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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1996)
ju s t o u t ▼ april 1 9 , 1 9 9 6 ▼ 21 Bob Duehmig PRIMARY PRIMER Continued from page 19 Duehmig’s 3-year-old Belgian shepherd, Nike— “named for the goddess, not the company”—is settled in the back yard. Like a slightly younger version of Dixon, the 31-year-old Duehmig possesses a certain states manlike quality and determined gentleness. “I grew up on a farm in Indiana,” he says. “People tell me I was bom 35.” Since October, when he first kicked off his campaign, Duehmig estimates he’s knocked on between 6,000 and 7,000 doors in District 12, which covers much of Southwest and Northwest Portland. To save money, he is running his own cam paign with the help of volunteers. It is an admit tedly difficult task, given the fact that he contin ues to work full time as a legislative specialist for the Oregon Federation of Teachers, Education and Health Professionals, and maintain his seven- year relationship with partner Bill Griesar, who in mid-June will begin working toward his doctoral degree in behavioral neuroscience at Oregon Health Sciences University. Making things even more difficult is the fact that Duehmig, who has, at best, limited name recognition, is in a tight primary contest with a number of other candidates with solid liberal credentials and political bases: Chris Beck, David Bragdon, and longtime women’s rights activist Laurie Wimmer, all of whom are hungry to fill the House seat being vacated by state Rep. Gail Shibley, a Portland City Council candidate. “I guess you could say politics is in my blood. I remember [canvassing] for a state representative when I was just 9 years old. There was a woman who was known as being a little peculiar. I knocked on her door and I remember her saying that she had a problem with someone so young campaign ing for a candidate,” he laughs. “What can you do?” Duehmig’s interest in politics persisted. He became the legislative director for the Indiana University Student Association; was a field coor dinator for the Clinton-Gore campaign; and as previously mentioned, is a legislative specialist for the Oregon Federation of Teachers, Education and Health Professionals. “I spent the last three sessions at the [Oregon] Legislature working on tax and education issues,” says Duehmig. “Every thing is so ideologically driven there that it’s vir tually impossible to get anything done. We need people who can sit down and talk to one another.” Duehmig, who has been endorsed by RTP PAC, the Gay and Les bian Victory Fund and several labor organiza tions, vows to “lead the fight to protect and ex pand wildlife areas, sup port urban growth bound aries, and strengthen air and water quality stan dards.” He is pro-choice and says that, as a law maker, education will be his top priority. Duehmig, who is the third of four brothers, came outto himself when he was finishing college in the late 1980s. He met Griesar when he was liv ing in London, working as an academic advisor for the Fulbright Commission. “We were the busiest commission in Europe,” says Duehmig. “I would assist students who wanted to study in the United States. I’d talk with them about their interests and the schools they wanted to get into. We had one person who even wanted to study wine making at UC Davis. Who even knew that program existed? Now that sounds like fun.” According to Duehmig, Griesar volunteered to help with commission tasks a couple of days a week. “My boss was going out to lunch, and she said a volunteer was going to be dropping by,” recalls Duehmig. “I thought it would be an older person, but in walks this guy who was my age.” “What did you think when you first saw him?” I ask. “That he was really cute,” chuckles Duehmig. The duo went for a drink at a local pub. “Neither of us knew the other was gay,” he says, adding that it took a while for the elusive quality of their relationship to transform into a more solidified “real date.” “We celebrate our anniversary on Hallow een,” says Duehmig. “That’s pretty much where we pinpoint it.” They’ve been together seven years, moving west to Portland in 1991 when Griesar was of fered a job here. Upon his arrival in the Rose City, Duehmig jumped into the local effort to elect the Clinton- Gore ticket. As for his own race, Duehmig says he “never thought about the gay issue.” “It didn’t even come up when I was thinking about running,” he says. “It simply is what it is. But I do feel it’s critical that the [sexual minorities community] not be forgotten or left behind. No matter how much we think things are getting better, 1 firmly believe that we must pass a state civil rights bill.” Following the May 21 election, Duehmig and Griesar had planned to get a little rest in Munich, where the couple has friends. “But the flights are booked; we may have to wait until Christmas,” Duehmig says. “Maybe we will go to Mexico.” Making international connections appears to be important to the duo, and each has traveled extensively. “We hosted two older [heterosexual] Japanese men from Portland’s Japanese sister city, Sapporo, who barely spoke a word of English. Well, some one told them that they were going to be staying with Bill Griesar and his wife, Bob,” says Duehmig. “I don’t know if something was missed in the translation, but they showed up with a gift for Bill and a gift for Bob. [Griesar received a picture], while I was given a pink apron that said ‘Fruits’ on it. Bill would kill me if he knew I was telling you this story,” he laughs. And who said liberals don’t have a sense of humor? Gail Shibley Candidate for Portland City Council, Position 1 oyalty is a precious commodity in politics,” says 38-year-old Gail Shibley, who as many of you know, made history in 1991 by becoming Oregon’s first openly lesbian or gay state legislator when the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners appointed her to fill the House District 12 seat vacated by Phil Keisling, who was appointed secretary of state. In September, Shibley unveiled her bid to fill the Portland City Council seat of outgoing Com missioner Mike Lindberg, who announced last June that he was retiring. Just Out spoke with Shibley when just under 50 days remained before the May 21 primary. We met the candidate at her campaign digs, snuggled into a semi-grungy-yet-ever-so-hi p Southwest Oak Street locale, just a hop from Powell’s. “I would love to have everyone’s support, of course, but that’s a pretty tall order,” says Shibley, when asked about reports that well-known human rights advocate Kathleen Saadat and former Port land Police Chief Tom Potter have thrown their support behind Jim Francesconi, a Portland attor ney who is also contending for the seat. Still, it’s gotta hurt a bit? ‘Tom and I have a good relationship. I’ve always appreciated his leadership and work on community policing. He is well thought of in our community. Of course I would like to have his support,” she says. “Kathleen called me long distance from St. Louis. We had a brief conversa tion. She spoke, and I basically listened.” It’s another hot April day, and Shibley and some of her campaign workers, including 26- year-old Carter Headrick, her campaign manager brought in from Minnesota, are plodding along. It’s stuffy, like an elevator, except for windows. A L Continued on page 23 Gail Shibley
