Answers to BAYMEC 2002 Candidate Questionaire 

1. What is your understanding of the issues that face the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) community in general?

   I feel I have a good grasp of the core issues, but am always open to learning more... my experience as a bisexual gives me a good grasp of the issues in that community (at least those common to both genders, I'm certain I have blind spots when it comes to the experience of bi womn), but of course is substantially different in many ways from that of a gay man, or a lesbian, or a transgendered or intersex person. I strive to pro-actively educate myself about trans and intersex issues and raise them in the course of other discussions, in particular, as these two communities are particularly marginalized and victimized by mainstream culture, and even within queer culture.

   As well, I'm a highly educated white male, the product of a lower middle class background, and though I grew up in a majority minority neighborhood (where my elementary school was 95% Latino), I cannot claim to have really been part of it, and thus while I've always been comfortable in diverse environments, again I'm sure that I have many blind spots when it comes to issues that queer people of color face, both with the majority culture and within their own.

   To be specific about the issues that we face - first and foremost in my mind, is the safety, mental and physical, of queer youth. Queer youth are coming out at younger and younger ages, in environments which remain viscerally hostile and physically dangerous. We need to do everything in our power as a community to support and empower these kids in their struggle for personal liberation. Beyond that, there are a whole host of legal inequities that we need to address, and of course violence affects adults as well, especially marginalized communities such as transfolk. We need to work to broaden the benefits that accrue to domestic partners, ensure equitable treatment of them in the private marketplace, and to further the cause of same gender marriages at the same time. And all the old demons of hatred, discrimination on a personal and institutional level still exist, even in the most liberal communities (which I have direct and extraordinarily painful experience with in my personal life).

   Finally, I am also an activist on poly issues, which intersect in many ways with those of the bi and queer community... in point of fact, there are many Bay Area folk who identify themselves as bi/poly or even bi/poly/pagan, and see the two issues as one. The concept of a "poly" activist is still bleeding edge in many ways, but there is a clear set of issues around "poly", in terms of access to medical care and benefits for multiple partners, housing occupancy rules, discrimination and mis-understanding by mainstream culture in the queer and straight communities alike, and intensely problematic relationships with the legal system when it comes to child custody and protection issues. I strive to bring that issue up whenever appropriate as well - for example, during a debate between Congressional candidates held by the GLBT Alliance in Santa Cruz, I asked the candidates about their support for poly marriage, and got both a ringing endorsement of the concept and polyamory itself from the Green candidate, and at least a theoretical endorsement from our incumbent Congressman, Sam Farr - which, at a guess, is the first time an elected Federal Representative has gone on the record supporting the concept at any level (which speaks to his courage and the openness of Santa Cruz as a community).

2. Briefly describe how you have reached out to the GLBT community in your public life. If you are presently in an elected position, please specifically describe what you have done to appoint GLBT people to commissions, boards, etc.

   For an extensive record of my history of community involvement, I invite you to view the "Experience" section of my web site at http://www.thomasleavitt.org/cc/, which includes full documentation of my history of activism within the queer community. I have lived as an out and proud bisexual my entire life, at home, with family, at work, and in the community.

   In high school, I worked as a paid intern for the country's first openly Lesbian Mayor (Judy Abdo) of a major U.S. city (Santa Monica); during that period I also worked for another lesbian activist/political consultant/public relations specialist. I came out in my first year at Occidental College in 1990-91, and was a member of the school's BGALA (Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Association). Among other memories, I took to the streets to protest the veto of AB101 by Pete Wilson, helped occupy the Administration office to demand respect for people of color and other minorities, and was turned away with other protesters when we attempted to enter the Federal Building in Los Angeles during the Persian Gulf War.

   Both companies I've founded have offered benefits for domestic partners.

   More recently, I've been an involved and active member of SoBOA (South Bay Bisexual Organizers and Activists), where I've served on the Executive Board for three years, and of the GLBT Alliance (where I've served on the Steering Committee), as well as queer, bi, and poly activist groups within the Green Party. I have co-hosted BiFriendly Santa Cruz since January of 2000. I have also written hundreds of letters and emails and made dozens of phone calls over the years to lobby various elected officials at all levels on GLBTIQ issues (not to mention many multiples more on other issues), and am a member of Lambda Letters. As well, I helped organize the SoBOA (bi community) presence at the pride festivals and marches in Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Francisco this year, staffing the booth at all three locations as well.

   I've been a supporter and observer of both GenderPAC and NTAC when I had the means to do so, and turn to their web sites whenever issues related to transgender discrimination arise.

