Three City Council Endorsements

Three City Council Endorsements

VOTE Tuesday, November 5th

Politics have gotten nasty.

I am sure that does not come as a surprise to you. And we have gone through this before in our history. When these periods happen it is because politicians place ideology above the job of governing. The end result is government does not do the things government is supposed to do. This behavior generally starts at the highest levels of government and works its way down to local government. That's because local government usually is more concerned about picking up the garbage and putting out fires than ideology. The closer you get to the citizenry, the more government is about providing services.

This dysfunctional behavior has found its way to local government, and the time has come to turn things around. 

Men and women of good will are easily drawn into this behavior. This is why people avoid discussing politics at family gatherings. It is too easy to be drawn into the ideological debate, which always ending up in a yelling match. 

We must be able to disagree on ideological grounds, and still find a civil way to good policy. I do believe that most people who serve as elected officials (and are paid for their efforts) or on civic boards (who serve without any compensation) do so because they love this city. We must respect that.

With that preamble, I have three endorsements to make. The endorsements are for different specific reasons, but are all made in an attempt to get City Council back into the business of making good public policy.

Sabra Briere in Ward 1

Sabra is the hardest working person on City Council. She shows up at hundreds of Board and Commission meetings as an observer. She is not there to push an agenda. She is there to listen.

Outside of those meetings, she researches and prepares. As she is forming her views on public policy she asks questions. She does not ask leading questions. She does not ask questions to embarass anyone. She asks questions because she wants to hear viewpoints (in the case of differing opinions) or learn the facts (in cases where policy should be science or fact-based). In other words. She asks questions because she wants to learn the answers. She listens. And then she applies her personal approach to what she learns.

That is the correct methodology for devising policy.

I do not always agree with Sabra. And she doesn't always agree with me. But we still have great discussions on public policy.

As a short aside, this endorsement might surprise the folks in the middle of the ideological warfare. In their view, Sabra is not part of the "Mayor's Party" and I am regularly listed in that group. This division does nothing to advance policy, and is just plain inaccurate. Certainly the mayor has political allies, but he does not run a cabal. While I know the mayor, I do not know him well. I don't have personal contact information for him. If I want to talk to him, I do what every citizen does. I call the mayor's office. I have never gotten a call from the mayor or any of his allies telling me how to vote as a member of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

http://sabrabriere.org/


Kirk Westphal for City Council, 2nd Ward.

I do not know Kirk well. We've met at occasional civic meetings. Even from those occasional meetings I can say he is one of the most warm and genuine people I've met.

More importantly to this task, he is an urban planner who knows more about city, street, and sidewalk design than anyone in the city of Ann Arbor. He is articulate about the subject and passionate about the city.

Kirk has served for seven years on the Planning Commission, as well as having served on the Environmental Commission. He is a best practices consultant to local governments. 

This is a man who understands public policy in the geeky way (said as a compliment) that our City Council has not seen since Chris Kolb. 

The choice in this ward could not be more stark. Jane Lumm is very good at constituent services, which makes her popular. That is important. However I believe that her decisions are leading to poor public policy. She has voted to turn down federal transportation money on ideological grounds. She is part of the attack on the DDA, which is also ideologically based. The DDA is actually one of the best tools in the City's toolbox. City staff members know this and are privately aghast at the attacks. Ann Arbor has survived this recession with minimal cuts in services, no increase in operational debt, and no tax increases in no small part because the DDA has been able to subsidize the City by taking on projects that otherwise the city would have to have taken on, as well as providing important general fund dollars. 

http://www.kirkforcouncil.org/


Write In Chip Smith in Ward 5

This is my Ward.

I was simply not going to vote in the City Council election. That is not like me. However, Mike Anglin has been a big disappointment to me. I thought, with his background, that he would be a good man for our city.

So I was thrilled to be given a last minute chance to vote. And not just an anti-Anglin vote. Chip Smith is the real thing. Chip (like Kirk) has a background as an urban planner. He knows how to make good policy. And he has lived in the Fifth Ward for nearly 20 years. He threw his hat in the ring late in the game because of his frustration with the dysfunctional City Council. 

