SGN March 6, 2020 - Section 1

Celebrating 46 Years!

Issue 10 Volume 48

FRIDAY March 6, 2020 FREE!

25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

Olympic opportunities: The making of Olympic Dreams SEC 2 PG 1

Roosevelt High School presents The Trumpet of the Swan SEC 2 PG 1

Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

Jim Clyburn performs miracle, resurrects Joe Biden Biden sweeps South on Super Tuesday, Bloomberg out

Seattle mayor issues civil emergency;

announces shelter expansions due to coronavirus outbreak

Rep. Jim Clyburn (l) and Joe Biden – Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer If anyone can claim credit for Joe Biden’s sweeping Super Tuesday success, it would be Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Caro-

lina, number three in the House Democratic leadership and political strongman in his state.

Clyburn’s emotional February 26

see BIDEN page 15

Image courtesy of CDC

by Becca Savransky and Alex Halverson Seattle Post-Intelligencer A proclamation of civil emergency granting Mayor Jenny Durkan the ability

to exercise executive power to “address any immediate dangers to the public” in response to COVID-19 was used Thursday as she announced additional shelter spaces

see COVID-19 page 5

Pete Buttigieg’s candidacy was historic.

Here’s why.

Pete Buttigieg (l) with husband Chasten – Photo by Chuck Kennedy / PFA

by Egan Orion Executive Director Seattle PrideFest There was a moment in the 2020 primaries that crystallized the LGBTQ community’s divide over the candidacy of former

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

It happened at a private fundraiser in San Francisco, and Pete was interrupted by two queer activists who were quickly escorted out of the room to chants of “BOOTEDGE-EDGE” by supporters. Talking to the Guardian newspaper afterwards, one

of the protesters explained why she was there. “We need better, we deserve better,” said Adiel Pollydore, a 26-year-old program director with Student Action (who is black and queer). “Pete Buttigieg represents a very small percentage of the experiences of queer and trans people in this country, being white

and being cisgender and being a man, being someone who is highly educated. We know queer and trans folks of color, especially black queer and trans folks, live at the intersection of so many systems of oppression

see BUTTIGIEG page 13

2 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Seattle Gay News F O U N D ED 1974 MEMBER

2018

1707 23rd Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 324-4297 sgn2@sgn.org sgn.org

Deadlines Classifieds | Thursday at Noon Calendar | Tuesday at 6pm Display Ads Space Reservation | Monday at 5pm Ad Copy (non-camera ready) | Tuesday at 5pm Ad Copy (camera-ready) | Wednesday at 5pm Letters to the Editor | Tuesday at 5pm Obituaries | Call the SGN office All others | Tuesday at 5pm

Editor in Chief George Bakan Copy Editor Rick McKinnon (since Dec 2013) Advertising George Bakan • Maggie Bloodstone MK Scott National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Miryam Gordon • Albert Rodriguez Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen • Ron Anders Madelyn Arnold • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone • Beau Burriola Sharon Cumberland • Jessica Davis Tina Gianoulis • Anthony Greer Milton W. Hamlin • Nevin Jefferson Richard Kennedy • Shaun Knittel Liz Meyer • Jason A. Miller Jesse Monteagudo David Nguyen aka Teriyaki Temple Rod Parke • Don Paulson Jerry Peerson • Tim Peter • Jessica Price Scott Rice • Leslie Robinson MK Scott • Mark Segal • Gaysha Starr Sarah Toce • Paul Torres • Janice Van Cleve Ed Walsh • James Whitely Scott Wittet • Rex Wockner Cartoonist Ken Campbell Calendar Editor Rick McKinnon Classifieds Rick McKinnon Photographers Nate Gowdy • Joseph P. Herron MK Scott • James Whitely Production Mike Pham Website Designer Barry Thorsness / Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2018. Frogs and Ink, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission.

Publication of names, photographs, or likeness of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business.

Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper.

Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication.

We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write.

And please play safe.

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your ad. Credit will be given for the balance owed.

No exceptions.

In Loving Memory Of Steve Foiles • Scott Roger Alpert Cookie Andrews-Hunt James Leland Moore Randy Peters • Lee Richeson Shaun Shelton • Jim Tully James Arnold

COVID-19 update from the state Dept. of Health

by Lauren Jenks, MPH, CHES OLYMPIA (March 4, 2020) – The state Department of Health wants to keep you as informed as possible about continuing developments surrounding COVID-19, as well as [provide] guidance and resources you can share with employees, clients, or customers. This daily update is in addition to our daily Situation Reports.

Numbers: The Department of Health website is updated daily with the number of people in Washington confirmed to be positive and the number of people who have died of this disease. As of this writing, 39 people in Washington have tested positive for COVID-19, and 10 have died of the disease.

We are very likely to see more people with COVID-19 identified in the coming days.

Should I get tested? Maybe not. We know many people are wondering, if they have fever and a cough, do they need to get tested for COVID-19? The University of Washington announced [it has] a new lab test available that will expand our capacity.

We are incredibly proud and thankful for their partnership BUT…Right now, we still have limited capacity to run these tests, and we are prioritizing the tests for people with underlying health conditions or serious illness. Testing may become more readily available in the future, but for now, if you have mild symptoms (cough, fever), you need to stay home, stay away from people, and maybe catch up on your Netflix shows.

A test, whether it’s positive or negative, won’t change that advice!

Maple Lane Quarantine and Isolation Facility: Did you know that our quarantine facility consists of eight RVs? We have designated four of them for people who are healthy but at very high risk of exposure, and four for people who have symptoms of COVID-19. We visited Maple Lane to talk with the employees about these RVs. We still have no people staying with us in this facility, but some of the employ-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

(r-l) Gov. Jay Inslee, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Director of the Department of Labor & Industries Joel Sacks, and Health Secretary John Wiesman meet with the media to discuss the latest update on coronavirus in the state.

– Photo by Rachel La Corte / AP

ees were looking ahead and concerned that having people quarantined or isolated here might pose some risk to them or to the surrounding community. Coronaviruses like COVID-19 spread through close contact, like when you touch someone, shake someone’s hand, or touch a hard surface that has the virus on it and then you touch your face.

Having people living in a nearby RV, even if they have the disease, does not pose a risk to people in the community. (PS: Want to reduce your risk? Wash your hands! A lot!)

Remember to make good information go viral! Don’t believe everything you read on the internet! Please fact-check before you forward, using reliable sources of information, like our coronavirus page [https://

www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus] and the CDC’s coronavirus website [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/index.html].

Practice compassion. Remember, many of our loved ones are older or have chronic illnesses like diabetes or asthma that make COVID-19 infection especially dangerous for them. Be compassionate towards people who are worried or sick.

Help people feel more comfortable by respectfully refraining from handshakes and hugs.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 3

Courtesy of the Department of Health

COVID-19 update from Public Health – Seattle & King County SEATTLE (March 5, 2020) – Local officials announced this week new recommendations to King County residents aimed at reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19. We made these recommendations in consultation with the CDC based on the best information we have currently to protect the public’s health.

