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sometimes think the only way to defeat an anti
gay initiative is by making the issue more ‘palat
able’ by ignoring gay men and lesbians. That’s
simply not true.”
McKnight says LACROP’s activists, most of
whom come from New York, were invited to
northern Idaho by the Palouse Lesbian Avengers.
Jackson says Right To Privacy’s board will be
discussing whether the organization should in
stead concentrate more on its educational arm,
Right To Privacy Inc.
“We’re now forced to take a closer look at
what we can do and what we should be doing,” he
says.
I
hough both powerhouse and lesser-known
Democrats were swept away throughout
the nation in a Republican landslide during
midterm elections last month, every gay, lesbian
and bisexual incumbent— most of whom are
Democrats— was re-elected, including four in
cumbent state representatives in Oregon.
“No longer can we say that openly gay and
lesbian candidates cannot get elected and re
elected. No longer can we say that we are op
pressed at the ballot box,” says Ken Vincent, an
aide to Sherry Harris, an openly lesbian African
American member of the Seattle City Council.
Vincent helped organize the 10th annual Interna
tional Conference of Lesbian and Gay Elected
and Appointed Officials held in Seattle Nov. 18 to
20. An estimated 100 gay and lesbian public
officials attended.
Eighmey and Shibley, both Portland Demo
crats, and Wooten, a Democrat from Eugene,
were on hand for the event.
“It was a great opportunity to meet gay and
lesbian legislators from other states,” says
Eighmey. “There were healthy discussions about
the need to respect diversity. I was really pleased
that many of these folks refused to give in to the
notion that we are helplessly at the hands of
conservative Republicans. Many of us feel like
n other election news, the passage of two
statewide campaign-spending-reform initia
tives may affect how Oregon’s largest gay and
lesbian rights political action committee does
business.
Ballot Measure 6 bars contributions to candi
dates from people or groups outside Oregon or
outside a particular district the candidate is run
ning in; it also prohibits passing contributions to
a candidate from nonresidents through district
residents. Ballot Measure 9 limits contributions
by individuals and businesses to statewide and
legislative candidates, and limits political action
committee contributions to candidates.
According to Greg Jackson, executive direc
tor of Right To Privacy PAC, Ballot Measure 6
could make it more difficult for the organization
to raise money for gay- and lesbian-supportive
candidates.
“Currently people simply write out checks to
RTP PAC and we decide how much money to
contribute to certain candidates,” he says. “Now
we can’t do that. Instead, we’ll have to set up a
network where we educate voters about gay-
supportive candidates who may be running in
their districts. Hopefully they will in turn write
out their checks for that candidate, but send it to
us. We’ll bundle the contributions and then hand
that bundle off to the candidate.”
Bundling is a fund-raising technique used by
many groups including the Victory Fund, a na
tional organization that contributes to gay and
lesbian political candidates. Bundling essentially
allows a group such as the Washington, D.C.-
based Victory Fund to collect many individual
contributions (from across the nation) to a candi
date, bundle those contributions, and give that
bundle to the candidate in the name of the organi
zation.
“This way, we can still say that all of this
money came from the gay and lesbian commu
nity,” explains Jackson.
If Ballot Measure 6 is deemed constitutional
(many are skeptical that it will be), any contribu
tions received by a candidate would have to come
from a resident living within the boundaries of the
candidate’s electoral district.
“What we’ll have to do is work more closely
with a group like the Rural Organizing Project or
Oregon Speak Out Project to connect with citi
zens living in each electoral district,” says Jack-
son. “Due to Measure 6, those individual contacts
are now crucial to us.”
Candidates traditionally thought to be under
dogs— particularly sexual minority and women
candidates— tend to rely heavily upon contribu
tions from national organizations which are not
based in Oregon. Oregon state Reps. George
Eighmey, Gail Shibley, Cynthia Wooten, and
Chuck Carpenter—have all received contribu
tions from the Victory Fund, which raises funds
from among a national donor base for a selected
list of gay and lesbian candidates. Under Ballot
Measure 6, that national donor base is rendered
virtually useless for candidates in Oregon.
As for Ballot Measure 9, Jackson says Right
To Privacy is now limited to giving state legisla
tive candidates $ 100 and candidates for statewide
office $500 for each election; individuals, who
were previously able to donate an unlimited
amount to a political action committee, are now
limited to $100. (The restrictions do not apply to
federal or ballot measure campaigns.) According
to state elections officials, prior to Ballot Measure
9, there were no limits on how much an individual
or political action committee could contribute to
a candidate. Right To Privacy has raised and
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to
candidates over the years.
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George Eighmey and Barbara Roberts
this is an opportunity to come together and build
strong coalitions around issues, not political par
ties.”
inally, human rights activists from across
the country will be on hand to honor outgo
ing Gov. Barbara Roberts—an outspoken
proponent of lesbian and gay rights and co-chair
of Americans Against Discrimination, acivil rights
project of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the
nation’s largest lesbian and gay rights organiza
tion.
“Barbara Roberts is the most respected public
official in the country when it comes to the issue
of lesbian and gay rights,” says Terry Bean, an
HRCF board member. “We have folks flying in
from all over the country for this dinner because
they realize how incredible she is.”
Among those slated to show: outgoing HRCF
head Tim McFeeley, former Clinton adviser David
Mixner, author Barry Lopez, and, says Bean,
“some surprise guests.”
During her tenure as Oregon’s chief execu
tive, Roberts has forcefully and repeatedly spo
ken on behalf of civil rights for gay men and
lesbians. She testified in favor of statewide gay
and lesbian rights legislation, and has verbally
chastised the OCA for its attacks on gay and
lesbian citizens.
The dinner will be held Dec. 15 at the Oregon
Convention Center. Tickets are $50, and can be
obtained by calling 635-7021 or 725-5067. The
money raised will benefit the Frank Roberts Schol
arship Fund. Frank Roberts, the governor’s hus
band, was a longtime state senator and— like his
wife—a strong voice for human rights. He died
last year after a long battle with cancer.
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