OREGON'S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
MAY 20, 2011
Missed Opportunities
As Pride approaches, the question asks itself
page 3
BY MARTY DAVIS
was out o f town the weekend o f M ay 14,
thus missing many excellent photo op
portunities in the Rose City. Am ong these
was seeing Portland Mayor Sam Adams
step up to allow his unruly head o f hair to
be not merely shorn but totally shaved for
St. Baldrick’s Day, an annual event held to
raise funds and awareness for children with
cancer. I applaud the mayor for his actions
while not for one second questioning his
good intent. That said, I also take this ac
tivity to be a clear signal that his race for
re-election has begun in earnest. About-
to-be-lame duck mayors don’t have to have
their heads shaved.
This week has seen several more names
brought into speculation as possible
contenders for the seat held by Adams.
The Oregonians Anna Griffin interviews
former Portland C ity Com m issioner Jim
Francesconi, who admits interest in the
race. Rival Willamette Week manages to get
M ultnomah County Chair Je ff Cogen to
admit he is thinking about thinking about
the possibility o f maybe thinking about
running. Other possible candidates include
Eileen Brady, co-founder o f the New Sea
sons grocery store chain. It will be weeks
yet before anyone actually steps up and
announces their formal intent to run, but I
can tell you right now that I already know
who is the most serious opponent Sam
Adam s will face in his bid for re-election.
Easily the most serious opponent that
Sam Adams will face in his bid for re-
election is himself.
As you may or may not recall, the mayor
faced a test o f confidence between himself
and Portlanders immediately after taking
office. W hile his opponents, whomever they
turn out to be, will all make noble state
ments about running their campaigns on
their own merits, many Portland voters
are going to ask their own questions o f the
mayor. Over and over and over, they’re going
to ask. How Adams controls his temper and
his patience, how he manages to respond to
voters on a sincere and meaningful level will
be the true test o f his campaign. Supporters
o f Adam s will have a role to play in this race,
also. Hurling accusations o f “homophobia”
every time someone questions the high
cost o f their water bill is not going to help
Adams. I’ve touched upon this topic before,
and, trust me, I’ll address it again. There is
no “gay card” to be played in this election.
I
peaking o f Willamette Week , which I did
briefly, I think it’s time to address the
proverbial elephant in the room. How is it
that Willamette Week is publishing the “O f
ficial Portland Pride G uide” rather than oh,
say, the 28-year-old gay-identified news-
S
back out into our LGBTQ_community. In
the last year ,Ju st Out has donated ad space
and/or promotional materials to the follow
ing organizations, to name just a few:
• Oregon Bears
• Equity Foundation
• Latino Pride
• QD oc
• Cascade A ID S Project
• Raphael House
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus
• Bill and Ann Shepherd Scholarship
Fund
• Portland Lesbian Choir
• Q_Center
Ju st Out maintains a scholarship fund
for community members and works ag
gressively year-round to collect food items
for Esther’s Pantry. Before you write that
check, please consider if any o f your money
goes back into the community.
O n its website Pride Northwest states
that Willamette Week publisher Richard
M eeker acknowledges his paper has not
done enough outreach to the L G B T Q _
community and that its publication o f the
Pride G uide is an im portant first step as
a show o f good
faith. That says
to me that Wil
lamette Week is
willing to start
covering L G -
B T Q jssu e s and
stories,
after
29 years, if and
when the money
steps up. I think
that they will
cover our com
munity about as
well, and with
as much inter
est, as Ju st Out
could
report
on
unpaved
roads in E ast
Portland.
Ju st Out has
always and will
always report on
all the events under the umbrella o f Pride
Northwest. It is our obligation to our read
ership and our community. It seems some
streets in Portland are unpaved, others are
one-way.
paper, the one you’re reading now? Let me
preface this conversation by stating that I
have no problems, no issues, no bad history
with WW. They do what they do and they
do a decent job o f it. We cross paths now
and then in competing for ad sales, but by
and large we serve different markets with
different readership demographics. I am
aware, though, that there is some confusion
in the community over why WW is doing
the “Pride G uide,” so let’s see if I can sort
some o f this out.
First, Ju st Out has never published the
Pride Guide. For many years, Pride North
west handled their publication internally.
There were two years when we worked to
gether with Pride Northwest on a co-guide,
but those times and those fine folks are long
since gone. M ost recently, the Pride Guide
was published for
two years by the
Portland M er
cury,
followed
by two years
with E l Hispanic
News — and now,
for 2011, Wil
lamette Week. I
can tell you that
at no time in
these past five years
was Ju st Out ever ap
proached in any credible
manner or form for so
much as even a discussion
about our participation in
this process. I would sug
gest it would be helpful
going forward for Pride
Northwest to establish
an open and transparent
policy for accepting bids
from all publications that
might be interested in the opportunity. As
it stands now, no such policy appears to ex
ist. I question the financial stewardship o f
an organization that doesn’t have even the
most basic Request for Bid procedures in
place.
n closing, I ask you to take a few minutes
Am I angry that Ju st Out is not doing the
and head on over to your computer to
Pride Guide? No. Am I a tad annoyed at the
process, or lack thereof? Yes. D o I feel that fill out a survey. This survey will gather our
I have any culpability in the deterioration readership demographics and help us better
o f the overall relationship between Ju st Out serve you. The survey is nationwide in scope,
but if we reach a certain number o f respond
and Pride Northwest? Yes, and no.
Speaking o f the publisher, it would be ers, information will be detailed specifically
remiss o f me to not put forth a statement for our market. There is a contest with cash
to the community and to those business prizes for everyone who completes the sur
owners who might be considering writing vey by June 15. Please go to lgbtsurvey.com.
a check to WW f or its Pride Guide. Before You can also find a link atjustout.com .
you write that check, please compare the
Next issue, Gay Pride, Queer Pride, L G -
amounts o f sponsorship dollars that each BT Q A Pride or simply Pride. W hat should
publication, WW and Ju st Out , have put we call ourselves?
I
3
just out
VOL. 28. NO. 12
MAY 20. 20* *
INSIDE
» FEATURE
18 REAL TO REEL
QDoc projects the queer experience
for a fifth year
21 THERE AND BACK AGAIN
Joey Arias returns to Portland for QDoc
22 NOW AND LENS
Checking in with this year’s
QDoc curators
» NEWS & COMMUNITY
5
NORTHWEST NEWS IN BRIEF
14 IT’S BUSINESS TIME
These LGBTQentrepreneurs get the
goods out there
16 NORTHERN EXPOSURE
Vancouver planning committee eyes queer
youth center in Clark County
» ARTS & CULTURE
23 OUT & ABOUT
30 ALL FIRED UP
Pauline M iriam ’s growing empire proves
it’s no (Hot) Flash in the pan
32 THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED
Discovering the other Pacific Northwest
34 QUEER IT YOURSELF
Alternative publishing thrives in Portland
36 IDOL HANDS
Portland Idol returns to Red Cap Garage
» COLUMNISTS
13 SASSY GARDENER
28 LADY ABOUT TOWN
29 FROM HALF A LIFE TO WHOLE
35 PETLANDIA
38 ASK A GAY
39 REMEMBER TO BREATHE
» PHOTOS
46 BEARRACUDA &
CHRIS’ TOP SURGERY BENEFIT
47 GAY SKATE