Monthly Newsletter of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club
August 2005

Table of Contents

• Dates With Alice
• August Co-Chairs' Report: The Sleepy Days of Summer No More
• Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor: “S. P. E. C. I. A. L.   E. D. (Specious Pseudo Elections Cause Instant And Lasting Electoral Damage)”
• Introduction from Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting
• Senator Barbara Boxer: “Working for LGBT Civil Rights Legislation”
• And Castro 4 All Update
• Alice and NAAFA
• LGBT Economic Development Programs – Only at The SF LGBT Community Center!
• Alice Membership Form
  

Dates With Alice

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August Co-Chairs' Report
The Sleepy Days of Summer No More
by Laura Spanjian and Scott Wiener

For the love of…
Last week it was clear why we love San Francisco politics. Just when you think you have a political race figured out, it changes. Nothing ever stays what it seems. Nothing. And nothing is easy in this town.

But, really folks, that’s why we like it. If people ran unopposed all the time, or mayoral appointees never had a challenger, we’d move. Face it.

Now I’m not sure our friend Treasurer Jose Cisneros likes it, but I suppose a part of him does…just a little bit.

Why? Because now a sleepy Treasurer’s race is one of the hottest races in town this November. Cisneros will get to show San Francisco what he’s made of. And Alice is ready to help spread the word.

Cisneros, a former Alice Board member, has quickly shown San Franciscans he knows how to protect and invest their money, while still keeping the Treasurer’s office on the cutting edge of socially responsible investing. And his hands-on management and creativity have already generated two vital programs to help low-income, working families…including the Working Families Credit and Bank on San Francisco.

Cisneros has proven he’s smart, determined, hard-working, compassionate and creative. Now, in the heat of a campaign, he’ll be able to strut his other skills as well…his strength, composure under pressure and eloquence. Cisneros is ready for this race…no matter how many people decide to run against him.

Cisneros, one of the few city-wide LGBT elected officials in San Francisco, was endorsed by Alice earlier this year, and we’re ready to put the power of our members behind our name. This is just the kind of fun and hard work we like. Already, Alice board member Tom Runge has organized volunteers in the Castro. And Alice is starting to work on a fundraiser for Cisneros, with the Mayor’s help. And that’s just the beginning.

So, summer might not be officially over, but it’s over for Alice. To donate or volunteer on the campaign, e-mail us at info@alicebtoklas.org or e-mail Cisneros directly at his campaign (www.josecisneros.com).

And Let’s Not Stop There
That’s right. Another race important to Alice and the Mayor…the race to be the next Assessor-Recorder. After the sad departure of our friend, Mabel Teng, the Mayor appointed a smart and strong community leader and good friend of many Alice members: Phil Ting. Though Alice has not endorsed in this race yet, Ting’s record of accountability and leadership, as the former Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, make him a very strong contender for our endorsement.

Please join us on August 8 at the Alice General Membership meeting to meet Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and hear his plans for revitalizing an office that craves a strong, stable leader and manager.

It’s the Mayor, Stupid
We had a great meeting last week with Mayor Newsom, and his top-level staff, including Chief of Staff Steve Kawa, Policy Director Jullian Potter and District 8 Constituent Liaison Jimmer Cassiol.

Our discussion was wide-ranging, from the changes in Alice from the mid-nineties to today; our work with the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club; and the extremely mean-spirited initiatives that could repeal domestic partner benefits and permanently ban marriage protections for same-sex couples.

We also had a great brainstorming session which generated ideas to help us develop more venues for dialog on issues important to LGBT community members; actively cultivate and train Alice members to become public and elected officials; and recruit more young LGBT “non-insiders” to our club.

The Mayor was gracious and full of good ideas. He and his staff are committed to helping us expand our membership and continue to be a strong presence in San Francisco politics.

It’s About Marriage, Stupid
Signature gathering has started for 2006 ballot initiatives that could repeal domestic partner benefits and ban marriage for same-sex couples.

As Geoffrey Kors, Executive Director of Equality California, has said, “This extreme measure is nothing short of a nuclear weapon being launched at lesbian and gay Californians. It would totally wipe out all existing legal protections for legally recognized domestic partners and their children, leaving families vulnerable and placing children at risk.”

Equality California has been the lead organization working to fight these initiatives, but with signature gathering and fundraising kicking into full gear, a state-wide campaign team is being put together to work day and night to stop these initiatives from passing.

For more information on these initiatives or how you can volunteer or donate, contact www.eqca.org. Alice will keep you updated as the campaign moves forward.

Alice TO DOs in August:

1. E-mail us or Jose Cisneros at his campaign to volunteer or donate.


2. Attend our Membership Meeting on August 8 to meet newly appointed Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting.


3. Join the protest of SFBadlands every Saturday night at 10 pm (this is more important than ever with the sudden and surprising closing of the Pendulum in the Castro).


