| Related Links |
|
Evans withdraws support for proposed Office of GLBT Affairs 10/04/02 GLAA to Council: Oppose creation of an Office of GLBT Affairs 09/10/02 |
GLAA to Council: Oppose reintroduction of bill
to create Office of GLBT Affairs
GAY & LESBIAN ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE OF WASHINGTONFighting for Equal Rights Since 1971
P.O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
Thursday, February 27, 2003
Dear Councilmember:
It has come to our attention that the Mayor's Special Assistant for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, Wanda Alston, has been organizing a letter writing campaign to push for the reintroduction of Bill 14-719 to create an Office of GLBT Affairs. We encourage you to resist this effort and withhold support for such a reintroduction.
Last fall, it quickly became clear that the city's projected FY 2003 budget shortfall made spending on a new office unrealistic. At a September 25 meeting with his GLBT Advisory Committee in which he discussed new budget balancing efforts, Mayor Williams said bluntly of the proposed office, "It's not going to happen." On October 7, we learned that Councilmember Graham had canceled his planned October 16, 2002 hearing on Bill 14-719 at the Mayor's request. While GLAA opposes the proposed office in principle and not only for financial reasons, we commended these constructive actions by Mayor Williams and Councilmember Graham which acknowledged that our city, including the gay community, has greater priorities.
We can think of many needs that should take precedence for our limited public dollars over the establishment of what we regard as an inherently political office: HIV/AIDS prevention and services, mental health services, addiction recovery services, adequate staffing and supervision of 911 operators, helping the homeless, rebuilding blighted neighborhoods like the one in Marshall Heights where transgendered teens Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis were murdered last summer, funding an elected Attorney General that would be more responsive to our community than either the Corporation Counsel or the U.S. Attorney, and protecting the Office of Human Rights from budget cuts at a time when it is just getting back on its feet and reducing the case backlog. We are at a loss to understand how anyone could suggest that any of these needs should take a back seat to yet another bit of taxpayer-funded political patronage.
There is, perhaps, some nice symbolism in setting up an Office of GLBT Affairs, but we are well past the need for symbolism at this point. Gay people are well integrated into District polity with representation at all levels of DC Government, including two councilmembers.
We certainly agree about the importance of ensuring equal access for GLBT persons to city services, and indeed significant progress has been made on this score. While we have found it more effective to make direct contacts with District officials than to go through a gatekeeper, we recognize the value of an ombudsman. But a neutral ombudsman, whose job is to facilitate government responsiveness to people's needs and complaints, is a far cry from a separate political operation that presumes to organize the GLBT community from within the Mayor's office.
Last October 4, our good friend and longstanding ally, Councilmember Jack Evans, withdrew his name as a co-introducer of Bill 14-719. We urge you to follow his wise example and oppose this unnecessary bill should it be reintroduced in Council Session 15.
Sincerely,
Kevin Davis
President
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
cc: Mayor Anthony Williams
Wanda Alston
The Washington Blade
Metro Weekly
City Paper
Current