   I also write a book review column for Manifesto, a Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay Area monthly newspaper.

   I am an activist and a leader, and hope to extend that history by serving in those roles on our City Council.

3. If elected, what steps will you take to strengthen your relationship with the GLBT community?

   I would continue reaching out to all sectors of the community, continue attending GLBT Alliance meetings, continue my activism in the community to the maximum extent feasible with other duties, etc. I would work to develop a strong relationship with our region's newly elected and openly gay Assemblyperson, John Laird, to ensure that my understanding of how our issues are dealt with in the state capital is as through as possible.

4. If elected, what specific actions will you take to fight discrimination against the GLBT community?

   As (depending whether Cece Pinheiro is elected) I would be one of just two openly queer elected officials in Santa Cruz County, I would take a visible leadership stance on this issue within Santa Cruz County, specifically in regards to addressing these issues with the leadership of other jurisdictions, both publicly and privately and wherever they surfaced in public life. I would work to encourage other jurisdictions to implement non-discrimination ordinances, and to improve the queer "cultural competency" of City Staff, and develop model programs that other jurisdictions could utilize, and likewise import successful programs.

   I would work, within the bounds of ethics and whatever legal thickets exist, to pro-actively support ALL queer organizations within Santa Cruz County, and work in my role as a leader of the entire community to address problematic situations and help overcome barriers.

   I would work to establish vehicles for dialogue with all communities, within which queer issues could also be addressed. The City of Santa Cruz currently does not have a Human Relations Commission, such as has worked so effectively to promote the cause of human rights in San Jose. Nor does it have any other committee with a broad agenda under which Social Service program expenditures and policies are discussed or otherwise evaluated. Nor does it have a Youth Affairs commission. All of which could and should address queer issues within their scope of work.

5. Please explain your position on expanding domestic partner rights.

   They should be extended as far as possible; and they should be extended to include multiple partners in committed relationships (individuals practicing polyamory). All family structures should be honored and respected.

6. Please explain your position on same-gender marriage in California.

   It should be legal, pure and simple, and treated exactly the same as opposite-gender marriage. In fact, gender distinctions should be removed from the law, to prevent further complications and liabilities from being faced by transgendered individuals. Ultimately, these should evolve into a contract between two (or more) people that makes no distinction between the partners (however many there are).

7. Describe your position on GLBT adoptions, guardianships, and/or foster parenting.

   Queer people should be treated exactly the same as straight people. Further, I wholeheartly support AB 2651, and the concept behind it: educating guardians of queer youth about the particular issues they face, and ensuring "cultural competency", etc. Further, I think we need to pro-actively address institutionalized homophobia within the legal system and the child protective services system, etc. Further, we need to pro-actively insure that identified queer youth are given full support, access to queer role models and mentors, etc. etc. to counter-act the active hostility of the environment they often face. Further again, we need to develop programs of this sort that specifically address the needs of queer youth who become homeless after being thrown out by homophobic parents and guardians.

8. Will you work to assure that the city is inclusive in their contracts, including "domestic partner" insurance for city employees? Please explain.

   I will work to strengthening the equitability of the City Santa Cruz's existing domestic partner coverage by providing salary supplements to address the inequity resulting from domestic partner coverage being treated as taxable income.

   I also want to see benefits coverage broadened to include all individuals in long term, committed relationships, whether they be pairs, triads, quads, etc. If a person has two life partners, they shouldn't be forced to deny one of them (or one set of children, either) access to health care. We should honor and respect all families, regardless of structure. This is an issue which is very important to me, being both a bi and a poly activist, as the overlap between those two communities is naturally very strong - a bi person who expresses his or her sexuality with both genders, is inherently poly at some level.

   And I will work to support AB 1080 once it is brought to the floor next year, and in the mean time, work to see that Santa Cruz implements such an ordinance, after careful consultation with the community as a whole to assure a smooth path to implementation and that all concerns are properly address and the groundwork done before introduction.

9. Will you support providing legal recognition and safeguards for transgender individuals?

   Yes, and I've worked for it whenever possible, from encouraging SEIU 415 locally to include gender identity and gender expression in their standard form contracts, to providing (with my wife, Gunilla) sample language specifically referencing gender, instead of sex, for the non-discrimination policy statement sent home at the beginning of the year by the Santa Cruz City Schools (after seeing that the previous year's statement did not include sexual orientation at all, and thus failed to reflect expressed district policy). I and others raised the issue of the exclusion of transgendered folk from ENDA (federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act) with Sam Farr and his staff at a GLBTA Candidate Forum in the spring, and he eventually did do the work necessary to find out the status of this. He does not believe that this is politically viable to include in ENDA, although he supports it in concept, and we have a letter from him on this topic. At the very least, this served to ensure that he was aware that this issue existed.

