative “steamroller” Spitzer, who despite his 2006 landslide win, had sunk in approval ratings after being accused of using state troopers to investigate rival Bruno.
But Paterson’s likeability doesn’t translate to an automatic win for marriage equality. “You’ve got a hardcore group of Republican state senators who aren’t going to support marriage,” Geto explained. Can Paterson bring them around to gay marriage? “Probably not,” Geto ventured, adding that if a Republican Senator feels politically comfortable enough to possibly go with marriage—if they perceive their own survival in their districts—then Paterson “could do an excellent job in closing the deal.”
Not that LGBT issues are confined to gay marriage. Paterson, Geto said, views gay rights in the broader context of civil rights. That viewpoint has left him in conflict with some in the African-American community, where the issue of homosexuality remains divisive (witness the flap presidential hopeful Barack Obama caused by allowing “ex-gay” minister Donnie McClurkin to speak at a gospel fundraising event).
Others in that community resent the common comparison of the gay civil rights movement with the black civil rights movement. “Paterson has consistently taken the position—he has stated in public over and over again in front of black audiences in Harlem as well as in front of other groups—that civil rights is civil rights,” Geto said. “[Paterson believes that] civil rights for African Americans was the cutting-edge civil rights issue of his father’s generation, and that gay rights is the cutting edge civil rights issue of this generation.”
“He’s a terrific ally,” Geto said. “I don’t think we’ll lose anything in this transition.”
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