Lee Sartain: “Just a candidate” for City Council at-large
From Q-Notes:
“I’m not particularly keen on being called the ‘gay candidate,’” Lee Sartain, a 2009 city council candidate in Raleigh, told Q-Notes.
In today’s time, Sartain said, gay and lesbian people actually have a chance to run for office and make a difference on a range of issues other than those pertaining to the LGBT community.
“One of the things that strikes me in 2009, is that if you look back over history and you look back to Harvey Milk — that was 30 years ago and he was the gay candidate,” Sartain said. “In 2009, you are not the gay candidate. You are just a candidate. I don’t necessarily think it is helpful for the community to run as the gay candidate. If you are, you might not even get my vote.”
Sartain is running for one of the two at-large City Council seats. If you signed up to follow him on Twitter, as I advised, you’ve been tweeted to this story already.
1 Comment
I was a Chicago transplant living in Exile in San Francisco. I left Chicago in the early 60’s, because knowing someone or being “Queer”(that is what we were called back then)was considered taboo, at home, in school or at the workplace. I was an openly gay man who earned my living as a publicist and freelance photographer, specializing in gay clients and businesses… at a time it was not yet fashionable to do so… even in San Francisco!
By osmosis, I was involved in gay politics and sports. I knew Harvey Milk, as a friend… and even though he was both gay and Jewish like me… I did not support him when he ran for City Supervisor of the 5th district back in 1977. I supported and worked for Lawyer Terry Hallinan, who was straight, married and had a great civil rights record as a “Freedom Rider” in the 60’s and defended 27 G.I.’s who did not want to return to an unjust war, as well as a neighborhood activist.I thought that Terry could best serve most of the residents and businesses of the 5th district. I ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT BEING GAY, DID NOT MAKE YOU A BETTER POLITICIAN, ATHLETE OR HAIRDRESSER… and I am old enough to remember President Eisenhower saying… that taking a political stance in the middle of the road, will open you up to the extremes of both sides of a political issue. And it did for me,too. I found that there are many gay heterophobes, just as there are straight homophobes, especially when it comes to local politics… I believed then and now, to choose voting for someone based on their public record, and not because they have something in common with me. I hope those who are considering voting for Lee, do that also.
— Jerry Pritikin 1 July 2009