Ann Arbor consistently is mentioned as a high-quality places to live and work.  That is not an accident. That is good urban planning. Chip will evaluate every public investment and ask how each contributes to building a stronger tomorrow for Ann Arbor's citizens. His four goals are:

• Healthy, safe and pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods
• Economic development
• Think regionally
• Better capital planning and budgeting

Write-In candidates have a high bar to pass. A voter must be more intentional in the voting booth. Please take the time to Write In Chip Smith in Ward Five. And explore his website. Like I said above, he is the real thing.

http://writeinchipsmith.com/

A Post-DOMA Michigan Update

Amongst all of the eupohoria of the day a friend posted on Facebook that she was not going to wait for Michigan to get its act together. She was going to New York to get married. (Okay...her language was a little stronger, but that's the gist).

The rulings were in line with many predictions (including mine, below). DOMA was overturned, but the court took pains to overturn it as narrowly as possible. Prop 8 was overturned, in a roundabout procedural way which does not speak to any other marriage ban.

The court did not address the full faith and credit clause (at least a search of the 77 page opinion did not turn up that phrase).

In other words, a marriage in New York is still not a marriage in Michigan. Michigan will not recognize the marriage, and it will probably take a separate court ruling to even allow that married-in-New-York couple to get federal benefits if they reside in Michigan.

Confusing? Yes.

But I believe the court wanted to leave it confusing. They were afraid of a sweeping decision which would affext all 50 states. They found exactly the escape route they were looking for. They acknowledged Marriage Equality, but ruled as narrowly as possible. They did not rule all of DOMA was unconstitutional, only the one man, one woman provision. DOMA specifically says that states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages in other states.

The ruling is still exceptionally good news, as it opens a door to Marriage Equality everywhere. However, that door will have to be opened state-by-state. The Full Faith and Credit issue will have to be challenged.

The ruling is especially encouraging for Michigan.

There is a case in front of U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman, brought by a Hazel Park couple, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse who want joint custody of their two children. The case questions the constitutionality of Michigan's ban on same-sex marriages. Judge Friedman decided to wait until the two Supreme Court rulings to make his decision. This bodes well for that case.

April DeBoer, second from left, sits with her adopted daughter Ryanne, 3, left,

and Jayne Rowse, fourth from left, and her adopted sons

Jacob, 3, middle, and Nolan, 4, right, at their home in Hazel Park.

In addition, a majority of Michiganders now support Marriage Equality.

In other words, the stage is set for both political and legal remedies in our state. 

So to my Facebook friend, hang tough. Michigan could get Marriage Equality much quicker than any of us would have been able to guess 24 hours ago.

And for my local friends...The celebration is in Braun Court starting at 4:00 p.m.

To Marry, or Not to Marry, that is the Supreme Court's Question

We are awaiting two decisions on Marriage Equality from the Supreme Court. As I write this the court has finished for the day. So today is not the Day of Decision. We now know it will be tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26th.

As we reach the fever pitch around this single moment, I think its a good idea to reflect a bit.

A Short History of Marriage Equality

Evan Wolfson has done more for the Marriage Equality movement than anyone else. There certainly are earlier cases of people trying to get married and attempting to bring suits to gain access to the benefits of marriage. There are even a few cases of people who managed to hide their gender and get what they claim were valid marriage licenses.

However, the suits all failed, and the anomalies did nothing to move the civil rights of gays and lesbians along.

Evan saw the possibilities and began the Freedom to Marry organization in 2001. At the time, he was pretty much ignored by most LGBT activists who thought the more important battles were employment and housing protection. In fact, in my state of Michigan you can be fired for being gay. We are not an anomaly:

The first victory for Marriage Equality was the recognition of Civil Unions in Vermont in 2000. While many consider civil unions "marriage light" or another version of "separate but equal", to social conservatives the Vermont move was anathema.

