This is an exciting �" and risky �" time for the LGBT community. We need to elect Barack Obama in November. We need to beat back the anti-marriage ballot measure and preserve our freedom to marry. We need to make sure that the Democrats have strong majorities in Congress, so that our civil rights are protected. And, now more than ever we need strong, competent, and ethical LGBT Democratic Party leadership. Leadership to protect our civil rights and to make sure that the Democratic Party is strong and responsive to our community's needs.
That is why we support re-electing Scott Wiener as chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. Wiener �" whose re-election is also supported by Assemblyman Mark Leno �" has done a tremendous job as chair and has a long track record of leadership in the LGBT community. We urge the Democratic County Central Committee to re-elect Scott when the DCCC convenes in mid-July.
Under Wiener's leadership over the past two years, the Democratic Party has been highly successful. The party has registered 15,000 voters. It has been financially strong and thus been able to hire talented field organizers to build the party. And, because of Wiener's inclusive leadership style, all segments of the Democratic Party �" from left to moderate �" have been included, welcomed, and urged to participate. The past two years have seen far less division and rancor on the DCCC than in the past, which allows the party to focus less time and energy on internal turf wars and more time and energy on the nuts and bolts of building the Democratic Party.
Scott Wiener has also had a long and distinguished track record of leadership in the LGBT community. He played a significant role in building the LGBT Community Center and co-chaired the center's board. He co-chaired Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, co-chaired the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, and has been active in efforts to improve the Castro by making it a safer, more livable, and more inclusive place. Some of us do not agree with Wiener's decision to remain on the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign. However, we all support his leadership in the Democratic Party and in the community.
We must be unified going into the fall elections, and we need a Democratic Party chair who knows how to bring people together. Wiener fills this role. We also need to promote LGBT leadership in the Democratic Party. We cannot afford to lose a successful LGBT chair.
We understand that Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who was elected to the DCCC this month and who is the president of the Board of Supervisors, may be running against Wiener. By supporting Wiener, we are not expressing any negativity toward Peskin, or toward Supervisor Chris Daly, who is promoting Peskin's candidacy. We respect Peskin's and Daly's work on the Board of Supervisors and urge them to focus on that important body, which needs to resolve the city's budget crisis, implement universal health care, and address our crime problems. We were particularly distressed to learn that Daly threatened to "take out" any member of the DCCC who voted for Wiener. That kind of threat has no place in politics.
Scott Wiener has been an effective and successful LGBT Democratic Party chair. We encourage the Democratic County Central Committee to re-elect Wiener so that we can continue this strong LGBT leadership.
Thom Lynch, Connie O'Connor, Theresa Sparks, Cecilia Chung, John Lewis, and Stuart Gaffney co-wrote this piece, which has an additional 20 co-signers. A complete list can be found at http://www.alicebtoklas.org.