Lesbians and Politics

[Soon]

Ontario's openly gay premier hopes to be example for others

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's new premier, the first openly gay head of a Canadian province, said on Sunday it would be "wonderful" if her victory can help society be more accepting of young gay people.

Ontario's Liberals chose Kathleen Wynne, 59, on Saturday to become the head of the minority government ruling Canada's most-populous province, which is grappling with a huge deficit and tenuous growth.

Wynne told a post-victory news conference on Sunday that her priorities would be to heal wounds in the provincial legislature so the parties can work together to tackle spending and improve the education system.

"The rancor and the viciousness of the legislature can't continue," she said. "We absolutely have to continue to work out our disagreements."

Responding to a question on what it meant to be the first openly gay premier in Ontario, Wynne said that while she was not an activist, she hoped she could be a role model for young gay people uncertain of their place in society.

"If I can help people to be less frightened, then that is a wonderful, wonderful thing," she said.

In her acceptance speech at the weekend leadership convention, Wynne, 59, a former Ontario education minister, thanked her partner, Jane, for her support during a three-month campaign. Ontario was one of the first Canadian provinces to allow same-sex marriage.

Wynne's victory means Canada's four most powerful provinces will be led by women. British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec already have female premiers. Women are also at the helm in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador and in the thinly populated Arctic territory of Nunavut.

Wynne replaces Dalton McGuinty, who stepped down in October as controversy mounted over costly cancellations of two natural gas power plants and battles with teachers over the government's cost-cutting efforts that included freezing wages.

The center-left Liberals have been in power for nine years in Ontario, home to most of Canada's banks and a large part of its manufacturing sector. But the party lost seats in the 2011 provincial election and needs support from at least one other party to stay in power.

[*Anya*]

Maryland Politics

By Rachel Weiner March 24 at 3:04 PM

Republican Richard J. Douglas, a candidate for Maryland’s open Senate seat, said Thursday that while his daughter is gay, he opposed the state’s legalization of same-sex marriage.

“I have a lesbian daughter,” Douglas said at a primary debate that aired on Fox 45 on Thursday afternoon. “I love my daughter, I want no harm to come to her, but our traditions matter, and tolerance is a two-way street.”

When gay marriage was legalized in Maryland in 2012, he said, “I didn’t celebrate it. . . . I didn’t agree with the result; I didn’t like it.”

One of his rivals for the Republican nomination, Chrys Kefalas, who works for the National Association of Manufacturers and is openly gay, said that while he thinks same-sex marriage “is an issue of individual liberty, equality and dignity,” it’s also not what matters to voters.

“ISIS is beheading people,” Kefalas said, referring to the terrorist group Islamic State by its other name. “People are losing their jobs.”

State House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County), who is also seeking the nomination, agreed. “This was a divisive issue in the past,” she said, “but it’s definitely been settled. What Marylanders care about now are taxes, jobs and the economy.”

In a state where there are more than twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans, whoever wins the April 26 primary faces very long odds in the general election. All four of the candidates on stage Thursday tried to balance conservative positions with a moderate appeal

They said they believed in climate change but did not want to deal with it in a way that would hurt U.S. workers. Most said they would meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland but probably would not vote to confirm him. Only Kefalas warned that it might make sense to hold hearings before the November election, given the possibility that Democrats will take both the presidency and the Senate next year.

“Let’s have hearings, let’s vet the nominee, let’s find out how this nomination stands,” he said.

Each candidate made the case for his or her particular appeal in a blue state.
Douglas said only he had worked with the last Republican senator from Maryland, the late Charles McC. Mathias Jr., who was in office when Douglas was at the State Department.

Candidate Joe Hooe, who owns a local tire company, said his relationship with customers and his novel immigration plan would give him a leg up. That plan is to charge undocumented immigrants and their employers each $1,000 a year for temporary work certificates.

Kefalas noted that he had worked as a speechwriter in the Department of Justice under President Obama. His Greek American immigrant background, career in business and government, and status as a gay Republican would help him appeal to Democrats, he said.

Szeliga argued that she knows how to win as a Republican in Maryland, having worked with Gov. Larry Hogan (R) both in office and on the 2014 campaign that put him there.

Polls show a wide-open race for the nomination, with few voters paying much attention a month before the April 26 primary. In a recent Baltimore Sun poll, Szeliga led the field with 6 percent of the vote. Seventy-nine percent of voters were undecided.

In all, 14 candidates are seeking the nomination. Those who participated in the debate Thursday were chosen by the Maryland Republican Party, which required contenders to have raised at least $10,000 by March 9.

By the end of last year, Kefalas had raised the most money, but Szeliga had more cash on hand. Both had raised and spent less than $200,000 — sums dwarfed by the multimillion-dollar Democratic primary.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...7153&tid=ss_tw

Rachel Weiner covers local politics for The Washington Post.

[Kätzchen]

Not sure how many people know this, but Gov. Kate Brown (D-Oregon) is open about her identity status as being Bisexual, and she's the second woman to be governor in my state, after Governor Barbara Brown. I'm kind of worried about who will take her place because as most might not know, Oregon is essentially a Red State. If it weren't for the long held status of the democrats in Multnomah county (other wise referenced after Carl Sagan's catch-phrase, title of a science book and philosophy -- The Pale Blue Dot), our state would bleed red - politically. Which would make all the red-neck, right wing, white nationalists hiding in the woodwork in every town in Oregon happy, is what I am guessing.

I heard a tiny bit about someone in the greater metro area community on the radio, the other day, speculating about who will take her place. The GOP in our state is nearly on the brink of becoming more unhinged than usual, so I'm very worried. Not one peep out of the Democrat party in our state and no other long term serving democrat in our state is rippling the water on whether they plan to run for governor, in the near future.

<<<<<<<<~~ is very concerned about politics in my own home state and metro area, and the ever encroaching White nationalism that has been pervasive in this state, for as long as I can remember.

[Kätzchen]

LINK: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/opini...ope/index.html



In case you missed this press release by Allison Hope, here is her Op-ed which was featured on CNN this week, which the last week of April is reserved for LESBIAN VISIBILITY WEEK.

Thanks Allison for all you do for the Lesbian Community in our country.

[Kätzchen]

News from Rainbow organizations: (1)The Advocate, (2)GLAAD, and (3) LGBTQ Nation, (4) Pink Nation

Link (1): https://www.advocate.com/election/bl...support-harris

Link (2): https://glaad.org/

Link (3): https://www.lgbtqnation.com/

Link (4): https://www.thepinknews.com/

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Here’s my Rainbow Connection: I’m a bisexual Femme, my youngest brother is a Gay bear, my oldest son is a Black transwoman.

Flying my PRIDE flag today (and always).