Democratic candidates woo gay voters
Gay-rights activists said the Democrats vying to replace Gov. Jeb Bush are not their dream team, but they are a lot more sympathetic to their cause than the Republican contenders.
BY BETH REINHARD
Miami Herald
When Rod Smith went to a recent Tallahassee conference of gay and lesbian activists, the Democratic candidate for governor cracked a joke alluding to Brokeback Mountain, the gay cowboy movie.
The crowd howled. That was a marked contrast to the lukewarm reception the state senator got at a Hollywood gathering a year earlier, when some of the same activists complained that he addressed them as ``you homosexuals.''
Smith's rival, U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, voted to bar same-sex couples in Washington from adopting children in 1998. ''I'm just not convinced that it's appropriate to allow children to be raised in that environment,'' he said at the time. He changed his mind and voted against the adoption ban one year later.
''They've come a long way, baby,'' said Michael Albetta, president of the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus. ``It's refreshing.''
The candidates' changes of heart and tone reflect the gay community's growing political influence in Democratic circles. More than 70 percent of gay and lesbian voters in Florida are Democrats, and their turnout is higher than the general population's, according to surveys cited by the caucus.
In a twist on the chant heard at gay-rights parades, the message is: We're here, we're queer -- and we vote.
Some activists lost their favored candidate for governor last year when former Florida Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox dropped out of the race. Davis and Smith support civil unions for same-sex couples, but Maddox went further and endorsed gay marriage.
Still, gay-rights leaders take comfort in that Davis and Smith oppose Florida's ban on adoption by same-sex couples and constitutional amendments forbidding same-sex marriage. Davis, criticized for missing votes since he began campaigning, canceled a Jacksonville stop last week so he could vote in Washington against the amendment.
The top Republican candidates for governor, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and State Attorney General Charlie Crist, support a gay-marriage-ban amendment on the 2008 ballot in Florida. Crist, however, seemed to backtrack when he recently told a Miami radio interviewer that same-sex civil unions are ``fine.''
Both Republicans have been courting religious conservatives, known for their heavy turnout in GOP primaries.
Smith, too, has reached out to the religious right. He sent his Lutheran minister son-in-law to a Miami meeting of the Christian Family Coalition, which supports the marriage amendment. Smith said he disagrees with the group on many issues but didn't want to disregard the membership, which includes black clergy.
The state senator from small-town Alachua had previously irritated some gay activists he met with last August after a Hollywood luncheon organized by the Broward Young Democrats. Three people who attended, including Albetta, say he referred to the crowd as ``you homosexuals.''
''I recoiled,'' said Stephen Gaskill, director of communications for the caucus. ``It pissed a lot of people off.''
Smith didn't recall using that term and said he has been sensitive to gay rights since serving as state attorney in the 1990s. But he acknowledged: ``Clearly I must have given off something that was off-putting, and that's unfortunate.''
Smith redeemed himself among some activists by co-sponsoring a bill in Tallahassee that would permit adoption by same-sex couples. It didn't clear a single committee.
Davis says he would sign such a bill if elected governor. But in 1998, the Tampa congressman was among 37 Democrats who voted to forbid same-sex couples in the District of Columbia from adoption.
His opponent in his 1998 reelection campaign, Hillsborough County Commissioner Joe Chillura, had spearheaded efforts to remove sexual orientation from a local civil-rights law. Davis handily beat Chillura, and when the Washington adoption ban surfaced again in 1999, he voted against it.
''I talked to a lot of people at home, including some couples who wanted to adopt,'' he explained recently. ``I gave it some thought, and I changed my vote.''
Davis scored 66 out of 100 in the most recent rankings by the Human Rights Council, which promotes gay rights nationwide. Davis lost points for failing to co-sponsor measures that would expand Medicaid services to people with AIDS and allow American citizens and legal residents to sponsor their same-sex, immigrant partners for residency.
''He's somebody who has not always been solid on our issues, but I have also found him to be somebody who will listen and is thoughtful,'' said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, a statewide lobbying group. ``As he evolves, he continues to move in a direction of fairness and equality.''
Davis has secured personal endorsements from key gay-rights activists, including Albetta and some leaders of the gay Dolphin Democrats club. Smith recently picked up support from the Palm Beach Human Rights Council.
Smith says gay-rights opponents try to foment opposition to Democrats by distracting voters from such issues as education and insurance. During his recent statewide bus tour, he recalled teasing an official in a tiny, conservative town who said a few dozen Democrats had switched parties because of concerns about gay marriage.