4. Go hang out at the LGBT Community Center if you haven’t been there in a while…it’s a great space.

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Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor
S. P. E. C. I. A. L.   E. D.
(Specious Pseudo Elections Cause Instant And Lasting Electoral Damage)
by Reese Aaron Isbell

So maybe we’ll have a Special Election; or, um, maybe we won’t. So maybe we’ll have 8 state ballot issues before us; or maybe it will be 7, or even 6, or maybe it’s back up to 7 again. In these days of nein and poses, our path emerges for a while, then closes, all within some freakish dream.

Perchance to hopeful dream we remember when we used to have faith in the electoral process. When an election meant the electorate was truly having their say, all the votes were properly counted, politicians would listen, and it was good. Or bad. But at least it was understood as the faithful process at hand.

Everything has changed it seems. There is a lack of trust in government’s ability to properly hear the voters. Obviously, this electoral crisis did not start with Arnold’s spurious call for a Special Election, although it was exacerbated by it. It did not even start with the specious call for and conduct of a Recall of our former governor, although all sense of proper democratic process was thrown out the window with that one.

Clearly the 2000 presidential dis-count was the highpoint of electoral disaster, but I would argue that it is also not the start of this surreal nightmare. While we have always had contested elections and partisan motivations, we are now witnessing a strategic devaluation of the vote. And that devaluation is causing hemorrhages throughout our system.

It’s possible that the Republicans first learned how to destroy the vote through psychological manipulations on voters’ fears over race in the 1960’s and beyond. Their ‘Southern Strategy’ was quite effective for their political fortunes by getting voters to vote against their own personal and financial interests in order to supposedly protect themselves against African-Americans. They have continually used this Strategy effectively throughout the years in the abortion wars, ‘family values’ campaigns, and recently against same-sex marriage.

Although I think it’s also important to note that even outside of elections, the Republicans have played a political game of target-and-destroy with any successful Democratic politicians and the ideals of the American politic. For instance, even when they could not defeat President Bill Clinton in 1996 for his re-election, they spent the rest of his term continually and systematically tearing him down—all the way to impeachment—in order to discredit him personally, Democrats in general, and our Democratic ideals throughout. When in 1998 the American voter fought back by successfully sending a message against the impeachment, the Republicans decided to attack even further the very institution for the voice of the public.

Looking to 2000, they made a devious, under-handed play to win the presidential election at all costs. They prepared by working within states to make sure that certain types of Democratically-leaning voters would be disenfranchised come Election Day. They made sure that these voters would not be able to have their voice heard. And after that maddening season of electoral fraud we Democrats had hoped and prayed that they would soon get their comeuppance. Instead, they wanted even more power and played even more parlor tricks to get it.

Even in California where they were ironically losing more and more of their influence, they had some backup strategies to distract the voter and hurt the system. First they worked to allow for the destruction of the state—literally in allowing Enron to profit on their illegal manipulation of the energy market and ending up shutting down power throughout the state. Second, they successfully laid the blame on a Democratic governor in hopes of doing another ‘impeachment’-style target-and-destroy operation within our state. Third, they used these operations to make the ultimate mockery of electoral democracy through a destructive and manipulative Recall to force their own agenda and say it’s the power of the people.

Destroying the power of the vote is the ultimate goal. When Arnold drove his photo-op Hummer to make the call for the Special Election, one could easily see it as simply another chapter in the ongoing playbook of the Republicans to supposedly give ‘power to the people’ while in reality making another manipulative fabrication of democracy. Happily, in California at least, this playbook is getting old with the voting public and the Special Election is falling apart. It’s our job to make sure that whether there is one this November or not, and for the 2006 elections and beyond, our messages of proper and faithful elections, the voice of every voter, large D and small d-democratic values, every vote counting, and truth in electioneering win out continuously. This is not easy, but we have seen what happens throughout our country when these fundamental pieces of liberty are allowed to be lost in a sea of special nightmarish circumstances.

Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.
Editor

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Introduction from Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting

Dear Alice Members,

I was proud to be sworn in by Mayor Gavin Newsom as the new City Assessor-Recorder on July 21st. I look forward to meeting with you to share my professional background and my plans for running the Assessor’s office with the highest level of integrity, fairness and effectiveness.

I believe the Office of Assessor-Recorder should be run without regard to politics. I bring my background in real estate, organizational management, civil rights and community organizing to that task.

As the former Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, I worked on civil rights issues including immigration, hate crimes, employment, housing, and voting outreach. The Asian Law Caucus is proud to be one of the only Asian civil rights organizations in the state to endorse marriage equality and I have served as an active member of the API Marriage Roundtable since its formation.

I am grateful for the support that Alice has given me in the past and look forward to discussing our mutual goals for the City.

Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting

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Senator Barbara Boxer
Working for LGBT Civil Rights Legislation

Dear Friends:

I wanted to share with you my support of two important bills that have been introduced in the United States Senate. These bills would make giant strides in creating a more equitable and safer country for all of our citizens. S. 1278 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide a mechanism for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their permanent partners for residence in the United States, and S. 1145 would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes.

S. 1278, the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, would allow a permanent partner to petition for permanent residency on behalf of his or her partner. Current U.S. law forces thousands of same-sex couples to be separated or live in legal limbo. They may face prosecution by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, including hefty fines and deportations. If enacted, this measure would entitle same-sex couples the same rights to petition for permanent residency as married couples today.

S. 1145, the Local Law Enforcement Act of 2005, would expand the categories under federal hate crimes to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability. It would also increase funding to better assist local law enforcement officials in investigating and prosecuting such crimes. This legislation, introduce by Senator Ted Kennedy, currently has 44 cosponsors in the Senate.

Although these bills are likely to face opposition, you can count on my support for their passage. The founders of our nation worked to create a more perfect union. In my view, the passage of these bills would be a step in that direction.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

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To respond to Senator Boxer, please visit the following link:
http://www.boxer.senate.gov/contact/feedback.cfm. This link will take you to a webpage where you can contact Senator Boxer’s office.

For more information on Senator Boxer's record and other information, please go to: http://www.boxer.senate.gov

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And Castro 4 All Update
by John Newsome

After a year of "bar politics" (and B.A.R. politics), the Truth can seem less and less important.

"Well, yeah... Les Natali violated the civil rights of our brothers and sisters, and reinforced the de facto segregation of our community... But the protests have gone on too long/these activists are unreasonable/some other excuse..."

I hope everyone at Alice, and everyone in our community, will join me in saying, and believing -- with all the conviction in the world -- that our most basic civil rights, and our community, matter far too much for such excuses. That, sometimes, the Truth matters most when it's the most unpopular. And that Truth and, ultimately, Justice are well worth the effort.

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Excerpt from "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I received a letter this morning from a white brother in Texas which said: 'All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you are in too great of a religious hurry. It has taken Christianity almost 2000 years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth.'

All that is said here grows out of a tragic misconception of time. It is the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually time is neutral. It can be used either destructively or constructively. I am coming to feel that the people of ill-will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity…

One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, courageously and with a majestic sense of purpose, facing jeering and hostile mobs and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer... They will be the young high school and college students, young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders courageously and nonviolently sitting-in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience's sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, and thusly, carrying our whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in the formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence…"

For the complete text of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, as well as other essays and speeches, please visit: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/popular_requests

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Alice and NAAFA
by Carole Cullum

NAAFA, the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance, is having its 2005 national conference at the San Mateo Marriott (San Francisco Airport Hotel) August 10-15. Carole Cullum, past co-chair of Alice and new Alice member, Marilyn Wann, have both served on the Board of Directors of NAAFA.

Fighting discrimination based on weight, Alice joined NAAFA several years ago in urging our Board of Supervisors to pass important legislation in San Francisco banning discrimination based on weight and height, making SF the 3rd city in the Country with this forward thinking legislation. NAAFA, who've also been active in coalition in the Castro4All work, thanks Alice for its continuing support.

For more information about the conference, call Carole at 415 550 8555.

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LGBT Economic Development Programs – Only at The SF LGBT Community Center!
by Ken Stram

Accurate information about the economic condition of the LGBT community is hard to come by. A seminal report by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC) in November 2000, however, found that, while there is a widespread perception of “gay affluence,” LGBT individuals and households fall across the economic spectrum and that discrimination threatens the economic development of the LGBT Community. The report noted a wide array of economic barriers for LGBT people, among them: (1) the economic effects of discrimination are experienced in areas including employment and housing, as well as access to health care and education; (2) in comparison with the overall population, transgender people face extreme difficulties in finding and retaining employment, showing astronomical rates of unemployment; (3) LGBT people are often isolated and cut off from families of origin and less likely to be able to access the financial support typically provided by families; and (4) studies have suggested that nearly 50% of the gay male population in San Francisco is HIV+, and that HIV infection rates are rising for women, young people, and people of color.

To the degree that hard statistics regarding these barriers are available, they primarily address employment discrimination – and they are alarming. For example: female same-sex couples bring home 18-20% less income than a similar married couple; transgender people face unemployment rates as high as 70%; gay men make 4% to 7% less than their average heterosexual counterparts; and people with HIV/AIDS have limited employment choices.

Employment discrimination is especially insidious, because most people spend the majority of the day at work and depend on paid employment for sustenance. Employment discrimination might help to explain why the average stay of a gay man in San Francisco is four years, and the rate of homeownership is 6% among members of the LGBT community. Employment discrimination undermines our community, because it prevents us from putting down deeper roots and become a more stable, self-sustaining community.

