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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 5, 1998)
june5. 1 fTìTTÌTlnews regon’s two leading gay and les bian rights organizations— Portland-based Right to Pride and Basic Rights Oregon—are seriously pondering some form of coupling. A joint task force has been created and is exploring the possibility of joining forces to cre ate one united organization. RTP, established in 1981, focuses on candi date politics and lobbying, while Basic Rights Oregon, founded in October 1996, concentrates on public education and outreach and grass roots organizing. BRO, spawned from the 1994 No on 13 campaign and Support Our Communities PAC, is mostly known for its work countering anti-gay ballot initiatives. “What we’re saying is it may be more effi cient for us to share support and infrastructure,” explains Barry Pack, RTP’s executive director. “There’s no solid proposal on the table yet as to what this will look like. That’s what we’re exploring now.” P olitical P otpourri Oregon queer groups consider combining; election a bust for gay and lesbian candidates; endorsement generates flap by Inga Sorensen T*T3 I « Later, the bill failed to be enacted into law by only one vote in the state Senate. “Having Chuck there made all the differ ence,” says Pack. Eighmey, meanwhile, has been temporarily shut out of electoral office via his several thou sand vote loss to Diane Linn in a Multnomah County Commission runoff. Eighmey has served as a Democratic state representative from Portland for five years, but term limits prohibited him from running for that post again. "I’m going to take a week at the beach, think and regroup,” says Eighmey, a Portland attorney who admittedly loves politics. Interestingly, Eighmey says serving in office helped him lose his cynicism around politics. “1 now have a greater appreciation of the dif ficulties politicians face in getting their point across and convincing others to vote for it,” he says, adding, “Portland politics change like the weather. Opportunities arise all the time.” Eighmey does, however, express frustration over voter apathy: “People die in other places simply for the right to vote. In America though, Chuck Carpenter (standing) Jean Harris Currently, RTP’s offices are located in down town Portland, while BRO is situated on Southeast Belmont Street. Each group conducts its own fund-raising effort and has its own staff. A blending, says Pack, would likely mean a melding of staff, office space and fund raising. How the respective missions and duties would come together remains the big question. “The task force will be asking, ‘What is best for the community?’ ” explains Pack. “Maybe they’ll say no to the idea. We don’t know yet.” Jean Harris, BRO’s executive director, says, “We don’t want to tap donors twice, and we already do a lot of the same things.” She adds, “We’re all being tight-lipped about this because we want it to be a positive process, and there’s still a lot of exploration ahead.” Harris did say, however, she expects to be the person to head up any organization that may be established via a merge—if that indeed happens. “Yes, absolutely,” she tells Just Out, adding, “But no matter what happens, I’m still going to be the head of BRO.” ack, meanwhile, gave notice to his board a few weeks back. He was hired as RTP executive director in June 1995. Pack, 28, plans to leave the organi zation by mid-July. “My resignation means RTP has to decide what to do,” he explains. “Do they hire a new executive director? Do they join with BRO? Is it beneficial to have two separate organizations? It’s a good time for the board to look at that.” Pack says he wants to secure more time for his relationship with partner Jamie Troy, an attorney, and would like to reintroduce himself to dance. “I miss that,” says the theater and dance graduate, who has danced professionally. He says, “The last show I did was over two years ago and I haven’t had time to even go see dance, let alone study or perform again, so I want to do that.” Pack also recently purchased his ; first home and wants to make head- way on a novel he’s been tinkering with for four years. ... < B “Basically 1 want a life outside of politics,” he says, though he is le.in- ing toward campaign and political consulting as a future career. For now, though, he reflects on his time with RTP, citing the Oregon House passage of an employment non-discrimination bill last session as the apex. The measure was approved by a 40- 20 vote. “That session was the highlight of my career with RTP, both in terms of success and satisfac tion. I loved lobbying,” says Pack. “I loved the strategy sessions, I even loved the many sleepless nights I spent figuring our way through the com plex terrain of parliamentary procedure and leg islative politics. I also feel particularly proud of the credibility that lobbying brought to RTP P George Eighmey (center) inside the Capitol. We’re considered a major lobbying force in the building right now—some one to be reckoned with. That’s huge for RTP and the [queer] community.” He also oversaw RTP’s name change from Right to Privacy to Right to Pride. “I think our name change was a key—bring ing us out of the world of privacy politics and into a more out-front, aggressive image which better reflected our methods and our politics,” he says. As for RTP’s future, Pack says, “I think we’re at a new point of maturation as a community and a movement. I hope that we will con tinue to build on our base in the mainstream without ever losing sight of our revolution ary origins and goals. Many people view RTP as a conservative or mainstream organiza tion—that’s interesting when you think that Barry Pack really, we are the ‘gay agenda’ the right wing is so afraid of.” regon’s openly gay and lesbian candidates did not fare well during the May 19 prima ry election. Several made bids, but only one—El li Work, who ran for a state House seat representing the Bend area—won, and she was unopposed in the Democratic primary. The rest, including Republican state Rep. Chuck Carpenter and George Eighmey, who was vying for a Multnomah County Commission seat, went down to defeat. According to Pack, many thought Carpenter, a moder ate, would win against GOP challenger Bill Witt, a con servative and founding mem ber of the Oregon Christian Coalition who has long pro moted an anti-gay-rights agenda. Carpenter had support from the Oregonian and U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, as well as an eclectic mix of groups including RTP, Oregon Education Association and the National Rifle Association. Carpenter lost by just over 50 votes out of the estimated 6,000 cast. “The loss was a surprise because his cam paign was impeccable and he had so much broad-based support,” says Pack. As a state representative, Carpenter was a leader in pushing Oregon’s employment non discrimination act through the House after shut ting down the chamber for three days in 1997. O if there’s not a major crisis, people don’t both er.... It makes me think we need a penalty for those who don’t vote.” Eighmey also says he’s disappointed by a pre election Diane Linn campaign ad that featured a statement from Jean Harris saying, “I urge gay and lesbian voters and our allies to join me in supporting Diane Linn for Multnomah County Commission. She’s consistent, competent, someone we can count on.” Harris was identi fied as the executive director of Basic Rights Oregon. Eighmey and Linn are widely considered progressive and compassionate. The former is gay, the latter is not. “I think Jean crossed the line by using her title, which implied BRO was endorsing Diane,” Eighmey tells Just Out. Due to its tax status, BRO cannot endorse candidates—a fact the average person isn’t like ly to know. Linn eventually sent a letter to Just Out in which she stated, “If I had it to do over again, 1 would have either left [Harris’] title off or added a disclaimer that Jean’s quote did not represent an endorsement by Basic Rights Oregon.” Harris, meanwhile, says she was fully aware her title was going to be used, but thought a dis claimer would run with it. Despite that, she makes no apologies for her public support of Linn. “[Eighmey] needs to stop looking for some one to blame,” Harris says. “He lost by so many votes this clearly wasn’t a make-or-break issue.” Eighmey, meanwhile, says if an RTP-BRO merge occurs, don’t expect to find him support ing Harris at the helm. “She has no understanding of how to unite the gay and lesbian community,” he says. “She’s divided it.” 5
