9. 1904 T 13
i:u :C T I()N
Cynthia Wooten
Gail Shibley
t was one of the biggest coming out parties
in Oregon history.
Rep. Kate Brown (D-Portland) knew
she wanted to say something to the more
than 300 people at the Right to Privacy’s
William Slote Dinner on April 23 in Eugene. As
usual at an RTP event, elected officials who
attended came up to the front of the room after
dinner and took turns telling the audience their
name and office. When Brown and Rep. Hedy
Rijken (D-Newport) were the last of the more
than 30 state legislators to reach the stage, “every
body knew what was coming,” said Greg Jack-
son, executive director of RTP.
Brown began her speech. “I introduced myself,
and then said, ‘This is my coming out party,’ ”
Brown said. “Then everyone cheered, and I said,
‘Wait! You don’t even know what I am yet!’ ”
Brown told the audience that she is bisexual—
the first open bisexual to serve in the Oregon
legislature. Rijken followed, telling the audience
that she is a lesbian.
Brown and Rijken then joined Reps. Gail
Shibley (D-Portland), George Eighmey (D-Port-
land) and Cynthia Wooten (D-Eugene) for a pic
ture-taking session of the five openly queer state
legislators. That’s more than in any other state
legislature in the country, according to William
Way borne, executive director of the Victory Fund,
a national organization formed in 1991 that con
tributes money to openly queer candidates.
The number of gay, lesbian and bisexual can
didates on the May primary ballot indicates the
perseverance and growing acceptance of queer
public officials. Shibley, Eighmey, Wooten and
Brown are all seeking re-election this year. Chuck
Carpenter, an openly gay man, is seeking the
Republican nomination for House District 7, in
Portland. Two Multnomah County judicial candi
dates, David Gemant and Janice R. Wilson, are
openly queer. Fred Neal, who is open about his
sexual orientation and his HIV-positive status, is
seeking a spot on the Portland City Council.
Despite the efforts of the Oregon Citizens
Alliance over the past four years, sexual minori
ties have forged a position in the Oregon political
arena, in ways unmatched in most other states.
“I’m not sure what Oregon has done, but I wish
we could bottle it and send it to other states,”
Waybome said.
A
SIM X IA I
OREGON’S
P0UHCAL
COMING
OUT
Two years ago, Oregon was known nationwide
as the hotbed of homophobia.
Now, Oregon is forging ahead in queer politics with at least
eight openly gay, lesbian or bisexual candidates up for
election—a national record.
BY PAMELA LYONS
portunities for sexual minorities is unique. In
1992, 44 percent of voters approved Measure 9,
which would have labeled gay men, lesbians and
bisexuals as “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and
perverse.” Since then, 20 cities and counties have
passed measures that block equal rights protec
tions for sexual minorities. The battle has entered
the courts, where the OCA has suffered two
setbacks this year.
Some say that the threat from the OCA has
helped push sexual minorities into the political
arena. “Thank goodness that something came
along to get us motivated,” Eighmey said. “People
are finally waking up and coming out in ways they
lthough the OCA acts as a model for
never were before.”
groups in other parts of the country
Before the threat of the OCA, Eighmey, an
who want to “stop the homosexual
attorney,
said he was not secretive about his
agenda,” clearly, the political cli
orientation; he didn’t make a point of
mate in Oregon concerning equal rights sexual
and op
telling people, either. Now, he is completely open
about his relationship. “The focus on oppression
is what is making people come out,” he said. “We
are a lot stronger in numbers than ever before.”
Eighmey was appointed to office in 1992, to
fill Beverly Stein’s seat when she left to become
chairwoman of the Multnomah County Commis
sion.
Brown believes the growing political move
ment is due in part to the overall climate created
by the OCA. “Crisis builds leadership and com
munity,” she said.
Greg Jackson, who heads the Right to Privacy,
said that the OCA’s campaign has backfired and
helped fuel support for civil rights. “We say thank
you to the OCA.... Their vindictive campaigning
has brought people out.” RTP contributes money
to candidates who support civil rights for sexual
minorities.
Other politicians are not so gracious toward
the OCA. “I don’t go out of my way to thank
them,” Shibley said. “The fact is that this lemon is
here and [has] been here, and we queers have
made lemonade out of it.”
“We have risen to the occasion of fighting the
OCA, but 1 wish we didn’t have to,” Wooten said.
Jerry Keene, a openly gay Republican who
was considering a campaign in Portland’s District
11, said that the gay, lesbian and bisexual commu
nity is going through a period of "political coming
out.” “A lot of the catalyst was the OCA but,
beyond that, we were ready. The Victory Fund
has made us ready,” he said.
The Victory Fund had contributed money to
Keene’s campaign for the House. There have
been reports that Keene has since changed his
mind about running, but this was still uncon
firmed at press time.
Julie Davis, executive director of Support Our
Communities PAC, a group that directly counters
the OCA, said that electing openly queer leaders
is the next step in the movement for civil rights.
“It’s one of the tools we have to dispel the myths
that the OCA has put out about gays and lesbi
ans,” she said. “We are more visible, more out
than we have ever been in the state before 1992.”
ail Shibley cleared the path for
openly queer politicians in 1991,
when she was appointed to the
House. She won re-election in 1992
and is considered a contender for speaker if the
Democrats regain control of the House.
“When Gail blew the door off of the hinges
and came out as a public official, she blazed the
candidate trail,” Waybome said. “Now, it seems
to be the ‘in’ thing in the Oregon House.”
So far, the Victory Fund has raised about
$200,000 that will be distributed to 17 candidates
nationwide, including Eighmey and Shibley.
Shibley attributes the growing number of open
sexual minorities in Oregon politics to several
factors. In the face of the OCA offensive, she said,
many people are coming out in their jobs, and that
bridges over into politics. The impact of HIV and
AIDS has also prompted people to be up front and
X
honest about who they are. “Emotionally and
psychologically, it’s time to live out loud,” Shibley
said.
Others credit Shibley for setting an example in
the legislature that may have made it safer to come
out. “Gail Shibley really started the spiral," Davis
G
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