Public Health urges residents to follow these recommendations: • People at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. People at higher risk include: • People 60 and older • People with underlying health conditions, including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes • People who have weakened immune systems • People who are pregnant • Workplaces should enact measures that allow people who can work from home to do so. Taking these measures can help reduce the number of workers who come into contact with people with COVID-19 and help minimize absenteeism due to illness.

• Some people need to be at work to provide essential services of great benefit to the community. They can also take steps in their workplaces to minimize risk.

• If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.

• Public Health is not recommending closing schools at this time unless there has been a confirmed case in the school.

• All people should not go out when they are sick.

• Avoid visiting hospitals, long-term care facilities, or nursing homes to the extent possible. If you need to go, limit your time

there and keep six feet away from patients.

More details on these measures will be available at www.kingcounty.gov/covid.

Additional information about school recommendations: Public Health is not currently recommending that schools proactively close unless they have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a staff member or student.

This guidance may have been confusing for some families and schools because schools bring together large groups of children. School closures have significant negative impacts on our community. We will be providing additional information to schools about how to stay open safely. The considerations we have taken in our decision not to currently recommend routine closure at schools include the following: • Children are not known to get seriously ill from COVID-19.

• Closing schools may not be effective because some children may congregate anyway, at other locations.

• Many parents, such as healthcare workers, need to be at work. If these critical workers stay home with children, it causes significant impacts on the healthcare system and other institutions that are essential for our community to function.

• If schools close, some children might have to stay home with alternative caregivers, such as elders, who are more vulnerable.

• We don’t know how effective children are in spreading this disease.

Some children and staff may be at higher risk for severe illness because of underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system. Public Health advises that those people consult with their healthcare provider to decide the best course of action.

Public Health also respects each individual school’s decisions about closures, postponement of activities, or other social distancing measures – as each school

knows the needs of its community best.

Public Health is continually assessing our decision not to require the widespread closure of schools. We are continually evaluating information as it becomes available to better inform our decisions about proactive schools closure.

Case update: COVID-19 test results have come back from a variety of laboratories confirming 20 new cases of COVID-19 in King County residents, including one death in a case previously reported by Public Health. This new death was in a woman in her nineties, hospitalized at Evergreen Health. She died on 3/3/20. With these 20 new results, the total number of cases in King County is 51.

The total number of deaths is ten.

As more laboratory capacity for testing comes online, more tests and results will be reported. We will no longer be routinely providing details about each case.

King County Novel Coronavirus Call Center: • If you are in King County and believe you were exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19, or if you’re a healthcare provider with questions about COVID-19, contact our novel coronavirus call center: 206477-3977.

• The call center will be open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT. • For general concerns and questions about COVID-19, please call the Washington State Novel Coronavirus Call Center at 800-525-0127.

• When to seek medical evaluation and advice: • If you have symptoms like cough, fever, or other respiratory problems, call your healthcare provider. Do not go to the emergency room. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve those with the most critical needs.

• If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1.

In addition to the recommendations listed above, the public can help as follows: • Do not go to the emergency room unless it is essential. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve those with the most critical needs. If you have symptoms like cough, fever, or other respiratory problems, contact your regular doctor first.

• Stay home when sick.

• Practice excellent personal hygiene habits, including handwashing, coughing into tissue or your elbow, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

• Stay away from people who are ill, especially if you are 60 and older or have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or a weakened immune system, or if you are pregnant.

• Stay informed. Information is changing frequently. Check and subscribe to Public Health’s website (www.kingcounty.gov/ COVID) or blog (www.publichealthinsider. com).

Remember to take everyday preventive action, such as washing hands, and if you are sick, stay home. During an outbreak with a new virus, there is a lot of uncertainty. Our guidance and advice is subject to change as we learn more. We will continue to keep you updated.

Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for more than two million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day. More at www.kingcounty.gov/health.

Courtesy of Public Health – Seattle & King County

Update on coronavirus from Rep. Jayapal (March 5, 2020) – I know we are all paying close attention to the health and safety of our community, and I am committed to providing you regular updates.

Today, I will be traveling back home to the 7th Congressional District after voting last night to pass an $8.3 billion funding package to support federal and local public health response efforts. This package includes nearly $1 billion for local public health agencies. I am hopeful the United States Senate will act with urgency so that our outstanding public health experts in Washington have the resources and support they need to protect our community. I am so grateful to our local agencies, first responders, and frontline health workers for their tireless efforts to keep our region safe.

Yesterday, King County issued new recommendations to protect our community from the spread of COVID-19 (formerly known as coronavirus), and I’m sharing them below, along with additional information from the Washington State Department of Health. As information is changing frequently, I’d recommend that you regularly check or subscribe to King County Public Health’s website or blog. If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.

On Monday, March 9th at 6:00 pm PT, I will be holding a telephone town hall and briefing, where I will be joined by local public health officials who will provide updates and help answer your questions.

You can dial-in at 855-286-0292 or tune in online at https://jayapal.house.gov/live/.

Experts have been working hard to understand COVID-19. Because new information surfaces every day, please visit my website for the latest information from the CDC. You can also visit the following websites to stay up to date.

• Public Health Seattle-King County [www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health.aspx] • Snohomish County Health District [www.snohd.org] • Washington State Department of Health [www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus] • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov] If you are in King County and believe you were exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19, or if you are a healthcare provider with questions about COVID-19, contact the King County novel coronavirus call center: 206-477-3977. The call center will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. PST. If you do not live in King County or if you have general questions about COVID19 or Washington state’s response, please call the Washington State Department of Health call center: 1-800-525-0127 and press #.

The safety and well-being of my constituents and your loved ones is of greatest importance to me and my staff. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to my district office in Seattle at 206-6740040. I will also be regularly updating constituents on COVID-19 via social media on Twitter and Facebook.

4 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) public health recommendations to protect our community For this information, you can visit www. kingcounty.gov/depts/health/communicable-diseases/disease-control/novel-coronavirus/protection.aspx.

Public Health – Seattle & King County is taking proactive steps to protect the health of our community by making recommendations that are meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID19) in our community and reduce the number of people infected.

We understand these actions will have a tremendous impact on the lives of people in our community. Public Health is making these recommendations in consultation with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based on the best information we have to protect the public’s health.

This is a critical moment in the growing outbreak of COVID-19 in King County when such measures can potentially impact the spread of the disease.

How the decision to issue these recommendations were made We recognize that we are the first in the nation to issue such recommendations, and the decision was not made lightly. Health officials weighed the potential benefits for community health along with the significant impacts that these recommendations could have on our community. In consultation with the CDC, we developed these recommendations based on the rising number of cases in our community and the impor-

tance of taking these actions now to reduce further transmission.

Guidance for people at higher risk for severe COVID-19 Illness Public Health recommends that people at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. This includes concert venues, conventions, sporting events, and crowded social gatherings.

