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Human Rights Campaign ~ HRC
 
HRC Political Equality Update
September 25, 2002
 

2002 Primary Elections Results

Eleven states and Washington, D.C., held congressional and state primaries on Sept. 10. Below are results from some key races.

Arizona

CD-7: In the new Tucson-based 7th District, Democrats Raul Grijalva, a Pima County supervisor, and state Rep. Elaine Richardson competed for the party seat in a heavily Democratic area. Grijalva, who won, is a supporter of gay-, lesbian-, bisexual- and transgender-friendly legislation and will be a friend to the GLBT community.

Governor: As expected, Arizona Democratic Attorney General Janet Napolitano won the party's nomination for governor, while former Republican Rep. Matt Salmon -- who has consistently scored 0 percent on HRC's congressional scorecards, rating members of Congress on their votes GLBT issues -- will head the GOP ticket.

Florida

CD-13: Former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris won the GOP nomination in the very Republican 13th District.

Governor: Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno narrowly lost the Democratic nomination to Tampa lawyer Bill McBride for the opportunity to take on Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

Maryland

CD-1: Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest fended off a challenge from attorney Dave Fischer, who had the backing of the National Rifle Association and the conservative Club for Growth. Fischer's campaign attempted to use Gilchrest's support of gay issues against him.

CD-2: For the Democratic nomination, Baltimore County Executive C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger easily defeated businessman Oz Bengar to face former Republican Rep. Helen Delich Bentley on Nov. 5. Bently consistently scored poorly on HRC scorecards during her U.S. House tenure.

CD-8: State Sen. Chris Van Hollen narrowly defeated state Del. Mark Shriver and former White House official Ira Shapiro to win the Democratic nomination. Van Hollen will take on Republican Rep. Connie Morella in November.

Governor: Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend will face Republican Rep. Bob Ehrlich in the general election. Ehrlich scored 10 percent with HRC in the 106th Congress and 33 percent in the 1st Session of the 107th Congress.

New Hampshire

Senate: Rep. John Sununu defeated Sen. Bob Smith 54 percent to 45 percent for the Republican spot on the Senate ticket. Sununu will take on Democratic nominee Gov. Jeanne Shaheen on Nov. 5. Smith and Sununu have scored zeros on HRC's last two scorecards, while Shaheen signed into law two fair measures -- one that repealed the state's adoption ban for gays and lesbians and another that outlawed job discrimination for gays and lesbians.

CD-2: Rep. Charlie Bass fended off ultra-conservative Gene Douglas in the Republican primary, where Bass' support for gay adoption became a campaign issue.

North Carolina

Senate: Former Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Dole won 80 percent of the GOP primary vote in her bid to succeed Jesse Helms in the Senate. Democrats chose former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles (43 percent) over state Rep. Dan Blue (28 percent) and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (15 percent).

CD-13: State Sen. Brad Miller was successful in his race to be the Democratic nominee from North Carolina's new 13th District. Miller worked with the GLBT group Equality North Carolina on many issues, and they have endorsed his candidacy in the past. Miller defeated a former U.S. representative and other North Carolina legislators in his primary bid. Miller is favored to win the general election in this heavily Democratic district.

Rhode Island

Mayor of Providence: Openly gay candidate David Cicilline won the Democratic spot on the mayoral ticket. Cicilline, a state representative, is favored to win the office in November.

Wisconsin

CD-2: Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin will face ultra-conservative, anti-gay Republican Ron Greer in November. Greer, a firefighter who lost the 1998 nomination, has an anti-gay record and is seeking to defeat Baldwin because she is an openly gay member of Congress. Baldwin has scored 100 percent on HRC's congressional scorecard since she was elected in the 106th Congress.

For updates on ballot initiatives, see the "Spotlight on the States" section of Equality Update.

For more information on election 2002 and HRC's campaign work, visit HRC's Campaign 2002.

HRC Expresses Concern to President about Faith-Based Initiative

The Human Rights Campaign sent President Bush a letter Sept. 18 expressing concern over news reports that the administration may be moving forward with regulations that permit religious organizations receiving public funds to discriminate based on religion and sexual orientation. Recent news stories indicate that part of the president's faith-based initiative, designed to help religious organizations compete for federal money for charitable programs, will be implemented -- without Senate approval -- through new regulations this fall. HRC is adamantly opposed to the use of tax dollars to fund faith-based and community-based organizations, which may discriminate against the GLBT community. HRC will continue to monitor this situation and will work to ensure that new regulations will not adversely impact the GLBT community.

HRC Opposes McConnell Nomination

The Human Rights Campaign joined key civil rights and women's groups Sept. 18 in opposing the nomination of Michael McConnell for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. McConnell, a professor at the University of Utah Law School, has written briefs and articles that cause concern that he will not fairly enforce federal civil rights laws or protect the separation of church and state. HRC has sent letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee members expressing opposition to the nomination.

New Co-Sponsors on Domestic Partnership Bill

Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Donald Payne D-N.J., joined 85 other representatives when they recently signed on as co-sponsors of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (H.R. 638). The bill, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., would require the federal government to offer benefits to the same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partners of federal employees. HRC urges representatives to co-sponsor the legislation.

Corporate Leaders Join for Discussion on Employment Equality

Hewlett-Packard, in conjunction with the Human Rights Campaign, hosted a breakfast Sept. 18 that brought together corporate lobbyists to discuss the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 2692, S. 1284), a measure that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace. Currently, there is no federal law that protects employees from job discrimination based on sexual orientation, even though corporate America has led the way in implementing companywide non-discrimination policies. Among Fortune 500 companies, at least 296 companies have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation, according to HRC WorkNet, which tracks this and other workplace trends.