Smith asked the official mockingly: ``Do they have a lot of gay marriage in Lake Butler?''
BY BETH REINHARD
Miami Herald
When Rod Smith went to a recent Tallahassee conference of gay and lesbian activists, the Democratic candidate for governor cracked a joke alluding to Brokeback Mountain, the gay cowboy movie.
The crowd howled. That was a marked contrast to the lukewarm reception the state senator got at a Hollywood gathering a year earlier, when some of the same activists complained that he addressed them as ``you homosexuals.''
Smith's rival, U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, voted to bar same-sex couples in Washington from adopting children in 1998. ''I'm just not convinced that it's appropriate to allow children to be raised in that environment,'' he said at the time. He changed his mind and voted against the adoption ban one year later.
''They've come a long way, baby,'' said Michael Albetta, president of the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus. ``It's refreshing.''
The candidates' changes of heart and tone reflect the gay community's growing political influence in Democratic circles. More than 70 percent of gay and lesbian voters in Florida are Democrats, and their turnout is higher than the general population's, according to surveys cited by the caucus.
In a twist on the chant heard at gay-rights parades, the message is: We're here, we're queer -- and we vote.
Some activists lost their favored candidate for governor last year when former Florida Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox dropped out of the race. Davis and Smith support civil unions for same-sex couples, but Maddox went further and endorsed gay marriage.
Still, gay-rights leaders take comfort in that Davis and Smith oppose Florida's ban on adoption by same-sex couples and constitutional amendments forbidding same-sex marriage. Davis, criticized for missing votes since he began campaigning, canceled a Jacksonville stop last week so he could vote in Washington against the amendment.
The top Republican candidates for governor, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and State Attorney General Charlie Crist, support a gay-marriage-ban amendment on the 2008 ballot in Florida. Crist, however, seemed to backtrack when he recently told a Miami radio interviewer that same-sex civil unions are ``fine.''
Both Republicans have been courting religious conservatives, known for their heavy turnout in GOP primaries.
Smith, too, has reached out to the religious right. He sent his Lutheran minister son-in-law to a Miami meeting of the Christian Family Coalition, which supports the marriage amendment. Smith said he disagrees with the group on many issues but didn't want to disregard the membership, which includes black clergy.
The state senator from small-town Alachua had previously irritated some gay activists he met with last August after a Hollywood luncheon organized by the Broward Young Democrats. Three people who attended, including Albetta, say he referred to the crowd as ``you homosexuals.''
''I recoiled,'' said Stephen Gaskill, director of communications for the caucus. ``It pissed a lot of people off.''
Smith didn't recall using that term and said he has been sensitive to gay rights since serving as state attorney in the 1990s. But he acknowledged: ``Clearly I must have given off something that was off-putting, and that's unfortunate.''
Smith redeemed himself among some activists by co-sponsoring a bill in Tallahassee that would permit adoption by same-sex couples. It didn't clear a single committee.
Davis says he would sign such a bill if elected governor. But in 1998, the Tampa congressman was among 37 Democrats who voted to forbid same-sex couples in the District of Columbia from adoption.
His opponent in his 1998 reelection campaign, Hillsborough County Commissioner Joe Chillura, had spearheaded efforts to remove sexual orientation from a local civil-rights law. Davis handily beat Chillura, and when the Washington adoption ban surfaced again in 1999, he voted against it.
''I talked to a lot of people at home, including some couples who wanted to adopt,'' he explained recently. ``I gave it some thought, and I changed my vote.''
Davis scored 66 out of 100 in the most recent rankings by the Human Rights Council, which promotes gay rights nationwide. Davis lost points for failing to co-sponsor measures that would expand Medicaid services to people with AIDS and allow American citizens and legal residents to sponsor their same-sex, immigrant partners for residency.
''He's somebody who has not always been solid on our issues, but I have also found him to be somebody who will listen and is thoughtful,'' said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, a statewide lobbying group. ``As he evolves, he continues to move in a direction of fairness and equality.''
Davis has secured personal endorsements from key gay-rights activists, including Albetta and some leaders of the gay Dolphin Democrats club. Smith recently picked up support from the Palm Beach Human Rights Council.
Smith says gay-rights opponents try to foment opposition to Democrats by distracting voters from such issues as education and insurance. During his recent statewide bus tour, he recalled teasing an official in a tiny, conservative town who said a few dozen Democrats had switched parties because of concerns about gay marriage.
Smith asked the official mockingly: ``Do they have a lot of gay marriage in Lake Butler?''
<< Home