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The Double Life of Billy Upton
Tuesday, June 16, 7 pm
N obody ’ s B usiness
The Senate quietly confirms appointment of out entrepreneur
to No. 2 post at Small Business Adminstration by Bob Roehr
he U.S. Senate has confirmed Fred
Hochberg, who is openly gay, as
deputy director of the federal Small
Business Administration.
The May 21 vote by acclama
tion came late in the night as part of a consent
agreement that wrapped up all pending non-
controversial nominations prior to the Memori
al Day recess.
Hochberg’s confirmation hearing before the
Senate Committee on
Small Business had
been delayed pending gj
investigation of possible
illegal campaign contri
butions. The investiga
tion concluded, howev
er, that errors were
made by the Democrat
ic National Committee,
not by Hochberg.
The
committee
voted unanimously to
confirm Hochberg and
sent the nomination to
the full Senate for a
final vote.
Hochberg is chief
operating officer of Lil Fred Hochberg
lian Vernon, a family-owned direct mail busi
ness based in New York City. He helped to grow
the company from 60 employees when he joined
it in 1975 to more than 1,400 employees today.
Hochberg has served a number of gay and
lesbian organizations at both the state and
national levels. He is a former co-chair of the
Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Cam
paign, a national queer political group.
Interestingly, Hochberg’s involvement in gay
and lesbian political activities is more expansive
than that of embattled gay ambassadorial nomi-
nee James Hormel, yet the “g” and “1” words
were never mentioned during the confirmation
process.
HRC called Hochberg’s approval “a demon
stration of fairness and bipartisanship” and urged
Republicans to treat Hormel the same way.
Republicans, meanwhile, said Hochberg’s
confirmation proves the GOP is not blocking
Hormel because of his homosexuality. Some
opponents to Hormel say their opposition is
---------------------------- based on what they
describe as his aggres
sive pursuit of a gay
political agenda.
Last year President
Clinton
nominated
Hormel, a 64-year-old
San Francisco philan
thropist and Democrat
ic Party donor, to be
ambassador to Luxem
bourg. The Senate For
eign Relations Com
mittee sent the nomi
nation to the floor in
November, where it has
been stalled ever since.
Hochberg, on the other
hand, is now the sec
ond in command at the Small Business Admin
istration and is responsible for daily operations
of the federal government’s technical assistance
and loan support programs to help start and
grow small businesses.
Sen. John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democ
rat and ranking member of the Small Business
Com mirtee, praised Hochberg as having “mas
tered the challenges of developing a small busi
ness into an international corporation.”
“I cannot think of a more appropriate and
capable nominee for this position,” he said.
C olorful A ctivist D ies
shire and ran televi
sion ads that pro
moted condom use
and showed how to
clean needles to
reduce the spread of
HIV.
A television sta
tion balked at air
ing these spots, so
Michael challenged
the decision before
the Federal Com
munications Commission and won a precedent
setting ruling that the station had violated the
candidate’s right to political speech.
He later made a run for president with les
bian activist Ann Northrop under the banner of
the AIDS Cure Party.
Michael developed strong political ties with
D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. He pushed for needle
exchange programs and organized a ballot ini
tiative promoting medical use of marijuana. He
also served as chair of the oversight committee
of the local Ryan White Planning Council and
fought for accountability from service providers.
Michael refused to take any antiviral drugs
until his hospitalization and showed no interest
in alternative therapies. He declined to have a
viral load test done until late last year when ill
ness began to plague him. It showed his T cell
count well under 100.
teve Michael of ACT UP Washington died
of complications of AIDS on May 25. The
activist, who was bom and raised in Longview,
Wash., was 42.
His 20s were an unsettled period in which he
married, fathered two sons, came to terms with
being gay and roved the Pacific Coast.
Michael met Wayne Turner in Seattle in
1991, and the pair formed a bond of love and
AIDS activism that continued until his death.
Michael was known for his skills at using the
media to advance issues related to AIDS.
Michael’s vehicle was the Presidential Pro
ject of ACT UP. Activist Michael Petrelis had
started it as a way to inject AIDS issues into
presidential elections.
Michael and Turner were inspired to zap
Democratic candidate Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa
in 1992. The duo succeeded in gamering press
attention, then joined Petrelis for more actions
during the New Hampshire primary.
Michael and Turner later dogged candidate
Bill Clinton in the small towns of South Dako
ta, back in Seattle, at the national convention
and throughout the fall campaign.
In 1993, Michael moved to Washington,
D.C., where he assumed leadership of the local
ACT UP chapter. While there, he and Turner
constantly raised AIDS issues before the public
and the national media.
In 1996, Michael got his name on the Demo
cratic presidential primary ballot in New Hamp
■ Reported by B ob R oehr
1714 N.E. BROADWAY
PORTLAND, OR 97232
284-1726
Please join us as we welcome Diane Wood
Middlebrook, the
............ “""*1
author of Suits Me:
>
The Double Life of
Billy Tipton. It’s a
fascinating biogra-
phy of the female
jazz musician who
y
lived as a man for 55
years.
-------- —
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