The findings, insights, and conclusions of the HRC report were used to outline an economic development program for the LGBT community, and the program finally became a reality last year thanks primarily to Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who got a $75,000 seed grant from the Mayor’s Office of Community Development. The funds went to The Center to support a three-pronged program, including a workforce development program, a business and micro-enterprise development program, and a financial growth and development program, which is now in its second year.

Workforce Development and Empowerment: This program, launched in 2003, currently provides a spectrum of services to help job-seekers at all levels of experience, including: free walk-in one-on-one employment counseling services; self-help take-away materials including lists of current job openings; group workshops, classes, and presentations on job search techniques, interview skills, self-marketing, and resume writing; and job fairs and networking events that bring job applicants together with employers. This program also provides workshops and information for employers on creating and maintaining diverse workplaces and specific non-discrimination legal issues related to LGBT employees. Users of the services – both job-seekers and employers – have given them overwhelmingly favorable reviews, and numerous job-seekers have already found employment through this service. To date, more than 1,700 job seekers have attended job fairs at The Center, and the complete list of employers who have attended the job fairs reads like a Who’s Who of Fortune 500 companies. We also partnered with San Francisco Transgender Empowerment Advocacy and Mentorship (SFTEAM) to hold the first-ever transgender job fair, which was attended by 150 job seekers. Employers participate in the job fairs because they recognize a great opportunity to reach talented employees. They also understand that workplace strategies addressing discrimination against LGBT employees can enhance corporate reputation, increase job satisfaction, and boost competitiveness. The Center’s next job fair will take place on October 5, 2005.

Business and Micro-enterprise Development: The overall goal of this program is to create jobs and to help LGBT-run businesses to thrive. The program targets low to moderate income LGBT small business owners and individuals exploring starting a small business, offering one-on-one assistance, workshops, technical assistance with development of business plans, marketing, financial management, personnel management, and assistance with financing/loan packaging. We work in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Community Development, local banks, and the Small Business Administration to assist business owners in obtaining loans and financial services. We have already helped two clients launch new businesses, Bikram Yoga Castro at 301 Eureka Street (at 20th) 415.821.YOGA owned by LaMott Atkins, and Four Wet Feet dog grooming at 4599 18th Street (at Clover) (415) 701-PAWS, owned by Robert Fullmer. We are working with approximately 50 active clients and hope to make a minimum of 8 business loans this fiscal year. The Center is also working with the transgender community to address transgender employment needs through small business development.

Financial Growth and Development: A focused community needs assessment undertaken with the pro bono assistance of Deloitte Consulting found that there is a strong and widespread need for financial education for the community, ranging from basic financial management and credit counseling to issues about asset building and estate planning specific to same-sex couples (and especially new opportunities offered by domestic partnership), from home ownership to the specific economic needs and concerns of HIV+ people and LGBT elders. In response, The Center is piloting an ongoing series of financial education workshops designed to help LGBT individuals and LGBT-headed families to develop their capacity for financial management, financial planning, and asset-building, in a context that recognizes the particular legal and economic challenges that same-sex couples and their families face around finances due to lack of access to the rights associated with marriage. We are currently planning our fall series of events, which will be kicked off in September with a well-publicized keynote address and panel discussion.

Together, these programs meet an identified need and fill a significant gap in available services in San Francisco. If you or someone you know is looking for a job, interested in starting a business, concerned about managing their debt, desirous of purchasing a home, or ready to start saving and planning for retirement, please tell them about the Economic Development Programs at The Center. The Center is the only community center in the nation with a publicly supported economic development department for the LGBT Community, and we hope to provide a community model to cities and LGBT centers worldwide. So long as our community is under attack socially and politically, eliminating barriers to economic opportunity is critical.

Contact Economic Development Director Ken Stram, kens@sfcenter.org, or Workforce Development Coordinator David Bach, davidb@sfcenter.org, for more information.

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Alice Membership Form

Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
1800 Market Street PMB#18
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415-707-2010
www.alicebtoklas.org
Alice Reports Editor: Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.

General Membership Meeting 2nd Monday of each month

Month of August:
Monday, August 08, 2005
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

LGBT Community Center
1800 Market Street @ Octavia

You can now join online www.alicebtoklas.org/abt/joinonline.asp, or fill out the application below

Membership Application

Yes, I want to join the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club!

__$35 Regular
__$100 Supporter
__$250 Sponsor
__$500 Champion
__$20 Special Needs
__Other

__I am renewing my membership        __I will be a new member

__I am a registered Democrat

Name ______________________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________

City ____________________________________State: ______Zip: _____________

Phone: Day __________________________Eve: _____________________________

Email: _________________________________________

Please send checks payable to “Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club” and mail to:

Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
1800 Market Street, PMB#18
San Francisco, CA 94102

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