In a grand irony, marriage equality became an issue because the Republicans made it one in 2004. While Republicans had made gains in the 2002 election, there was a big backlash against Bush and his war on Iraq. The Presidency, and both the House and Senate looked vulnerable. Marriage Equality was not a Democratic Party priority, however, the Republicans saw it as an opportunity to drive a wedge into the voting public and make the election about cultural issues. The plan was to get social conservatives out in big numbers to vote against gay marriage. The strategy worked in the short term. Bush was re-elected and Republicans made big wins across the nation.

But now, less than ten years later, the strategy is backfiring. Marriage Equality became the rallying cry of the gay and lesbian community, and our families, neighbors and friends rallied to our defense. The majority of Americans now believe in Marriage Equality, and some conservatives are acknowledging the issue is lost and are moving on to the next culture war.

(BTW, I  am using the term gay and lesbian instead of LGBT because this issue is not strictly a trans issue, though many trans activists remain important allies.)   

What Will Happen Tomorrow

I believe the court wants to stay in step with America, but does not want to step out in front. In other words, they will find a way to strike down DOMA and Prop 8, and do it as narrowly as possible.

I am not a big fan of Justice Robert's politics. However, he seems to want to leave a legacy of a Court that can make decisions based on the law, and is suspicious of too many cases having the same 5-4 votes. I believe we will see DOMA unequivocally shot down. However, they will give little or no direction as to what that means. In other words, it opens the door for other suits to gain access to Federal Benefits, and implementation of the Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution (this is the clause which generally lets one state accept another state's marriages. For instance, if a 15 year old is legally married, and moves to a state where you must be 16 to marry, the marriage is still valid).

Similarly, I believe Prop 8 will go down, but likely on procedural issues so that it does not set a precedent for other states or suits.

For those hoping for full Marriage Equality now, this will seem a disappointment. However, the fact that the door will open a bit, allowing for further gains down the road is huge. The reason I even reviewed the history of Marriage Equality is to show that what may seem like a baby step, and to many people a disappointing baby step, is in fact, the beginning of the end for the bias in our marriage laws. In the long run, tomorrow could be a bigger beginning than all the states which currently allow Marriage Equality.

And then again, perhaps the conservatives on the court will win out, and DOMA will have the imprimatur of a Supreme Court victory. If that's the case, we must do what we have been doing for the past half century...Organize and Fight. There are rallies planned across the nation. Google Day of Decision to find out if there is one near you. Mine is the work of the Jim Toy Community Center and the Community Center Network. It will be held in Braun Court at 4:00 p.m. Braun Court is the home of the \aut\ BAR, Common Language Bookstore, Trillium Real Estate, and the Jim Toy Community Center. Check out the event facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/503631039702936/. If you are one of my far-flung readers, find one near you. We hope we are gathering to celebrate. But if we are not celebrating, we'll be fighting.

Gay Families Matter

I just got back from Lansing, where about 250-300 LGBT and allies rallied under the theme of "Gay Families Matter". We were protesting the passage of 4770 and 4771, and the general atmosphere of intolerance in Lansing.

Lansing. Capitol Steps. 1/18/12.
photo Sandi Smith

It was a wonderful empowering experience. It reminded me of the wonderful, empowering experience of one of my first marches down Woodward circa 1980. Yup. There were queers back then. I think a triceratops may have been in the vicinity.


It reminded me of that time, because the atmosphere in the capitol today reminds me a lot of the attitudes of most people back then. It is not even intolerance. It is homophobia and hate. (It should be noted that Representatives Sean McCann and Jeff Irwin joined us in the cold, because they understand that Gay Families Matter).


Unfortunately, it also reminded me of the numbers we gathered back then. A march of 250-300 people seemed like such a HUGE number of gays and lesbians in those days. It was exciting...and kinda hot. (And in those days there were no bisexuals or transgender folk. Oh how young and naive we and the movement were).


I am not unhappy about the number of people who turned out today. There were some great things accomplished. This rally was put together on about ten days notice, in the middle of a workday, in the middle of January. Further, many organizations across the state came together for this rally. Antonio David Garcia showed real regional leadership by bringing this coalition together. That is going to be a great legacy of today going forward.