People at higher risk include people: • Over 60 years of age • With underlying health conditions, including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes • With weakened immune systems • Who are pregnant Caregivers of children with underlying health conditions should consult with healthcare providers about whether their children should stay home. Anyone who has questions about whether their condition puts them at risk for novel coronavirus should consult with their healthcare providers.

Guidance for workplaces and businesses All employees should work from home if they are able.

Employers should take steps to make it more feasible for their employees to work in ways that minimize close contact with large numbers of people.

see JAYAPAL page 6

Celebrating 46 Years!

COVID-19

continued from cover for those experiencing homelessness during the outbreak.

As the City Council gathered for a briefing from city and health officials, the mayor’s office sent out a news release that announced the increase of resources for shelters.

For starters, the city will put up new tiny houses and open additional shelter spaces in a former treatment facility to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness and living in unsafe encampments. None of the additional shelter space is expected to be used as quarantine or isolation sites at this time, the city said.

“We know we need to take additional measures to bring more of our unsheltered community inside. Our neighbors experiencing homelessness are at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19, and as a City, region, and Country we must act with urgency to address the ongoing impacts of this public health crisis,” Durkan said in a news release.

“Working in partnership with public health officials and King County, we will continue to work with providers to help individuals currently in our shelters as well as expand shelter locations and resources for our most vulnerable individuals.”

The new shelter spaces, which will not be open for two to three weeks, include adding 20 units to Lake Union Tiny House Village and 30 units to New Cherry Hill Church Tiny House Village. The city also plans to add capacity for up to 50 people at the former Evergreen Treatment Facility in the Bitter Lake neighborhood.

The city is planning to “seek funding” from state or federal resources to operate additional shelters, the news release said. It’s possible the shelters opening could continue operating after the COVID-19 outbreak response to “meet the needs of vulnerable people living outdoors,” the city said.

A fence limits access to a back parking area of an Econo Lodge motel in Kent, Wash., Wednesday, March 4, 2020. King County Executive Dow Constantine said Wednesday that the county had purchased the 85-bed motel — which is currently open and operating — south of Seattle to house patients for recovery and isolation due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. – Photo by Ted. S Warren / AP

The city also has the capacity to add emergency shelter locations to serve hundreds more people, and will assess that with Public Health.

People experiencing homelessness could be more vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, with many people on the streets living with underlying medical conditions or having weakened immune systems. People experiencing homelessness may also often be in spaces with large groups of people when using shelters or other resources.

Shelters and human service providers in the region have been taking extra steps to clean and disinfect areas to prevent the spread of the virus among homeless residents.

Jason Johnson, acting director of the city’s Human Services Department, said Thursday the city is making sure all service providers are familiar with the hygiene and sanitation guidelines from Public Health and have been receiving the right information about the virus’ spread.

Johnson said the city, in partnership with

other agencies, is also continuing to do street outreach, giving out hygiene kits and advising people experiencing homelessness on how to stay safe and healthy during the outbreak.

The county has already placed a modular unit in White Center to house quarantined patients. King County Executive Dow Constantine also announced the county was buying an Econo Lodge motel in Kent with the capacity for 85 quarantined patients, and said the county was working with the community to open it within a few days.

The mayor of Kent disputed the amount of work the county was doing with the city, and said the process was not transparent.

As of Thursday, no sites were housing quarantined patients, the mayor’s news release said.

As of 11am, Thursday, there were 51 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in King County, including 10 deaths.

Constantine issued an emergency declaration on Monday, which allowed resources to be allocated to respond to the outbreak,

including overtime for county employees.

Several businesses in the region are encouraging employees who can to work remotely, but thousands of people, including gig workers, don’t have the ability to work from home. King County Public Health has encouraged people to avoid events with large groups – 10 or more people.

King County Public Health has repeatedly not recommended school closures, and amended that recommendation Wednesday with: “unless there is a confirmed case linked to the school.”

However, some schools and districts in the area have also announced closures in response to the spread of the virus. Eastside Preparatory School in Kirkland announced it was closing until the end of March.

Northshore School District announced on Thursday it was closing for up to two weeks.

Health officials also said the department would support a school’s decision to remain open or closed.

An update on the coronavirus in our area

by Nicole Macri, State Representative, 43rd Legislative District Washington state is experiencing an increase in cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and it is anticipated that the virus will continue to spread. There have already been several deaths, and the number could grow.

I want to make sure you have the facts and understand the basics on how to stay healthy.

First, health officials are working rapidly to identify and test people who may have been exposed. In recent days, changes have been made to testing procedures that will increase the speed of diagnosis to help contain the spread of the virus. Public health officials in our state have experience responding to pandemics and are working

with state and county health officials to share information, deploy resources, and respond at maximum capacity.

Second, currently the risk to the general public is low due to the unlikelihood of exposure to the virus. Risk of exposure is elevated for health care workers, people who have had close contact with persons with COVID-19, and travelers returning from affected international locations (China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Hong Kong).

Third, these are the recommendations from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) on how to respond in your daily life: • Wash your hands often and avoid touching your face.

• Stay home when you’re sick.

• If you are sick and wondering what to do, call your health care provider before you go to a clinic or emergency room.

• Show compassion and support for individuals and communities most closely impacted and anyone who might be sick.

Find more resources at www.doh.wa.gov/ Emergencies/Coronavirus#beprepared.

If you have questions, you can call the Washington State Department of Health at 1-800-525-0127 and press #.

You can also stay up to date by following them online at the various websites and social media channels below: • Website: www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus • Facebook: www.facebook.com / WADeptHealth • Twitter: twitter.com/WADeptHealth How can I be prepared?

[See: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/COVID-19-HowCanIBePrepared.pdf]

What we are doing in the Legislature: In the legislature, my colleagues Rep. Cody and Rep. Schmick, the health care leads in the House, have offered a bill to transfer at lease $50 million to get state agencies and local governments the necessary funding to respond to COVID-19.

It also will give the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) funding to increase nursing staff to help address this growing need. We’ll continue to work with the DOH, the DSHS, and other state agencies to identify what the legislature can do to ensure we have the necessary resources.

We are all in this together. Please make sure to follow the DOH recommendations to keep yourself healthy and keep up on latest information via the social media channels above. I’ll keep you updated on the status of our efforts in the legislature to respond.

Murray demands answers from Vice President Pence over coronavirus diagnostic testing delay

WASHINGTON, DC (March 5, 2020) – Today, US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence expressing her deep frustration with the administration’s missteps and lack of transparency regarding testing for the novel coronavirus. In the letter, she laid out several instances where failures by this administration have resulted in a slower deployment of tests to people in need. Additionally, the senator pressed for answers regarding discrepancies between the Trump administration’s claims about how many tests would be available when

and the predictions of public health experts.

