Santa Clara County has hired two women to staff its new Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which will open its doors Tuesday, January 19.
The South Bay county is the first such jurisdiction in the country to fund an office focused on meeting the needs of the LGBTQ community. Two cities, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., have similar offices.
Downtown San Jose resident Maribel Martinez, who last month married Lisa Wilmes, her partner of seven years, will be the office's manager. For the last eight years she has been the founding director of the Associated Students Cesar Chavez Community Action Center at San Jose State University, from which she graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science/sociology and a master's degree in applied anthropology.
"To see and to be part of this county, which is where I live and work, and to be part of contributing to the wellness of LGBT families was definitely what drew me to this position," said Martinez, 35, who grew up in East San Jose and identifies as queer and two-spirit. "And then to really be part of leading the efforts that are going to impact people's lives �" given the breadth of what the county's jurisdiction is �" is also really exciting."
Assisting Martinez as the office's management analyst will be Ashley Scarborough. Since 2012 she has been a special projects coordinator at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center in Oakland.
Scarborough declined an interview request last week, responding to the Bay Area Reporter in an email, "Perhaps we can talk again once we begin our work there."
Gay Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, who pushed for the creation of the office, announced the women's hiring for the full-time positions last Monday, January 4.
"For many years, Santa Clara County has been a leader in addressing the needs of underserved populations that require the services of the county," noted Yeager in an email his office sent to constituents.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to create the LGBTQ affairs office last June. The supervisors set the budget for the new office at $307,805; Martinez will earn $96,742 while Scarborough's salary is $81,956.
"Over the years, the county has led efforts to address the needs of many communities, including the LGBTQ community," stated County Executive Jeffrey V. Smith, M.D., J.D. "Under Maribel's leadership, we are confident the new office will support the needs of the LGBTQ community."
County officials estimate that LGBTQ people account for 4 percent of its population, which totals 1,894,605 people, based on 2014 U.S. Census numbers. A Gallup survey released in March that looked at LGBT residents of the country's top 50 metro areas found that the LGBT population in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area was 3.2 percent, or 3,368 residents age 18 and older.
In a phone interview Friday with the B.A.R., Martinez noted that the county's LGBTQ community is racially, ethnically, and economically diverse.
"When we talk about LGBTQ, we talk about multiple communities," she said. "It will be our job to understand the different communities better and respond in ways that support our residents."
In recent years Santa Clara County officials have taken several steps to meet the needs of LGBTQ residents. It conducted a first-of-its-kind health assessment to determine the unique health needs within the county's LGBTQ community.
It has also expanded HIV/AIDS services and STD testing. The Board of Supervisors recently called for Santa Clara County to have its own plan to end the transmission of HIV within its borders, similar to the plan developed by San Francisco leaders.
"While our country and this county have come a long way in recent years, it is clear we can be doing more to serve LGBTQ individuals and ensure improved outcomes for this community," wrote Yeager, the first, and so far only, out LGBT person elected to the county board. "I am confident that the Office of LGBTQ Affairs will get us closer to that end."
According to Yeager's email, the primary functions of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs will include training county staff and community stakeholders on LGBTQ issues; offer guidance to county departments on how to fairly and properly serve LGBTQ individuals; and ensure all county departments are following best practices when it comes to treatment of LGBTQ clients, residents, and employees.
Other areas the new office is expected to focus on include being the county's representative on LGBTQ issues to local, state, and national government agencies, school districts and nonprofit organizations; identifying gaps in services to LGBTQ residents and developing resources to address them; and promoting and collaborating on LGBTQ community events.
"In regards to the LGBTQ community, we could be doing more to educate our county nurses, physicians, and public health officials on the specific health needs that LGBTQ individuals face so their patients and clients are healthier," wrote Yeager. "We could be doing more to assist district attorneys, public defenders, sheriff's deputies and probation officers as they devise fair, equitable processes for treating LGBTQ individuals involved in our criminal justice system."
Yeager also added, "We could be doing more to ensure that every LGBTQ employee who works for Santa Clara County feels comfortable and safe in their workplace."
Asked about the numerous tasks her two-person office will be expected to accomplish, Martinez responded that she is undaunted by the lengthy list.
"I think we are going to be able to accomplish a lot in the first year because we have a lot of great support from the county and also in the community," she said. "Although it is a small office with two full-time staff, we anticipate we will be involved in partnerships within the county administration and with community partners."
Martinez said she also expects the new LGBTQ office will be able to provide case-by-case support for individuals and families confronting vulnerable situations.
"One of the primary areas of work that we will definitely focus on in this beginning year is to really create awareness about what services already exist in the county and also provide some clear pathways for having community concerns and questions be addressed," said Martinez.
Due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, January 18, the Political Notes column is taking a week off. It will return Monday, January 25.
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Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail [email protected].