I am also aware that in this economically challenged state it is not easy to drop everything and run to Lansing. I'm lucky. Martin stayed behind to get the restaurant ready to open, so that I could be there.


However, if we are going to make an impact, we need more than the 250 people who showed up to work for the cause. As David rightly pointed out, we need our straight allies to "come out of the closet". They need to be active and vocal about our civil rights.


But we can't expect it of them if we don't do it ourselves.


I probably personally recognized 75% of the people at this rally. I recognized folks from Equality Michigan, Affirmations, Jim Toy Community Center, and the ACLU. I recognized folks from the Prop 2 campaign.


And it was warm and fuzzy...like a family reunion. So it felt very real chanting "Gay Families Matter".


But we need a bigger "family".


And you'll see great pictures from Between The Lines and OutPost in their next respective issue. Unfortunately you will NOT see pictures in annarbor.com. Or the Detroit Free Press. Or any other publication. Because frankly, they don't care.


We have to make them care.

The Mattachine Society

And we have to get our friends and family to care.


The other feeling I had was how much this looked like Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, and the dozen or so folks in the Mattachine Society who marched in front of Independence Hall, walking around and around in a small circle. Out of that small group a movement was born. It is our responsibility to walk in their shoes.


Its up to all of us to figure out if our gatherings will continue to feel like warm and fuzzy family reunions, or the voices of a large community daring to speak truth to power.

The Buy Local Movement...in Kerrytown

Tomorrow is "Buy Local Saturday".

The Buy Local movement has gained a lot of ground over the past few years. The Occupy Wall Street movement speaks to a lot of the same issues (and frustrations) as the Buy Local movement. Our economic system is letting down millions of hard working Americans. It seems we have so little control over Bank of America (to name one), while Bank of America has so much control over us.


Buy Local is one way we do have control over our economy. We keep money in our local economy, allowing more money to flow into the cultural and social institutions that create quality of life for all of us.


And its personal. Let me tell you about my neighborhood:


You want something for your pet, or a dog or cat-loving friend? Stop by Dogma (catmantoo) on Fourth Avenue. Alice Liberson owns Dogma. She is passionate about animals. She also supports dozens of local charities. Duke and I love to stop in there and visit. Alice is a licensed vet, and currently practicing veterinary acupuncture.
http://dogmacatmantoo.com/

Just across the street you could talk to Paul Tinkerhess at Fourth Avenue Birkenstock. He has footwear and also a Sleep Shop (mattresses and other items to make sure you get good sleep). He is a local activist and musician. He and his family are a part of First Amendment history. Don't ask me...stop in there and ask Paul about it.
https://www.facebook.com/birkenstock.store?sk=wall

Around the corner from both Alice and Paul is Vicki Honeyman's Heavenly Metal. Vicki had a profound influence on the growth of the Ann Arbor Film Festival some years back. She has remained active in social and artistic causes. She calls Heavenly Metal a "unique boutique". It has apparel, footwear, recycled metal art, and more.
http://www.heavenlymetal.com/

Need a break...stop for coffee at Cafe Verde, run by the member-owned People's Food Co-op. And though it is member-owned, the "face" of the Co-op is Kevin Sharp. Kevin shares a passion for Border Collies with me. He is also the reason Sculpture Park is kept clean and the landscape is well-tended. The "People's Park" owes a big debt to this community-centered guy.
http://www.peoplesfood.coop/

Or you might stop for your coffee in the Kerrytown Market and Shops at Sweetwater, owned by Chris Hutton. Chris serves on the Kerrytown District Association Board, and seems to always be involved in some fundraising activity.
http://www.sweetwaterscafe.com/cafes/kerrytown.php

While in Kerrytown you can visit Mary Cambruzzi on the second floor at Found, a truly unique store...part antique, part collectibles, or Jan and Sharon at Mudpuddles, or Bob at Sparrow Market, or Mike at Monahan's. And especially Mary at Everyday Wine. She is a big part of making An Ann Arbor Wine Cellar (benefit for HARC) a success.
http://foundgallery.com/
http://www.kerrytown.com/mudpuddles/index.htm
http://www.sparrowmarket.com/
http://www.monahansseafood.com/
http://everyday-wines.blogspot.com/