“As I hear from Washington state residents and people across the country, I want to be able to provide them answers about the availability of diagnostic tests for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). I am extremely frustrated by how the Trump administration has handled the deployment of such tests, including how it has communicated to Congress and the public about when, where, and to whom tests will be available. In the midst of this public health emergency, the Trump administration must do better,” wrote Sen. Murray. “The administration has failed several times to take steps that could expedite the COVID-19

Visit us online www.sgn.org

response, resulting in a slower deployment of tests to people in need. ” In her opening remarks at a HELP Committee hearing earlier this week, Sen. Murray shared that frustration she has been hearing from people in Washington state regarding the availability of diagnostic testing.

“People across Washington state – and the nation – are really scared,” Sen. Murray said in her opening remarks yesterday.

“I’m hearing from people who want to get tested and believe they have been exposed – but nobody can tell them where to go.

I’m hearing that even when people can get tested – and it’s very few – the results aren’t coming back as fast as we’ve been told they

would. The administration had months to prepare for this – and it is unacceptable that people at risk of infection in my state and nationwide can’t even get an answer as to whether or not they are infected. To put it simply, if someone at the White House or in this administration is actually in charge of responding to the coronavirus, it would be news to anyone in my state.”

[Sen. Murray’s letter to Vice President Pence can be found at https://www.help. senate.gov/download/03052020-pence-letter-on-testing.]

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 5

Courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray

JAYAPAL

continued from page 4 Employers should: • Maximize telecommuting options for as many employees as possible.

• Urge employees to stay home when they are sick and maximize flexibility in sick leave benefits.

• Consider staggering start and end times to reduce large numbers of people coming together at the same time.

Guidance for event and community gatherings If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.

If you can’t avoid bringing groups of people together: • Urge anyone who is sick to not attend.

• Encourage those who are at higher risk for coronavirus to not attend.

• Try to find ways to give people more

physical space so that they aren’t in close contact as much as possible.

• Encourage attendees to maintain good healthy habits, such as frequent hand-washing.

• Clean surfaces with standard cleaners.

Guidance for schools King County is not recommending closing schools at this time unless there has been a confirmed case in your school. The reason we are not recommending school closures at this time is because children have not been shown to be a high-risk group for serious illness from this virus. In addition, when some schools briefly closed during the H1N1 influenza pandemic, we learned that many children still gathered in group settings and still had exposure to one another. As much as possible, children should be allowed to carry on with their education and normal activities.

King County also respects an individual school’s decisions about closures or postponement of activities as each school

knows the needs of their community best.

Some children have underlying health conditions, such as weakened immune systems, that put them at higher risk. Caregivers of children with underlying health conditions should consult with healthcare providers about whether their children should stay home.

Guidance for people who are sick • Stay home when you are sick. Do not go out in public when you are sick.

• Avoid medical settings in general unless necessary. If you are ill in any way call your doctor’s office first before going in.

Guidance for general public • Even if you are not ill, avoid visiting hospitals, long-term care facilities, or nursing homes to the extent possible. If you do need to visit one of these facilities limit your time there, and keep six feet away from patients.

• Do not go to the emergency room unless [it is] essential. Emergency rooms need to

be able to serve those with the most critical needs. If you have symptoms like cough, fever, or other respiratory problems, contact your regular doctor first.

• Stay home when sick.

• Practice excellent personal hygiene habits, including washing your hands with soap and water frequently, coughing into a tissue or your elbow, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

• Stay away from people who are ill, especially if you are at higher risk for coronavirus.

• Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects (like doorknobs and light switches).

Regular household cleaners are effective.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth unless you’ve just washed your hands.

• Get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids, eat healthy foods, and manage your stress to keep your immunity strong.

Courtesy of Rep. Pramila Jayapal

GSBA: At work for you in Olympia

by Matt Landers, Public Policy & Government Relations Director, GSBA The first two months of the year are always a busy time for policymakers. With Washington nearing the end of its 2020 short session, the legislature has been working at a feverish pace, holding hearings and passing bills.

GSBA strives hard to represent the voices and views of our diverse membership at all levels of government, with a strong and experienced advocacy team.

Our contract lobbyist, Susie Tracy, is on the ground in Olympia working with legislators every day. Matt Landers, our Public Policy & Government Relations Director, works both in Seattle and Olympia and across the Evergreen State. And of course, our president and CEO Louise Chernin is seemingly everywhere at once. The GSBA Policy Council, comprised of dedicated and passionate advocates, meets weekly to keep on top of the busy agenda.

With about two weeks left in the 2020 legislative session, GSBA is very happy with the progress of many of the bills that we have endorsed. We are most excited about the passage of HB 1687, the Nikki Kuhnhausen Act, banning the use of panic defenses, wherein a victim’s identity is used to justify violent assaults against them. This bill is named for the young transwoman murdered last summer in Clark County, in an attack that police believe occurred after her killer learned of her gender identity. This bill has been approved by both the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan majorities and now moves to the governor for his signature.

Several other LGBTQ-related bills are making good progress, including the modernization bill (HB 1551), [one] prohibiting discrimination in healthcare (HB 2338), [another about] hiring an LGBTQ veterans coordinator in the Department of Veterans Affairs (SB 5900), [another] establishing the Washington Office of Equity (HB 1783), and [another] mandating comprehensive and inclusive sex education in public schools (SB 5395). HB 2201, which would prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls sports in public schools, thankfully never even recieved a hearing.

On the small-business front, GSBA has had our eye on several bills, though they have not been as successful in 2020. The

Photo courtesy of GSBA

Small Business Bill of Rights (SB 5948), [another bill] authorizing microenterprise home kitchens (HB 2777), and [another about] a property tax exemption to lower triple-net expenses (HB 2881) failed to make it out of committee this year, and GSBA is committed to supporting their reintroduction in 2021.

The biggest business-related bill on our agenda this year is the proposal to authorize King County to enact a regional excise tax on businesses to fund solutions for the homelessness crisis. GSBA was cautiously optimistic about the initial proposal, as it improved on several of our biggest concerns from Seattle’s previous efforts at a head tax. It was a serious regional solution to a serious regional problem, businesses

seemed to be involved in the crafting of the bill that would impact them, and care seemed to be taken to understand the realities of how small businesses – especially pass-through entities – actually operate.

Our board offered conditional support provided that a pre-emption clause was included to prevent double taxation. Since the original proposal was introduced, several more versions and rumors have surfaced, including a much higher rate (0.25%, possibly up to 0.4%), and pre-emption has not yet been included. GSBA continues to monitor the negotiations and welcomes the opinions of our membership on this complex and nuanced policy that we can share with policymakers.

Other bills that GSBA has been sup-

porting have included several gun control measures that continue to move along in the legislature, anti-swatting legislation that increases punishments for false police reports, and bans on race-based hair discrimination.

If you have any questions about GSBA’s advocacy work, or want to share your views on a particular issue, please write to Matt Landers. As a membership organization, GSBA is committed to hearing and sharing your experiences. Learn more about our advocacy programs throughout the year, including ways to participate online and inperson, on our website.