10. Would you follow San Francisco's lead and work to provide complete health coverage for transgender surgical and medical care? Why or why not?

    Yes, I've made it a core part of my Queer Agenda for Santa Cruz. This is a matter of both fairness, and of ensuring that we attract the most skilled and competent workforce possible, regardless of gender identity.

11. Will you make a commitment to participate in significant GLBT events such as Gay and Lesbian Pride Festivals and the BAYMEC Dinner?

    I attended both BAYMEC dinners, in Santa Cruz, and in San Jose, and actively worked to organize the bi presence at Santa Cruz, San Jose and San Francisco Pride via my position as an Executive Board member of SoBOA. I have served as a "monitor" in Santa Cruz pride last year and this year, and was also a monitor in San Jose pride.

12. Many cities and counties around the Central Coast, including Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Jose have provided proclaimations for GLBT Pride Celebrations. Will you work to assure that your city does the same? The Rainbow flag flies over the San Jose city hall for one day each year. Will you work to assure that your city does the same?

    Yes, and I will work to see that Santa Cruz City flies the Bi Pride flag on September 23rd next year, in honor of Celebrate Bisexuality Day.

13. Do you support or belong to any organization that does not recognize that GLBT people should have equal rights? Please explain.

    I was a DeMolay, which is the male youth arm of the Masonic orders. It was a tremendously rewarding experience for me, on many levels, both in terms of my social development, my leadership abilities, and my spiritual path. I am not now involved with Masonry or DeMolay, and during my term as Master Councilor of L.C. Kelley Chapter, Order of DeMolay, the issue of queerness never came up. On a purely theoretical basis, and after some research to confirm my understanding, whether or not a person is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered should have no bearing on eligibility for membership within a Masonic order, DeMolay or whether one could serve as an advisor to a DeMolay chapter. Practical experience, unfortunately, demonstrates otherwise.

    That said, my particular chapter had an extraordinary individual as our adult advisor, who pro-actively reached out to all sectors of the community, which resulted in our chapter being vastly more successful in terms of membership growth, and vastly more diverse in a racial, ethnic and socio-economic sense, than any other chapter in the L.A. area. I did know several DeMolays in other chapters who were gay and not particularly closeted about it, but... institutionally, Masonry and its associated organizations are extremely conservative, and prejudice, in all its aspects, was (and probably still is) quite prevalent. The only time in my life that I heard anyone under 80 years old refer to a black person as "colored" was at a DeMolay function.

    On this basis, I suspect that in most cases (but not all, as in many ways the organization is decentralized in its operation), being an out queer person and being involved with either DeMolay or conventional Masonry (setting aside orders like the Martinists and certain European variants) would be difficult, to say the least.

    An extended discussion like this was probably not necessary, but it pains me greatly that an organization with so much potential, that has the capability to do so much good and offers a truly unique experience in modern American culture, and that transformed my life so dramatically in a positive way, is so crippled by the forces of prejudice, and I wanted to be completely open and honest about my continued support for DeMolay and what it did for me (if I had a male child, I would enroll him, despite all this, if I found a Chapter administered in a suitably diverse and open fashion that could deal with having queer parents involved and explicitly stated it would accept gay/bi-identified young men), while acknowledging the painful realities of the organization as a whole.

14. If BAYMEC partners with you in your campaign, how do you envision working with us throughout your term?

    I envision regularly communicating with BAYMEC members, and consulting with the executive board, on major issues impacting the queer community, as well as attending BAYMEC events and expressing my support for the organization at opportunity.

15. If you receive the BAYMEC endorsement, will you display it on your campaign literature? Why or why not?

    Yes. I would highlight it on the endorsement page of my web site and in queer specific content, incorporate it into any literature where inclusion of endorsements is appropriate, etc.

16. Please provide us with a list of the GLBT individuals and/or organizations that have endorsed you.

    I haven't made a serious effort to seek endorsements from anyone, to this point, although I welcome any that are offered (this means you my dear reader :) ), and have received the support of individuals such as Linda Lemaster, Pat Clark and David Silva (all former City Council candidates) whose work and dedication I admire and respect.

17. Please provide us with a list of other individuals and organizations that have endorsed you.

    See above, and my web site, where if you are so inclined, you can endorse me on-line (and donate, and volunteer to work on the campaign).