I'm almost afraid to send this out...I don't want to forget Nina Howard at Bellanina or Deanna Relyea at Kerrytown Concert House, or Sherry Knight at Knight's Market, or Don at Kosmo's, or Gene Alloway at Motte and Bailey's
http://www.bellanina.com/
http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com/index.php
http://knightsmeatmarket.com/
http://www.kerrytown.com/kosmopolitan/
http://www.mottebooks.com/shop/motte/index.html

See...I have names to all these businesses. When you buy local you are supporting Alice and Vicki and Paul and more than one Mary, and so many others. And they support the community, and their employees are a part of the local community and the local economy. I feel like quoting the "Bank Run" scene from "It's A Wonderful Life".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu2uJWSZkck

So if you survived "Black Friday" (or "Boozy Friday" as we are calling it at the \aut\ BAR), please do not forget to BUY LOCAL.

Westboro and the Supreme Court

I have a history with the Westboro Church. They picketed me.

I was not the first. Their first pickets go back to the 1980's. They would show up at funerals of people who had died because of HIV/AIDS. Outside of the gay community no one was taking issue with this. Legislators were not passing bills limiting how far picketers had to stay away from funerals. In fact, it appeared that most of America had no problem with the Westboro Church.

They first made mainstream news when they picketed Matthew Shepard's funeral. The brutality of that murder actually brought some compassion from folks outside the gay community. And there was even a bit of outrage that this nutcase was picketing this funeral.

The Phelps family has always thrived on publicity. They were drunk with pleasure from all the publicity they got from picketing Matthew Shepard. Pissing off gays wasn't getting them what they wanted. They needed to piss off a lot more people.

Queers who paid attention understood that they pissed people off so that other people would engage them. If they engaged them physically, the family took them to court. They also sued local municipalities for not protecting their First Amendment rights.

THIS IS THE MAJOR SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE PHELPS CLAN.

That is VERY important to note. Let me rephrase it. If the Phelps can get you into court, they make money.

Fred Phelps holds no degree from any religious seminary or other institution. The "Reverend" title is self-proclaimed. Note that I NEVER call him Rev. Phelps. No one else should, either.

His background...he is a disbarred lawyer. He was disbarred for an enormous number of nuisance lawsuits. Several of his children are lawyers. They do the courtwork now.

If you ever go to one of his protests you will see a guy nearby videotaping everything. His job is simple. He is collecting evidence.

When those planes slammed into the twin towers, the Phelps clan put out a news release that they were happy this happened. It happened because America was being so nice to all of its gay citizens. And then they picketed the funerals of people who died in the 9/11 attacks. As America went to war in Afghanistan, and then Iraq, they started picketing military funerals. Brilliant. That really pisses people off, and they had a lot more lawsuits. If you are a member of the Phelps clan, that means business is good.

One of those funerals was for Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.

Lance Cpl. Snyder's father sued the Phelps Clan. I feel sorry for Albert Snyder. He lost his son to war. And then he had some nutjobs show up at his son''s funeral. I know how horrible it is because Phelps has been doing that to the queer community for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS.

But I am very angry with him for engaging the Phelps family in court. What was he thinking? The Phelps clan got a lot of publicity. They LOVE bad publicity.

And they have a Supreme Court judgment in their favor, and I am sure a hefty monetary settlement is on its way, if it was not a part of this judgement.

That will keep them picketing for a LONG time to come.

And it was ENTIRELY predictable. If Mr. Snyder had asked a queer, we could have told him what was going to happen.

I actually completely agree with the Supreme Court decision. If unpopular speech is not protected...well...we wouldn't have even had an LGBT rights movement. The answer to hate speech is not to legislate against it. The answer is to use the hate speech to educate rational people of your cause.

I am proud that when Phelps picketed me we beat him at his own game. We raised money instead of him. And the message the media picked up on was our message, not the whack job's. Other folks have found clever ways of meeting him head on without giving him publicity or money.

I wish Mr Snyder had.