Reprinted with permission

Visit us online at www.sgn.org 6 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 7

Town Hall Seattle’s Civics Series presents

“Census 2020: Why It Matters and What You Can Do” with former Washington Governor Gary Locke Monday, March 16 @ 7:30pm The twenty-fourth US Census takes place on April 1, 2020 – and its results drive both money and power in our country. Based on census data, the federal government will allocate money to state and local governments for transportation and social services, and governments on every level will review voting districts, changing who represents us in government.

Gary Locke, former Governor and honorary chair of the King County Complete Count committee, invites us to a discussion of what the Census means to us, to Seattle, and to King County. In conversation with a panel of census experts, Locke draws from his experience overseeing the 2010 Census while serving as Commerce Secretary during the Obama administration, leading a discussion of the state of the Census today – its critical role in our system, the change from paper to digital, and more. Explore big changes in the census and learn how King County is working with nonprofits to make

sure everyone gets counted.

Gary Locke is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 10th US Ambassador to China. He was previously the 21st Governor of Washington and served in the Obama administration as United States Secretary of Commerce.

These expert panelists are driving efforts to count the Hard to Count areas of King County: • Francesca Abellera – Partnerships Specialist, US Census Bureau • Elsa Batres-Boni – City of Seattle, Census Strategic Advisor • Kamau Chege – Manager, Washington Census Alliance • HyeEun (Heidi Park) – Census Program Manager, King County “Census 2020: Why It Matters and What You Can Do” with former Washington Governor Gary Locke will be held

on Monday, March 16 at 7:30pm (doors at 6:30pm) at Town Hall Seattle, in the Forum, 1119 8th Avenue, entrance off Seneca St., Seattle.

TICKETS General Admission: $5 plus $1.30 handling fee = $6.30 online purchase or $5 at the door, if available; Youth 22 & Under: FREE. Advance tickets: https://www.strangertickets.com/events/104674286/census2020-why-it-matters-and-what-you-cando-with-gary-locke.

For accessibility info and requests, please visit thsea.org/access.

Join us in The OTTO! Located in the Forum, The OTTO Bar is a great spot to meet with friends before an event or keep the conversation going afterward. You can purchase beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages or bring in your own snacks and non-alcoholic drinks

to enjoy. On the night of this event, The OTTO is open from 5:30pm-10:30pm.

TOWN HALL’S CIVIC SERIES Town Hall’s Civics Series highlights everything from local policies to world politics. These events offer perspectives on a range of topics as diverse as Seattle itself – a bustling forum for activism, discovery, and thought-provoking discussion.

All Civics, Science, and Arts & Culture events are FREE for youth 22 & under.

EVENT SPONSORS KUOW, RealNetworks Foundation, True-Brown Foundation PRESENTED BY TOWN HALL SEATTLE Courtesy of League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County

Youth LGBTQ+ and Allies Job Fair! Saturday, April 4 Seattle Parks and Recreation will be hosting our Fifth Annual Youth LGBTQ+ and Allies Job Fair on April 4th!!!

The job fair is for all LGBTQ Youth (ages 13-24) and Allies who want to find a job with LGBTQ-friendly employers like Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Molly Moon’s Ice Cream, Starbucks, Seattle Humane Society, Northwest Youth Corps, and many more!

What: Fifth Annual Youth LGBTQ+ and Allies Job Fair on April 4th!!!

8 Seattle Gay News

When: April 4th, 2020 from 1:00 3:00pm Where: Miller Community Center, Who: YOU! LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-24 and allies! Bring your family and friends, too!

Join us for...

FREE ice cream from Molly Moon’s (hurry before they run out!) – FREE food from a local food truck (to be announced soon!) – FREE performances from local drag queen, Kylie Mooncakes! – FREE and confidential HIV screening from Gay City!

March 6, 2020

– FREE LGBTQ Worker’s Rights workshop after the job fair from 3:00 - 4:30pm from LGBTQ Allyship!

For more information and updates, RSVP to the event on Facebook! [https://www.facebook.com/ events/480850016178531/] Thank you! Hope to see you all on April 4th!

grams/teenjobs.htm Youth Employment and Service Learning Seattle Parks and Recreation 100 Dexter Ave N, Box #30 Seattle, WA 98109-5102 Office: 206-684-4575; Fax: 206-684-9274 Courtesy of Seattle Parks and Recreation

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/teens/pro-

Celebrating 46 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 9

10 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Pete Buttigieg candidacy a “revolution in American Politics,” transforms what is possible for an LGBTQ candidate

WASHINGTON, DC (March 2, 2020) – Today, the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, congratulated Pete Buttigieg on his historic run for president of the United States. Buttigieg is the first openly LGBTQ person to run for the Democratic presidential nomination and just the second openly LGBTQ presidential candidate in American history. The LGBTQ Victory Fund was his first national endorsement in June 2019.

Mayor Annise Parker, president and

CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about his decision to suspend his presidential campaign: “Pete’s candidacy represents a revolution in American politics, forever transforming what is possible for an LGBTQ candidate and making clear America will elect an openly LGBTQ president. The impact of his campaign extends beyond this ,election cycle and is about much more than politics or the presidency. Pete spoke in small-town restaurants in Iowa, held rallies in New Hampshire and battled it out on the

presidential debate stage – reaching Americans from all walks of life and changing perceptions of LGBTQ people all along the way. He inspired LGBTQ youth to come out in valedictory speeches, to attend their first Pride parade, and to believe America has a place for them. We thank Pete for his courage to stand up and run – to be a trailblazer – and are confident this will not be his last moment on the national stage.”

More information about the Victory Fund and Pete’s historic candidacy is available at victoryforpete.com. Since 1991,

the Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state, and federal elections.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government. victoryfund.org Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Fund

BUTTIGIEG

continued from cover in this country. This run for president could have been a really unique opportunity to lift up those experiences and talk about all the different ways we are criminalized and our safety is constantly threatened and we are shut out of institutions on the regular. But this campaign has not been about that.”

But that was not the only lens through which “Mayor Pete’s” campaign was seen.

For many older gay men, especially, hearing Pete finish rallies thanking “the love of my life, Chasten” before bringing his husband up on stage for a kiss or embrace seemed the logical conclusion to decades of activism around same-sex marriage, which became legal in all fifty states after the landmark Obergefell v Hodges Supreme Court decision in 2015. The very fact of the couple’s normal-ness, some claim – especially in the white, hot glare of the national spotlight – was a victory in and of itself, that his candidacy in and of itself wasn’t about him being gay at all. He was a veteran. A mayor. A Rhodes scholar who went to Harvard and Oxford, who spoke many languages including Spanish and Arabic.

To many, including a widening majority of non-LGBTQ Americans, he wasn’t a gay candidate, he was a presidential candidate who happened to be gay.

As someone who ran for public office (for Seattle City Council District 3 against Kshama Sawant), I related a lot to Pete’s run. I’m also a center left, white, middleaged, middle class, cisgender gay man.

