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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2004)
' aprii 16.2004 18 « ‘ X Planning your wedding? Visit us online at O ut to M ake a D ifference jacksonsflowers.com "Your local fresh flow ers professionals" OurHandf1 Mm? Heartv* 38(V4 N.E. Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232 5(13-282-0657 • 1 (800) 303-0657 Toll Free Lesbian vies for a seat in the Oregon Legislature by Kathy Beige Having a wedding? An occasion? A special moment in a lifetime? ^ Keep the memories fresh and alive with professionally and artfully done photos. i^edhàLüftV ôO 3-289-4339 hrh T J h o r o g R à p h y www.peclliciwkphoto.com T Got financial questions? I Get answers. • • • • Comprehensive Financial Planning Retirement Planning Life & Disability Insurance* Estate Tax Analysis • • • • • College Savings Plans Mutual Funds Investing IRAs, Roth IRAs, Rollovers Tax Advantaged Investments Long Term Care Insurance* ‘ OffwW through arrongamanh <nth n w ro iK i componi« .WADDELL )<SrREED' F in a n c ia l S e rv ie rt Call Anne today. Investing. With a plan.® 503 . 238.6036 ext. 1 1 9 iS . 500 Northeast Multnomah Street • Suite 278 • Portland, OR 97232 503-238-7056 PAX • Toll Free 888*892*9049 • annesedye@wradvi$ffuai;:f ' \ ^ SEELYE M kciai A dvisor justrrn« Pride essay contest Send us your stories, reflections and treatises about what Portland's Prid festival means to you. We're looking for zesty essays that will make fellow revelers swell with ... pride! T LÆr'h^hy Iv n p c rrty ( urpety. A i h m s i im l m o r e 816 NW 23rd Avenue Portland, OR 97210 Ph/Fx: (503) 295-7965 S u b m i s s i o ns h v e m ai l o n I v to m c g d a l v @ j u s t o u t . c o m . 3 0 0 vv o r d s m a x . L) c a cl I i n c : \1 a v 10 T h e t o p t tv o e s s a y s w i l l b e p u b l i s h e d in o u r | u n c 4 i s s u e . IN THE MARKET for a NEW or USED CAR? Stop in at Lithia Subaru and take a test drive. We’ll treat you like family! —Jim Andrews m LITHIA S U B A R U TfeBaautrrVttWWDrtar 1 -8 0 0 -3 1 1 -7 3 1 0 1 4 0 4 M a in S t r e e t • O r e g o n C i t y w w w .lith ia su b a ru o re g o n city .co m amilies are impor tant to Tina Kotek. She’s been promot ing them for the past three years in Salem as a professional advocate for nonprofits. Now she wants to partner her passion with poli tics, as she hopes to win a spot as the only out lesbian in the Oregon Legislature. Like many queer activists, Kotek’s first foray into politics came about because of anti gay discrimination. In 1993 she moved to Bellingham, Wash., following her partner to graduate school. She obtained a job at Western Washington University’s Equal Opportunity Office and applied for medical insurance for her partner. Same-sex cou ples were not covered. After a two-year battle, it was finally decided that the policy was based on state standards and would not be changed. Even though they lost, Kotek says, “It was a very educational process.” Then she moved on to Seattle, this time as a graduate student at University of Washington. There, she and her partner were turned down for married student housing. So, for three years Kotek organized students, rallied and led educational forums and protests so gay and lesbian couples would have the same rights as hetero sexual married couples. Their efforts paid off with a change in policy for housing, student health insurance and access to sports facilities. Bit by the activism hug, Kotek moved on and up to president of the graduate student government association. She hasn’t kxikcd back since. “After my third year in grad schcxil, I knew I wasn’t going on for my Ph.D. because I was hav ing too much fun being an activist,” she says. She moved hack to Portland and started work ing at the Oregon Food Bank as a public policy adviKatc. She continues to work for low-income families as policy director of Children First for Oregon as she campaigns for the Denruxzratic nomination to represent District 43, which cov ers inner Northeast Portland. It’s not surprising to hear Kotek say working for children and families will he one of her pri orities if elected. “When I say families, I have a broad view. That includes the grandparents that are watching the kids, it includes the single par ents, it includes same-sex parents. I’m not saying our families should look a particular way. I’m saying all families should be supported.” She is also aware that the state is facing a billion-dollar deficit and that some kind of tax reform is needed. “The first thing we need to do is amend the kicker law so when the economy is good we can put money aside,” she says. Kotek maintains that state programs must be strengthened to attract business. “Businesses don’t want to relocate to Oregon because they don’t know if our schools are .going to he open,” she adds. At the same time, she wants to do away with corporate loopholes that let big busi nesses slip by without con tributing more tax dollars. As someone who has experienced discrimination herself in housing and employment, Kotek ranks nondiscrimination legislation as one of her top goals. “Peo ple still lose their jobs because they are gay or les bian or for gender identity issues,” she says. Kotek supports expanding Oregon’s hate crimes law to cover trans people but would prioritize the nondiscrimina tion bill. “We have to be very strategic about what legisla tion we bring hack this year,” she says. And, of course, she sup ports same-sex marriage. “It’s an equal rights issue,” she says. I have a lot of friends who got married. There’s a lot of happy people out there.” Kotek believes it’s impor tant to have an out lesbian in office. “When you’re talking side by side with a legislator on the House floor and they’re saying something neg ative about gays and lesbians, you can say: ‘Excuse me, you’re talking about me. You’re talking about my fami ly. You’re talking about my community.’ It’s much more difficult to do something that could hurt a community if you know someone from that community," she says. Kotek has received endorsements from Basic Rights Oregon, the Service Employees Inter national Union, Oregonians for Schcxils and rhe National Abortion Rights Action League Pro- Choice Oregon. Queer supporters include state Sen. Kate Brown, former state Rep. Gail Shibley and activists Bill Dickey and Dick Levy. Kotek’s opponent is Chip Shields, executive director and founder of Fiettcr People, a living- wage employment and counseling organization for people who have been in trouble with rhe law. He has scored endorsements from gay lead ers Sam Adams and Terry F3ean. Kotek thinks her inside experience at the Capitol makes her the best candidate. “It’s so important to have good representation in Salem. State government touches every aspect of peo ple’s lives,” she says. “It’s really important to have people who are educated, who understand poli cy, who know how to work and build coalition on important issues. As an advocate, I’ve always told people, ‘If you want to advocate for change, you have to run for office.’ I finally decided to put my money where my mouth was.” JH "When you're talking side by side with a legislator on the House floor and they're saying something negative about gays and lesbians, you can say: 'Excuse me, you're talking about me. You're talking about my family. You're talking about my community.'" For more information about T lN A KOTEK visit iwvtv. votetma. com. K athy B elge is a Portland free-lance writer.