The morning's speakers included: John Hassell, Hewlett-Packard Co.; Amy Plaster, Eastman Kodak Co.; Elizabeth Birch, HRC's executive director; and pro-business Reps. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., and Mark Foley, R-Fla. The speakers talked about the effectiveness of corporations in advocating for this legislation. Representatives from more than a dozen companies attended the breakfast, including several that have not yet supported the legislation.

HRC Calls for Equality in Congressional Offices

Neither the House nor the Senate has rules prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in congressional offices. The House Rules Committee is currently in the process of reviewing rules for the 108th Congress, which begins in January. HRC sent a letter Sept. 9 to Rep. David Dreier, chairman of the House Committee on Rules, asking that sexual orientation and gender identity be added to the congressional non-discrimination policy, which already includes race, color, religion, sex, disability, age and national origin.

HRC continues to work in support of a resolution sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in Senate offices.

PACHA Meeting Agenda Finalized

The next meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, or PACHA, is scheduled for Oct. 24. PACHA provides information and recommendations on programs and policies related to HIV/AIDS prevention, HIV/AIDS research and services for people living with HIV or AIDS. PACHA serves as the advisory council to the secretary of Health and Human Services. The secretary selects the 35 council members based on their knowledge of issues concerning HIV/AIDS.

HRC maintains a strong presence within PACHA, providing leadership, knowledge and expertise on issues related to HIV/AIDS. HRC board member Phil Burgess is a member of PACHA.

Spotlight on the States

California

California became the largest state in the country to recognize domestic partners' inheritance rights on Sept. 10, as Democratic Gov. Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 2216. Keith Bradkowski, 11-year partner of Jeff Collman who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, championed the measure. It will provide registered domestic partners with the same right as surviving spouses to inherit a partner's property if the partner dies without a will. California joins only Hawaii and Vermont in recognizing these rights.

Davis also signed Assembly Bill 2777 into law on Sept. 4. The measure allows three counties -- Los Angeles, Marin and Santa Barbara -- to extend death benefits, optional retirement allowances or survivor's allowances to the surviving domestic partners of county employees. The boards of supervisors of all three counties requested the ability to grant death benefits to domestic partners, which previously had been granted only to San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

HRC worked with the California Alliance for Pride and Equality to mobilize grassroots support for these bills.

Florida

Voters in Miami/Dade County voted 53 percent to 47 percent Sept. 10 against the repeal of the county's Human Rights Ordinance protecting gay and lesbian citizens from discrimination in employment, housing, credit and accommodations. HRC supported the SAVE Dade campaign with financial contributions and staff assistance, including campaign development, phone banking and canvassing.

Ohio

Voters in Cleveland Heights will not have to face a November referendum vote on the city's new domestic partner benefits ordinance. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously Sept. 17 that the number of signatures required to place a referendum on the ballot was 15 percent of registered voters, not 15 percent of people who voted in the most recent general election. The referendum would have repealed the ordinance passed April 15 by the Cleveland Heights City Council that extended health benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of city employees. HRC immediately reached out to activists in Cleveland Heights and committed to assist in opposing the repeal effort when it appeared that the referendum might take place.

Missouri

HRC and the Missouri statewide GLBT political group PROMO (For the Personal Rights Of Missourians) are co-sponsoring a candidate meet and greet. The event will take place in St. Louis on Thursday, Sept. 26, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Belle Supper Club, 33 N. Sarah (located between Lindell and Forest Park in the Central West End). This event is free and includes hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. For more information, e-mail Dyana Mason, HRC Southern field organizer at dyana.mason@hrc.org or Jeff Wunrow of PROMO at jeff@promoonline.org.

Pennsylvania

The New Hope Borough Council passed a non-discrimination ordinance Sept. 10 that includes sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The measure, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, had strong support among council members, the town's mayor and police chief. The effort to pass the ordinance was led by a coalition that included the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, HRC's Philadelphia steering committee and the statewide group OutFront. New Hope is the fourth Pennsylvania locality this year to pass a non-discrimination ordinance that includes gender identity. The other cities are Allentown, Erie County and Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court struck down the Philadelphia domestic partnership ordinances Aug. 29. The city's laws provided health benefits for the partners of city employees, non-discrimination protections and an exemption from the city's real estate transfer tax. In its ruling, the court stated that the ordinances were invalid because the city was trying to redefine marriage. HRC staff members and the Philadelphia steering committee attended an emergency town hall meeting organized by the William Way Community Center to take action against the court's decision.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled unanimously Aug. 20 that the Pennsylvania Adoption Act allows a gay or lesbian partner to adopt the other partner's child. The ruling followed four years of litigation on behalf of two families, a gay couple in Erie with two children and a lesbian couple in Lancaster with twin boys. The decision reverses two earlier decisions by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Washington

More than 100 people packed into the First United Methodist Church in Tacoma, Wash., on Sept. 4 for the "Vote NO on Initiative No. 1" campaign kickoff. The initiative, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, asks voters to repeal sexual orientation and gender identity from the city's anti-discrimination ordinance. Tacoma United For Fairness, a group of community leaders and activists opposing the anti-GLBT initiative, organized the event. TUFF welcomed comments from several supportive religious and community leaders, including Mayor Bill Baarsma. HRC's Seth Kilbourn, national field director, and Dan Furmansky, Western field organizer, attended the kickoff and spent two days with the campaign to lend support and offer strategic guidance as Election Day nears.

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