Unlike Pete, I actually have a deep history of service to the LGBTQ community with my work with PrideFest and as a community organizer on Capitol Hill. I, like Pete, didn’t center my campaign on being gay and similar to his campaign, I was derided by some (usually straight people) for “using the gay card” at the same time as being condemned (usually by queer and trans folx) for not being “queer enough.” Some on Twitter even called Pete “the Egan Orion of the presidential race,” which for the record I take as a great compliment, even if that’s not the way it was intended.

What is true of my run and of Pete’s is that we’ve arrived at a time in our collective history that being gay, especially when coupled with being white and cisgender and male, isn’t seen as a marginalized class anymore, and that marriage equality for many activists isn’t seen as a great milestone in LGBTQ rights but rather as heteronormative assimilation. I hear friends who have been in the trenches since the AIDS crisis of the 1980s say that we didn’t fight all those years just to embrace the heteronormative standards of love and marriage.

For those people, they don’t see Pete as one of their own. But for the wider American electorate, seeing a happily-married public official is what they’ve come to expect, even if it hasn’t often come in the form of a same-sex couple.

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (r) kisses his husband Chasten after Chasten introduced him before a speech where he announced he was ending his campaign to be the Democratic nominee for president during a speech at the Century Center on March 1, 2020 – Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images

For me, the whole point of the marriage equality movement was for you to be able to decide to do whatever you wanted to do, to model the heteronormativity of your parents or the polyamory of your friends, or embrace being single or celibate, or to sleep with a hundred people or just with one. For trans and gender non-binary folx who want to get married, opening the institution to two adults who want to spend their lives together is also radical, for it takes gender out of the equation entirely.

For the record, I do believe it is the responsibility of every queer or trans person seeking public office to champion the substantial work still left around LGBTQ rights and to understand how those goals intersect with race, gender, and class, but I also think that’s what we should require of all public officials, especially on the left. Not all experiences of being queer and trans are the same, but nearly all of them have one common denominator: struggle.

Being queer and trans in America is really, really hard, even for Pete, even for me, despite being white and cisgender and male. Pete was in the closet until the age of 33 and came out while running for a second term as mayor of South Bend. As most of us

Visit us online www.sgn.org

who spent any amount of time hiding ourselves from the world, it is incredible lonely, scary, and isolating. He embodied The Best Little Boy in the World, his impressive accomplishments born of the hypervigilance of the closet. Yes, he was privileged, and yes he suffered, too. I can relate. I came out in the early 90s in the midst of the AIDS crisis. In sex, we feared death, and walking around Capitol Hill at night, we feared that we’d be the next victim of the rampant gay-bashing happening all around us. Society had rejected and condemned us.

Marriage, honestly, was the farthest thing from our minds. We were too busy unpacking the self-loathing we cultivated in the closet, the rejection of our families, escaping communities that didn’t accept us, trying not to get sick, all the while medicating our collective trauma with drugs, alcohol, and sex. Many of my friends from this era did not make it, dying of AIDS or overdose or suicide. I also had great privilege to get to where I am today, but that doesn’t erase the pain and struggle and real trauma I’ve experienced, that all queer and trans people experience in one form or another.

Like many young kids, little 7-year-old me wanted to be President. Looking back,

it wasn’t about being President so much as wanting to live in a world where anything was possible. When I realized I was gay, that dream went away. So did the dream of being married, like my parents. And having a family. So when I saw Pete’s rise as a real contender for the presidency, I smiled.

I thought about all those kids out there who feel different from their peers in some way, and the fact that seeing Pete running for President might give them the permission to dream of becoming whatever they want to be. It’s the effect Barack Obama had on young black kids. How little girls saw Hillary Clinton’s run for office. Pete’s candidacy, like those others, was undeniably historic. Even ten years ago, the image of Pete and his husband standing, hands clasped, before an adoring audience as a plausible contender for President of the United States was impossible to imagine.

The fact that the majority of the country sees that and barely even blinks now tells us how far we’ve come. Most won’t turn the channel. They’ll let their kids continue to watch, and what they’ll see is yet another thing they can be, another door on history being opened to them.

For me, that alone is a giant victory.

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 13

14 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

HRC president on historic LGBTQ turnout on Super Tuesday WASHINGTON, DC (March 4, 2020) – [Yesterday], LGBTQ people turned out in droves and nearly doubled their representation in the electorate, according to NBC exit polling. In response, Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, issued the following statement: “Tonight, LGBTQ people showed up in record numbers and cemented our status as a crucial constituency to court. LGBTQ people and our rights have been on the ballot for decades, compelling us to register to vote and participate in politics rather than let others decide our rights for us.

“2020 marks the most pro-equality field of Democratic presidential candidates in US history. Our power has continued to

grow, and candidates are seeing us increasingly for the critical voting bloc we are and have pursued us vigorously, releasing policy after policy providing more details about their LGBTQ platforms than any other Democratic primary field in history.

“Over the last three years, the TrumpPence administration has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in health care, housing, public spaces, services, and other aspects of life; rescinded protections for transgender students; and banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military.

“The 11 million LGBTQ voters and 57 million Equality Voters – LGBTQ people and our allies – are ready to oust the Trump-Pence administration and elect a true ally in the White House. Tonight is only the beginning.”

Image courtesy of HRC

Elizabeth Warren out of the race

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has decided to end her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to multiple media reports on March 5.

Although she was considered one of the front-runners during the early stages of the campaign, she did poorly in the initial caucuses and primaries. In first-in-the-nation Iowa, she placed third, but in New Hampshire and Nevada she dropped to fourth, and in South Carolina she placed a distant fifth.

On Super Tuesday she even failed to win her home state of Massachusetts, where she came third behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Nevertheless, according to exit polls, she was the second most popular candidate among LGBT voters, behind Sanders. In previous polling of LGBT voters, she also placed a strong second behind Sanders.

During her all-too-brief run for the presidency, Warren was known for her active

BIDEN

continued from cover endorsement of the former vice president fueled Biden’s unexpected landslide victory in South Carolina’s February 29 primary.

That victory, in turn, wiped out the perception – established by weak debate performances and big losses in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada – that Biden was a loser.

Biden’s big win in South Carolina also prompted the withdrawal of Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar from the race. Their endorsements of Biden ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries reinforced his image as a winner.

Biden went on to sweep the South on Super Tuesday, including a win in Texas, where Bernie Sanders was expecting a big haul of delegates.

Sanders only won Vermont, Colorado, and Utah, and currently leads in California – but by a much smaller margin than polls had predicted.

Michael Bloomberg left the race the next day, after winning only in American Samoa. He called it quits with only 44 delegates to his name – having spent more than $11 million per delegate.

Biden currently leads in the total delegate count, with 453 to Sanders’ 382.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren – Photo by Amanda Sabga / AFP via Getty Images

outreach to marginalized communities and the detailed “plans” she developed based on what she’d heard.

“At the start of 2019, Elizabeth Warren prioritized outreach to the trans community,” one supporter tweeted after hear-

ing about her withdrawal from the race.

“And they didn’t just talk to so many of us.

