Monthly Newsletter of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club
September 2007

Table of Contents

• Dates With Alice


• Co-Chairs' Report


• Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor: "The Blinds Leading the Blind"


• On the Mark in Sacramento with Assemblyman Mark Leno


• Alice Membership Form

Dates With Alice

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September Co-Chairs' Report

Both Julius and I urge the Alice membership to support the early endorsement for Tom Ammiano for State Assembly.  

Tom Ammiano has fought for LGBT issues for over thirty years.  He came out in the mid-1970's to the San Francisco Board of Education in a fight to include sexual orientation in the District's non-descrimination clause.  At that time, the battle was lost but only to be won a year later.  Ammiano worked on the Briggs Initiative, which for those who are not aware, was a statewide initiative to prevent lgbt people from teaching in public schools.  

His electoral career began in the 90's, when Ammiano won a seat on the Board of Education, serving as its president twice, in 1992 and 1994.  In 1994, Ammiano won a citywide seat on the Board of Supervisors.  At that time, there was a lavender sweep, with both LGBT clubs working together to elect Tom Ammiano, Susan Leal, and Carole Migden to the Board, as well as Leslie Katz and Lawrence Wong to the College Board.  He also served as the Board's President from 1998-2002.  

Ammiano's legislative record is hefty, with accomplishments such as Healthy San Francisco (a universal health care access plan), the Living Wage Ordinance, the Domestic Partners Ordinance to name a few.  

We believe the Club should support Ammiano for Assembly.  He has the experience, talent, and leadership to bring San Francisco to the next level.  Our own Assemblymember Mark Leno is co-chairing Ammiano's campaign.  Ammiano's election would also serve the state's LGBT caucus by ensuring another member to its group.  While historically Alice has not necessarily supported Ammiano in the past, we believe this is the time to put things behind us.  

Onto this season's election cycle, while the Mayor is running strong and the DA is unopposed, Alice will continue our efforts to register voters and remind voters that the election cycle is upon us.  If you are interested in volunteering any Saturday morning from 10a to 2p at Café Flore, please contact Alex Randolph at alexrandolph 'at' gmail 'dot' com (please type in this email using the '@' and '.' symbols).  

Come out with Alice!!  Alice plans to hold our Fall Fundraiser on Thursday, October 11, 2007 (National Coming Out Day).  Stay tuned for details and honorees.

Rebecca Prozan and Julius Turman
Alice B. Toklas Co-Chairs

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Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor
The Blinds Leading the Blind
by Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.

I've written before about how I'm not very good with technology and gadgetry. It's still true. There's this space in my brain that's missing that element of ability or knowledge. I usually start out with some thought that, 'yes, I can do this!' and then I begin to utilize this area of my brain and there's some misdirection with the nodules and impulses and such and all I get out of my brain is 'that does not compute.' And honestly, I go blind. I cannot see instructions or logic any longer. Everything is blurry and mixed up in my head.

So this last month my dear friend helped me put together my new computer and switch over all the files from my old one to the new. If I didn't have him to help me with these things I swear I would be still writing on typewriters--and even then worrying about the time when the tape runs out.

But more to the point of this column, I had another episode which emphasized my inabilities. I bought new blinds for my home windows. And of course I started out very excited and fully functional in the theory of putting those up on the windows myself. I mean, they came with instructions, I had the tools, even a drill--thank you Father!--and I had the will.

But then came the actual time when I was standing on the window sill and putting the brackets in place for the new blinds, and, suddenly, my mind went blank. 'does not compute' 'does not compute' cannot function anymore, can't see anything in front of me, must sleep... bleh.

So there I was holding a bracket in one hand, laying my head on the other, and falling into a deep sleep on my bed while my window stayed blind-less. My window was as open as that space in my brain that doesn't compute. I was vulnerable and without knowledge. I was back in my state of dysfunction.

So, what to do? Well, while I wished my father was visiting town right now and while I wished my mom would make me some toast and while I kept remembering that, gosh, geez, I'm an adult and I can take care of myself, I just laid there helplessly. Well, luckily I have friends. Friends who will help. And so a dear friend came over one day recently, took out my tools, and put my blinds up while I 'helped.' Yeah, I know, kinda pathetic. Very pathetic. It's these little things that remind me of my loser-aptitudes.