............Keith

p.s., here is an old press release about our response to Mr. Phelps: http://www.autbar.com/fred_phelps_press_release.htm

Ann Arbor Primary 2010 Endorsements

We are on the verge of Michigan’s Primary election. In Ann Arbor we have a shockingly low voter turnout. I mention this not as a civics lesson (though I do wish more people would engage in democracy), but rather as a strategic comment. Your vote really could make a difference. We had an election decided by a half-dozen votes in the recent past.

There are six endorsements that Martin and I are making:

• Sandi Smith, 1st Ward Ann Arbor City Council
• Jeff Irwin, 53rd District State House (Rebekah Warren’s former seat)
• Rebekah Warren, 18th District State Senate (Liz Brater’s term-limited seat)
• John Hieftje, Mayor, Ann Arbor
• Garry Post, 47th District State House. Howell, i.e. republican country. Openly gay man running unopposed in the Democratic primary
• Virg Bernero, Governor

I’d like to specifically talk about three of them, because they all share a common theme…long history of significant support of the LGBT community. I am not a single-issue voter. However, most people who care what I think are interested because of our position in the LGBT community.

In 2004 the gay community was under attack. The republicans had a strategy of putting marriage bans on the ballot before the gay community was ready to press forward with them. They piggy backed conservative candidates with the proposals in 17 states across the United States. Michigan was one of the target states.

Many politicians whom we thought were our friends treated us like the plague. One of the reasons I was an early Dean supporter was because of his early support of Vermont Civil Unions. As a presidential candidate he talked about LGBT issues wherever he went. With Howard Dean these were not red state/blue state issues. These were civil rights issues.

I was very active in the No On 2 campaign in 2004. Three people currently running for office put their political necks on the line for us. Their support of the LGBT community has been tested by fire. I will always stand by these individuals.

In 2004 Rebekah Warren was the Director of the Michigan Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (MARAL). I often say about Rebekah that she did more to try and defeat Prop 2 than any straight person in the state of Michigan. She saw the attack on gay rights as the same as the attack on women's reproductive rights, as a gender-based discrimination. She marshaled enormous resources for us. Since that time she has gone on to serve in the Michigan House. She is active on issues as diverse as the environment, health, women’s rights, biotech, and more. Most important, she builds effective coalitions to effect real change. Rebekah is a great friend of our community, and I am honored to call her a friend of mine.

As an aside, this is one of those elections that I have been saying we have two good candidates. I believe Rebekah is the better choice. I have explained to people why, with the proviso that I had nothing bad to say about her opponent, Pam Byrnes. Pam has changed that in the last several days. The amount of negative mailings coming from her campaign has profoundly changed my opinion of her.

Jeff Irwin and Kathryn Loomis actually refused to marry as long as there were folks in Michigan that are unable to marry because of State Law. The only reason they relented was when they had a child. For the benefit of their kid they needed the many protections and benefits that marriage provided. Jeff truly understands the importance of the issue of gay marriage second-parent adoptions. Other elected officials talk a good talk. On LGBT issues Jeff truly understands what it is to walk in our shoes. In his current position of Washtenaw County Commissioner he was largely responsible for Washtenaw County offering domestic partner benefits to County employees. In 2004, when others were running from the gay community in fear, he supported us without a second hesitation. He understood that in matters of civil rights, being on the right side is more important than political expediency. To me that is profoundly important.

I have known Sandi Smith since 1995 when she and a group of activist men and women founded our LGBT Community Center. In 2004 there would not have been a single yard sign in Washtenaw County saying NO ON 2 if it weren’t for Sandi and just a few other dedicated folks. She was a critical part of the organization that assured an overwhelming victory in Washtenaw County for the defeat of Prop 2.

In addition, Sandi has been one of the hardest working folks on City Council to find a way to balance the budget without cutting basic services. She helped expand bed counts for the homeless during this last bitter winter, is a tireless advocate for expanded public transportation options, has built partnerships with the DDA and the AATA, served on more committees than I can enumerate, and is always the hardest working and best prepared member of any group she belongs to. Ann Arbor is truly a better place because of Sandi’s work.