They asked questions. They listened. They invited guidance on policy and outreach.

Simply put: they cared about us. Today, I am heartbroken.”

Whom did LGBT voters pick?

According to the NBC News exit poll, Bernie Sanders was the choice of self-identified LGBT voters by a large margin. NBC polled voters in 12 of the 14 Super Tuesday states.

More than 40% of LGBT voters went for Sanders, according to NBC. Elizabeth Warren came second, with 22% of the LGBT vote.

LGBT Super Tuesday voters skewed both young and left. Sixty-five percent were under 45, and fully one-third were under 30. For the whole population of Super Tuesday voters, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, less than 15% were under 30.

Half of LGBT voters called themselves “very liberal,” and another 30% said they are “somewhat liberal.” Just 4% of LGBT Democratic voters called themselves “conservative.”

among black voters under 30.

Sanders is taking a wide lead among Latinx voters in California, winning a majority in CNN exit polls, compared to only 2 in 10 for Biden. Latinxs made up 3 in 10 voters in the state. Sanders also led among white voters in California, who made up a majority of the voters statewide.

Biden won black voters in the state, but they made up fewer than 1 in 10 voters in California.

Black and Latinx voters diverge Voters of color are often identified as the “base” of the Democratic Party, and on Super Tuesday they made their influence felt, but they were not united on which of the leading candidates to support.

Biden won a majority of black voters in states all across the South, as he did in the South Carolina primary on February 29. Sanders, however, won a small majority

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Old for Biden, young for Sanders Biden’s strength among older voters showed across the South. According to CNN, he won three-quarters of voters over 65 years old in Virginia and Alabama, and a majority of that age group in North Carolina.

Even in California, Biden showed strength among older voters, winning voters over 65 by a two-to-one margin.

In contrast, Sanders won more than 7 in 10 California voters under age 30. He showed well among young voters in the South too, winning 57% of Virginia voters under 30, for example.

The problem for Sanders was that turnout was lower among the youngest voters than any other age cohort – less than 13% of the total electorate in Virginia and a similar percentage in North Carolina. In Alabama, a

March 6, 2020

Warren’s departure leaves two old white men – Bernie Sanders, 78, and Joe Biden, 77 – as the main candidates for the Democratic nomination. One of them will face another old white man – Donald Trump, 73 – in the November election.

“You know what’s complete shit?” a Warren supporter tweeted. “Realizing that the list of presidents they show kids in school just perpetually reinforces ‘NO THIS ISN’T FOR GIRLS’ and then seeing it play out in the real world over and over.

Warren should be the front-runner, not dropping out. We’re fucked up.”

One solid accomplishment of Warren’s presidential campaign was to destroy the hopes of billionaire former mayor Mike Bloomberg. Warren eviscerated Bloomberg in the February 25 presidential debate, and his campaign never recovered.

Warren is reportedly talking to both the Sanders and the Biden campaigns, but she has not yet indicated whether she will endorse a candidate.

mere 7% of Democratic primary voters were under 30.

A left-right divide Not surprisingly, Bernie Sanders won the support of voters who identify as “liberal” and who want major changes to the US economic system.

According to CNN, he won “liberal” voters in California by a nearly 3-to-1 margin over Biden. A majority of California Democratic primary voters said they want an overhaul of the economic system in the US, a single-payer health care system, and free college. A majority also said they had a favorable view of socialism.

In both Virginia and North Carolina, Biden handily won voters whose biggest priority is to unite the Democratic Party, with almost two-thirds of that group supporting him as the nominee.

Biden also drew large majorities of those who want to return to the “good old days” of the Obama administration.

About half the voters in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama said they wanted to return to the policies of former President Barack Obama, and Biden won three-quarters of those voters in Virginia and Alabama, as well as nearly 6 in 10 of them in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Seattle Gay News 15

Gina Ortiz Jones wins primary in battleground district, could be first openly LGBTQ congressmember from Texas

Photo courtesy of Gina Ortiz Jones for Congress

WASHINGTON, DC (March 4, 2020) – Today Gina Ortiz Jones bested four challengers in the Democratic primary for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, putting her on track to become the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from the state. In 2018 as the Democratic nominee, Jones was just 926 votes short of defeating Republican incumbent Rep. Will Hurd, who is retiring. Jones is now considered the favorite to win the open battleground seat in November.

Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about Jones’ primary victory:

“Texans have never sent an openly LGBTQ person to represent them in Congress, but I am confident Gina will end that come November. Gina speaks openly and eloquently about her experiences and perspectives as an LGBTQ woman, first-generation immigrant, and a veteran, and that authenticity resonates with voters. Gina’s primary victory puts a crack in the lavender ceiling that has held back LGBTQ congressional candidates in Texas for generations – and that ceiling will shatter on Election Night. We have an opportunity to double the number of openly LGBTQ members of Congress this election cycle, and Gina’s primary victory makes it that much more likely.”

More information about the Victory Fund and its candidates is available at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates. Since 1991, the Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state, and federal elections.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government. victoryfund.org Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Fund

Todd Gloria wins primary and makes LGBTQ history in San Diego, could be first out LGBTQ person elected its mayor

Photo courtesy of Todd Gloria for Mayor

WASHINGTON, DC (March 4, 2020) – California Assemblymember Todd Gloria won the San Diego mayoral primary Tuesday night and is on track to become the first openly LGBTQ person and first person of color elected mayor of San Diego. The top two vote-getters in the primary advance regardless of party in California’s jungle primary system.

Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about Gloria’s victory: “Todd is on track to make history in November, becoming one of just a handful of openly LGBTQ people ever elected mayor of a major American city. Both LGBTQ

people and people of color face tremendous obstacles when running for public office, but San Diegans overwhelmingly chose Todd because of his strong record of public service and his inspirational vision for the city he wants to [lead]. Todd will become the third highest ranking out LGBTQ mayor in US history when he wins in November and a role model for LGBTQ youth in San Diego and across the country.”

Assemblymember Gloria is a graduate of the LGBTQ Victory Institute’s Candidate & Campaign Training, a four-day boot camp that prepares LGBTQ people to run for office. He will also give a keynote speech at the LGBTQ Victory Fund’s San Diego Brunch on Sunday, March 8.

More information about the Victory Fund and its candidates is available at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates. Since 1991, the Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state, and federal elections.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government. victoryfund.org Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Fund

LGBTQ candidates key to fate of Texas state House; LGBTQ representation could nearly double WASHINGTON, DC (March 4, 2020) – Four openly LGBTQ non-incumbent candidates – Madeline Eden, Eric Holguin, Ann Johnson, and Eliz Markowitz – won their Texas state House primary races Tuesday night, as did all five incumbent LGBTQ state legislators. The victories make it likely LGBTQ representation will increase in the state House, one of the worst in the country for putting forward anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Holguin, Johnson, and Markowitz are in districts considered key pickups for Democrats looking to take back the lower chamber, as are incumbent LGBTQ state Reps.