But then, where would any of us be without our friends and family? There has always been sometime in our lives where we've depended on another. And those of us in the LGBT community in particular have looked to friends who would be there if and when are family or so-called 'friends' turned away from us when we revealed a fuller life to them about ourselves.

I do need to get stronger about these types of mechanical and manual activities. I really do. And I plan to. Right after I finish this column. I swear. But regardless, we are all in this life together and it's good to know that I have a friend or two I can find to help when the chips, or in this case the blinds, are down.

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On the Mark in Sacramento
by Assemblyman Mark Leno

(Editor's Note: The following was featured as an Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 10, 2007. The California budget was finally passed the legislature on August 21)

Dear Alice Friends,

As our state legislature continues to struggle with the passage of its annual budget, it is too easy for many of us to forget that millions of children, elderly, poor and disabled Californians are already experiencing significant hardship in their lives as a result of the delay. Medi-Cal funds have been frozen. Child care providers, adult day care centers, medical transport services and hundreds of hospitals are currently not receiving the state support upon which their budgets have been designed. Even California's 72 community college districts will have to do without an expected $327 million.

So why is it that over the past 20 years our legislature has missed its deadline of a signed budget by June 30th thirteen times? As noted recently in a San Francisco Chronicle editorial, California is one of just three states in the nation, Rhode Island and Arkansas being the other two, which requires a super majority vote of 66% to pass its budget. This means that one-third of the legislature can literally veto that which two-thirds desires. The United States Congress passes its budget with a simple majority vote. The California State Association of Counties and the California League of Cities confirm that not one of our 58 counties and few if any cities have a similar requirement. With nearly every state in the nation and all of California's local governmental agencies eschewing this super majority threshold, why do we require this added burden of our legislature? Why do we continue to allow the demands of a small minority of lawmakers to halt the governmental operations of the eighth largest economy in the world?

The answer to the first question is steeped in Great Depression era history. In 1933, voter passage of the Riley-Stewart amendment significantly overhauled the state's fiscal system. The centerpiece of the amendment dealt with taxation but it also impacted the budget requiring a two-thirds majority vote for budget passage when it grew more than 5% over the previous year. As the economy returned to long periods of expansion, the super majority threshold became the status quo leading voters to drop the 5% growth formula in 1962, leaving us with our current predicament. Clearly it is time to revisit this historical anomaly. Additionally, it was Proposition 13 in 1978 which added the two-thirds majority requirement for the passage of any tax increase.

The answer to the second question is both easier and more complex than the first. We continue to allow for this minority tyranny simply because voters have not reversed the decision made at the ballot box in 1962, though not for lack of trying. In 2004, Proposition 56 would have lowered the majority to pass both the budget and tax increases to 55%. Did voters not understand the poor reasoning and dangerous unintended consequences of the two-thirds requirement or were they concerned that by lowering the necessary percentage to 55% their taxes may have more readily been raised? My guess is that both suppositions are likely true. Certainly the opposition's 15 second television commercials stating that "if you want Democrats to raise your taxes, vote for Proposition 56" played to that fear. Of course, no party in Sacramento would cavalierly raise taxes, for the ramifications of such an act could be devastating in the next election. How to explain to voters in a brief commercial the impact of our 66% requirement is a much greater challenge.

Depression era policy making haunts us to this day. Clearly, voters need to be better educated about the operations of their state government but how is that accomplished with an ever more disenfranchised electorate? Can the internet and blogosphere help us in this task? Would a grass roots campaign of town hall meetings or an investment in educational television spots grab voters' attention? The people need to know how out of step California is with the rest of the nation and even with its own local governments. Even conservative leader Senator Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, supports scrapping the two-thirds vote requirement in favor of a simple majority so that the party in power is held completely responsible for the budget.

The idea that a single legislator of the minority party can cause such suffering to millions of Californians is appalling. Maybe if the deadlock continues for another month or two, recognizing the risk that would present thousands of social service providers, voters will more quickly understand that it is time to change the way we do business and enter into the 21st century.

Mark Leno
www.MarkLeno.com

P.S. Be sure to also check out the Summer edition of the "Leno Report."

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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.

Month of September: Membership Meeting, September 10

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