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by Marty Davis
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David and Goliath
NEWSMAGAZINE
VOL. 24 NO. 18
JULY 20, 2007
Candidate could rescue Oregonians from Gordon Smith's conservative stranglehold
ho is Steve Novick, and why is he on the cover of Just Out!
Novick is the first, and so far only, announced candidate
for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Gordon Smith.
In our featured interview, you will learn that Novick has
never held elected office and is yet to be backed, or even par
ticularly acknowledged, by party higher-ups and major press. Everyone seems
to be waiting and hoping for some super candidate to drop out of the sky to
rescue Oregonians from the conservative stranglehold of the now-considered-
vulnerable Sen. Smith.
All of Oregon’s congressional delegation has taken a pass at running against
Smith. Now hopeful eyes turn toward Salem and an awaited announcement
frt>m Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley. Merkley, however, has young children
and a good standing in Salem, and it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be willing to
step up and take the challenge. Like it or not, a decision by Merkley to not run
could leave Novick with the starring role in a revival of David and Goliath. And
that’s why we need to starting getting to know the man who just might bring
down Smith.
Similar to Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler, who strongly courted gay
voters, Novick comes to this race with light credentials of advocacy or a strong
established record of action involving gay civil rights issues. In lieu of a solid
history of support, we will receive his promises to work harder and do more in
the future. Will promises and pledges be enough to earn your vote?
Novick is on the cover of Just Out as a representation of the many candi
dates that will come to our community and to our pages in the 16 months lead
ing up to the general election of 2008. By getting an early start on profiles and
questionnaires, we will be able to determine who needs to be shored up in which
areas. We will set forth our expectations of what needs to be accomplished and
pledged in return for our sought-after votes. We start this process with Steve
Novick.
ecently 1 found myself at the monthly board meeting of the Imperial
Sovereign Rose Court. While waiting for the meeting to start, I looked
around the room and noticed two things. One, there were a lot of people in
attendance—a good sign always for any organization. Secondly, I realized that
it has been far tix> long since I’d been to one of those meetings and that there
were few familiar faces in the room. This, too, is a g<xxJ sign for an organization.
It indicates that while past leadership has moved on, there was left in place
a strong enough organization for the next members to grow and perpetuate.
R
ISRC is an organization rich in history and gixxl work. While titles and
pageantry might not be everyone’s cup of tea, let’s still give credit where credit
is due and hold this group in high regard for keeping itself going, especially after
a couple of rough years.
FEATURE
he summer of 2007 will be remembered as a time of new faces and new
energy in the leadership of our community. I’ve recently had the opportu
nity to spend time in conversation with both Basic Rights Oregon executive
director John Hummel and Q Center executive director Kendall Clawson.
Meeting both of these people has left me feeling confident and optimistic,
excited even, about the direction their key organizations will be taking.
Even though there appears to be a drowsy calmness to the summer, we must
not forget that signature gathering is under way to place initiatives on the
ballot undoing the positive gains attained with this year’s passage of Senate
Bill 2 and House Bill 2007. Hummel is confident that our opposition will be
able to gather the required amount of signatures and that, once again, we will
face a ballot battle. We must not lose sight of the fact that all gains achieved
recently could be stricken away without ever having been actualized. In the
coming weeks you will hear much more about the roles that you will be asked
to take on—once again.
T
ongratulations to the winner of Portland’s LaFemme Magnifique 2007,
BeBe J, and her first runner-up, Karla Crawford. This was my first time to
attend a LaFemme pageant, and 1 quickly discovered that this is definitely not
your average drag queen show. While all drag shows are entertaining, contenders
for this title go beyond the norm. These were visions to behold, decked out in
stunning outfits and decor. The showgirl portion of the competition had the
girls strutting about in headdresses that would rival any Las Vegas performer.
I can’t imagine how they maneuvered their designs backstage, let alone perched
them on their heads in a manner allowing for movement.
Here’s the best part of all this: You, too, have a chance to see all this and
more as the LaFemme Magnifique International Pageant comes to Portland on
Sept. 2. Put aside all your old notions about drag shows and get yourself tickets
to this event. It will be dazzling, 1 tell you, simply dazzling. And don’t we all
need a little dazzle in our lives? ®
C
To view photos from L a F emme
www.justout.com.
MAGNIFIQUE 2007
visit the photo gallery at
20 FROM THE LEFT
Does Steve Novick speak for Oregon?
NEWS
8-21 NORTHWEST
Benefit concert planned; abuser sentenced;
judge rules for same-sex parents; Portland
Pride breaks records; hetero allies campaign
launches; vote for SMYRC; PFLAG
addresses anti-gay conference; events
benefit eastern Oregon; BRO holds
immigration workshop
16-17 NATIONAL
Gays oppose Holsinger; gay-focused
presidential debate scheduled; hate crimes
bill moves to Senate; suicide prevention
hotline raises record funds; gay film
preservation archives doubles; Gay Games
losing trend reversed; anti-gay senator cops
to sex scandal
18-19 WORLD
Pride celebrated worldwide; anti-Luzhkov
protesters arrested in Moscow; new Buenos
Aires mayor was once anti-gay; gays to be
protected in new Thai constitution
ARTS AND CULTURE
34 NIGHTLIFE
What’s more fun than a drag queen nun?
36 ART
Binational sculptors conquer America after
enduring homophobia in Latvia
37 FILM
John Travolta does drag in Hairspray; Kevin
James pretends to marry Adam Sandler in
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
COLUMNS
15 GET DIRTY WITH DAN
Heat Wave
32 OUT
GOING
Summer
Lovin’
33 OUT OF
MY MIND
Tennis,
Anyone?
38 JIM'S
CLOSET
New York
Minutes
Darcelle XV (left) and Roxy LeRoy (right) congratulate the winner of Portland’s LaFemme Magnifique 2007, BeBe J, and her first runner-up, Karla Crawford.
-D O N ' UANE ANO
31 MS.
BEHAVIOR
Panty Raid
PAT HOOPER COLLECTION' PHOTO BY TONY
27 EPIQUEEREAN
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