Despite gains, some gay candidates still not open; experts say shying away from the issue isn’t an effective campaign strategy
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Over the last eight years, the number of openly gay and lesbian elected officials in the U.S. has gone from 257 to 445, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.
In addition to numerous city council members, Dallas voters have elected an out lesbian sheriff, and an openly gay county judge and district clerk. And voters in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, recently elected an out lesbian mayor.
Despite this apparent progress, however, some gay and lesbian political candidates in North Texas remain unwilling to discuss or even confirm their sexual orientation in the media.
One local candidate who’s running in 2010, widely known to be gay in LGBT circles, has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about his sexual orientation posed by Dallas Voice. And another local 2010 candidate has confirmed she’s a lesbian but isn’t willing to be interviewed about her sexual orientation.
Denis Dison, a spokesman for the Victory Fund, which backs openly LGBT candidates nationwide, said although he understands why some are less than fully open about their sexual orientation, he doesn’t believe shying away from the issue is an effective strategy.
"I respect people’s decision to be out or not out, that’s up to them, but our recommendation to gay people who are running for office is always, be honest and answer the question, and move on to the issues that you’re running on," Dison said.
"Every race is different, but our general advice is, you answer the question and then say, ‘Next question.’ It’s going to be as big of a deal as you make it. Most people just don’t care that much, and they’re taking cues from your behavior. If you make it a big deal, then people are going to get interested: ‘Who is this person and why are they ashamed of this?’ You’re setting yourself up for a much more difficult campaign."
Dison added that when LGBT candidates try to hide their sexual orientation, opponents often still find out and to try to use it against them. He also said LGBT candidates and elected officials who come out frequently say it’s the best decision they’ve ever made.
Every year, Dison said, Victory Fund officials meet with closeted politicians in "off-the-record" sessions trying to convince them to come out, but some still won’t do so.
That’s why despite the fact that every state legislature likely has gay or lesbian members, 20 states including Texas lack an openly LGBT legislator. And while the U.S. Senate has almost certainly had gay and lesbian members, there’s never been an openly LGBT one.
"If everybody who’s gay came out in this country, we would not be talking about LGBT rights," Dison said.
The Victory Fund has endorsed only one North Texas candidate in 2010 thus far, openly gay Dallas County District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons. Another candidate, John Loza, said he plans to seek the Victory Fund’s endorsement.
Loza, a criminal defense attorney and former Dallas city council member, is running for the County Criminal Court No. 5 seat, and vying to become the first openly gay person elected to the judiciary in Dallas County. Loza faces three other candidates in the March 2 Democratic primary, meaning a runoff is likely.
Loza, who’s never tried to hide his sexual orientation, said it hasn’t come up in his current campaign. But he added that if and when it does, "My response is that I’m an openly gay candidate and I’m proud to be an openly gay candidate, and I think by being elected I will bring a different viewpoint to the bench, which I think is a good thing, and that I will help to ensure that the judiciary of Dallas County is representative of all of its citizens. I think I’d pretty much leave it at that."
Still, Loza refused to criticize candidates for being less than open about their sexual orientation. He said coming out is a very personal process, and that everyone does it at a different point in their life.
He also said he believes LGBT politicians mirror the community at large, with its widely varying degrees of being out.
"Unless I can walk a mile in their shoes, I’m really not in a position to judge why one person may be more comfortable with being out, and another person may not," Loza said. "Obviously I think if it’s a candidate that’s working to the detriment of the LGBT community who is closeted, they should be exposed for what they are. But if it’s someone who’s not doing that, or someone who’s advocating or an ally of the community, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as to how comfortable they are being open about their sexuality. … Hopefully, we get to a point where any politician who’s gay is comfortable being open about it, but I don’t know that we’ve reached that point yet. But I think we’re getting there."
Loza said he thinks it’s unlikely that his sexual orientation will come up in the Democratic primary. But if he becomes the Democratic nominee, it could be a different story.
"I don’t know if he [the GOP candidate] will personally make an issue of it or not, but I think the [Republican] party will make an issue of it," Loza said. "As a matter of fact I’m expecting that. You’d like to hope that wouldn’t be the case, but I think that’s probably too much to expect."
Fitzsimmons, who’s seeking a second term this year, said he believes Sheriff Lupe Valdez’s re-election in 2008 demonstrates that being openly gay or lesbian is not a political liability — at least not in a countywide race.
"If Lupe can get elected pretty overwhelmingly with more than 54 percent of the vote, I’m not sure why a candidate would be afraid of people knowing," Fitzsimmons said, adding that he believes being openly gay helps more than it hurts, particularly when it comes to fundraising.
"What African-American elected official isn’t going to be willing to talk about their experience being African-American when asked to do so?" Fitzsimmons said. "It’s not what my office is about, but it would be just ludicrous for me to pretend that I’m not or try to downplay it."
Four years ago, Fitzsimmons was the target of an anti-gay robo call warning voters that he would issue same-sex marriage licenses, even though marriage licenses aren’t part of the district clerk’s responsibilities.
He said he expects to be attacked for his sexual orientation again this year, in part because he has a solid record and there’s little else to criticize, and in part due to the recession.
"As soon as the economy turns sour, people get cranky and they start looking for different groups," he said. "It’s hard to imagine the Nazi movement would have been successful if Germany had a stable and prosperous economy."
Dison said given the attacks they frequently face, candidates who run as openly LGBT are "pretty courageous." He also agreed that despite Mayor Annise Parker’s triumph in Houston — in which she overcame blatant anti-gay attacks to earn a convincing victory — it’s unlikely Dallas has seen the end of them.
"You would hope they would wake up and realize that if Houston, Texas, can elect an openly lesbian mayor, that maybe the tide has turned," Dison
said.
"But I don’t know that they’re going to get that message in some parts of the country. I never underestimate the stupidity of our enemies — nor their cleverness."
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EARLY VOTING BEGINS
Early voting for the March 2 primaries begins Tuesday, Feb. 16 in Dallas County. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, Feb. 19; from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20; from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21; and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22 through Friday, Feb. 26. For a list of early voting locations, go to www.dalcoelections.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition February 12, 2010.