Julie Johnson and Erin Zwierner. State Reps. Jessica González, Mary González, and Celia Israel are in relatively safe seats.

The large number of openly LGBTQ candidates running in battleground districts means LGBTQ candidates may be key to flipping the state House in November.

Former Houston mayor and president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund Annise Parker released the following statement about the victories: “Texas is witnessing a rainbow revolution, with openly LGBTQ candidates winning key swing districts that can determine the fate of the state House come November. [It remains] one of the most homophobic and transphobic state legisla-

16 Seattle Gay News

tures in the nation, in terms of the number of anti-LGBTQ bills put forward, and the best remedy for that nonsense is to elect more LGBTQ leaders who will stand up to the bigotry and hatred. The women of the LGBTQ caucus are changing the hearts and minds of their legislative colleagues every day, but they need backup. We have the opportunity to nearly double the num-

March 6, 2020

ber of openly LGBTQ state legislators – and that would be transformative.”

More information about the Victory Fund and its candidates is available at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates. Since 1991, the Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state, and federal elections.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government. victoryfund.org Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Fund

Celebrating 46 Years!

Virginia becomes 20th state to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy RICHMOND, VA (March 3, 2020) – Yesterday, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a historic bill making Virginia the twentieth state to protect LGBTQ minors from conversion therapy, the harmful practice that seeks to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill, which passed both chambers of the Virginia legislature in February, will go into effect on July 1.

The governor’s signature also makes Virginia the first state in the South to end the practice that has been widely condemned by every leading medical and mental health organization in this country.

Virginia joins 19 other states, the District of Columbia, and more than 60 municipalities that have adopted similar protections.

“Across the country, state legislatures are recognizing that the harm caused by conversion therapy is a public health crisis,” said Mathew Shurka, a conversion therapy survivor and co-founder of Born Perfect. “Virginia is the twentieth state to pass a law protecting LGBT youth, and the first to do so in the South. As the leading national campaign working to end conversion therapy, Born Perfect will not rest until LGBT youth are protected in every state.”

“As a Virginia survivor who has been working to pass this bill for more than two years, I am grateful to our state legislators and Gov. Northam for listening to survivors and their families,” said Adam Trimmer, a conversion therapy survivor and Born Perfect Virginia ambassador. “No young person should be subjected to this abuse, and no family should be exploited by unethical therapists who lie to parents and cause lifethreatening harm.”

“The campaign to end conversion therapy is by far the largest and fast-growing LGBT-related movement in this country,” said National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Legal Director Shannon Minter. “Since California passed the first law in 2012, the visibility of this issue has

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam – Photo by Bob Brown / AP

increased dramatically, and more and more survivors have come forward. Virginia is the first Southern state to pass a law, but it will not be the last.”

For more than 25 years, the NCLR has been leading the fight against conversion therapy. Since 2014, the NCLR’s Born Perfect campaign has brought survivors and legal experts together to support legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy.

Momentum on this work continues to build, with a record-breaking number of states and localities taking action to pro-

tect youth in the past 12 months, including North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Most recently, rules were adopted in the conservative state of Utah that protect LGBTQ minors from conversion therapy According to an estimate from the Williams Institute from UCLA Law, more than 350,000 LGBTQ minors have been subjected to the dangerous practice of “conversion therapy,” which studies have linked to these youth being more than twice as likely to experience depression, and nearly three times more likely to attempt suicide.

Born Perfect is a survivor-led campaign created by the NCLR in 2014 to end conversion therapy by passing laws across the country to protect LGBT children and young people, fighting in courtrooms to ensure their safety, and raising awareness about the serious harms caused by these dangerous practices. bornperfect.org Courtesy of the NCLR

Poem-a-Day to feature new work inspired by the centennial of the 19th Amendment and the Poetry Coalition theme of #PoetryandProtest

Visit us online www.sgn.org

NEW YORK (March 5, 2020) – The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that on each Saturday in March, its popular Poem-a-Day series will feature a new poem that was commissioned for Project 19, the New York Philharmonic’s initiative to mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment, and a curated collection of further reading that explores the 2020 Poetry Coalition theme of #PoetryandProtest. Poem-a-Day is distributed to more than 500,000 readers each morning via email, social media, and syndication.

The four selected poets are Marilyn Chin, Linda Gregerson, Mahogany L. Browne, and Natalie Diaz.

Sign up for Poem-a-Day and stay tuned throughout March to read their featured poems: poets.org/poem-a-day Read more about Project 19 at: poets.org/ project-19 As part of Project 19, the Academy of American Poets partnered with the Philharmonic to commission a total of 19 new poems by award-winning poets Elizabeth Alexander, Ellen Bass, Kimberely Blaeser, Mahogany L. Browne, Claudia Castro Luna, Tina Chang, Marilyn Chin, Natalie Diaz, Rita Dove, Brenda Hillman, Linda Gregerson, Joy Ladin, Ada Limón, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Alicia Ostriker, Paisley Rekdal, Evie Shockley, Maggie Smith, and Mai Der Vang.

The 2020 Poetry Coalition theme of #PoetryandProtest was inspired by a line by Audre Lorde – “I am deliberate / and afraid / of nothing” – and a number of occasions taking place this year, including the 100th

anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote and the 50th anniversary of the tragic shooting of student protesters at Kent State University. It also speaks to the role poetry has played in encouraging civic and grassroots engagement, and contributing to public debate and dialogue.

March 6, 2020

Seattle Gay News 17

The Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry with members in all fifty states.

Founded in 1934, the organization produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; National Poetry Month; the popular Poem-a-Day series; American Poets magazine; Teach This Poem and other award-winning resources for K-12 educators; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. In addition, the Academy of American Poets coordinates a national Poetry Coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds. This year the organization has awarded more funds to poets than any other organization, giving a total of $1,250,000 to poets at various stages of their careers.

The New York Philharmonic connects with up to 50 million people around the world annually through concerts, broadcasts, recordings, and education programs. In the 2019–20 season, Music Director Jaap van Zweden and the Philharmonic reaffirm their vital commitments to serving as New York’s orchestra and to championing new music.

HOME SERVICES HEALTH SERVICES

RELIGIOUS SERVICES St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Welcomes LGBTQ Community Members!

Join us for Sunday Service at 10:30 a.m. that is sign language interpreted or Wednesday service at 6 p.m.

2702 Broadway E. Seattle, WA 98102 · www.stpatrickseattle.org

18 Seattle Gay News

March 6, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

MoSS Alley MotorS, Inc. SpecialiStS in VolVo, Honda, toyota and Subaru

932 12th ave.

Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!

ADVERTISE WITH US! MAGGIE • 206-751-7454 GEORGE • 206-324-4297 SGN2@SGN.ORG Visit us online www.sgn.org

SGN ANNUAL PRIDE GUIDE JUNE 19 • JUNE 26 • JULY 3 March 6, 2020

RESERVE NOW FOR EARLY RATES & PREMIUM PLACEMENT!

Seattle Gay News 19