Nashville Pride Political Roundup

Despite the heat, thousands turned out for Nashville Pride today. Channel 5 offered some coverage. The Tennessean's coverage was more political with several folks interviewed talking about the 2009 Metro non-discrimination ordinance, the Don't Say Gay bill, and the birth certificate bill.

It was a good day for politicking. State Representative Mike Stewart was making the rounds. Candidate for State House district 58 Steven Turner and candidate for State Senate district 21 Jeff Yarbro were busy engaging voters. Newly announced candidate for Metro Council district 6 Pete Westerholm (an outgoing TEP board member) was busy working the TEP table and meeting people. I was pleased to see that the Tennessee Democratic Party also had a table busy with volunteers.

Volunteers at the TEP table registered voters, surveyed festival goers about discrimination, and increased awareness of the upcoming State Primary. All in all, it was a great day to build the movement for equality.

TNDP Summit:: What the Big Tent means

I offer an incomplete review of the TN Democratic Party Summit since I was only able to attend on Saturday. What I saw was a success in the sense that Democrats are clearly focused on the 2010 election. Whether that focus holds and whether the plan unfolds remains to be seen. But the focus and the energy were undeniable.

I heard the phrase "big tent" quite a bit. So I'll try to break down how I think I heard the Democrats using the phrase.

Engagement at all levels: People with all kinds of roles in the party participated actively. Candidates, state legislators, county chairs, state party volunteers, campaign managers, and new activists were all well represented. It's hard to design an event that meets everyone's needs, but it's impressive that all these groups came to the table expecting to get something they could use.

Rural and urban: One panel explicitly dealt with electing Democrats in rural areas. Walton Robinson spoke about Rep. Eddie Yokley's ability to win his district consistently despite being targeted by Republicans. The first panel dealt with what "unites us as Democrats," and there was substantial agreement between the rural and urban folks in their descriptions. The words "care" and "opportunity" came up quite a bit.

Big money and grassroots: Speakers frankly acknowledged the skirmishing between the so called "big money guys" and the grassroots activists. But everyone seemed to think that the fight was either over, settled, or bracketed for now. Rep. Mike Stewart summed it up in his opening remarks by saying that everyone knows that both are needed. He highlighted the importance of volunteers for the upcoming House races.

Conservative and liberal/progressive: These differences on abortion/choice and "gay marriage" were also frankly acknowledged. Speakers continued to emphasize the big tent with respect to these issues. From where I was sitting I noticed some progressive annoyance at characterizing the issue as one abortion instead of choice. But speakers tried to make a positive out of the difference by contrasting the Democratic big tent way with the Republican way of only allowing a pro-life/anti-choice perspective. They also began building the case that, regardless of differences on social issues, Democrats are unified on education and the economy--issues on which they felt they could connect with voters and win.

So the big tent took on many shades of meaning. And based on Saturday's sessions, I'd say the Democrats could be in for a big tent revival.

Additional thoughts on GLBT issues at the summit: By no means were GLBT issues central to the substance of the summit. But there were moments when I saw the headway we are making. Rep. Mike Stewart talked about the adoption ban in his opening remarks and how Democrats can stop such measures if they take back the House. Leader Gary Odom introduced me on the first panel as his constituent. It was a small thing, but it meant a lot. He and his staff have always had an open door when I've wanted to talk and I appreciated the fact that he didn't back away from that. After the panel was over, I received a warm welcome from dozens of participants who wanted to help with the bills that we are working on this session. I was also impressed with Caucus Chairman Mike Turner who discussed the issues of marriage and civil unions and acknowledged his appreciation for the gay constituents who had supported him.

I know we continue to have a lot of work to do with both parties on GLBT issues, but I saw signs of forward movement today. It's a big tent, all right. It includes people who just aren't comfortable with us, but it's big enough to allow us to continue working.

Cover America Now! rally draws politicians, activists

The Cover America Now! rally drew several hundred union members, activists, and a few politicians to Legislative Plaza this evening for speeches and musical acts highlighting the need for health care reform. Among those attending were Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Tuke, Democrat Mike Stewart running for TN House in the 52nd District, and at-large Metro Council Member Jerry Maynard.

The coverage was eclectic including WTVF and BBC Radio. Singer Jonell Mosser and the Rev. Ed Sanders of the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church got the most excited reaction from the crowd of progressive activists and United Steelworkers, SEIU members, and other union representatives.

The Tennessee Equality Project was one of several organizations that sponsored the event.

TEP PAC congratulates Mike Stewart

Reports are that Mike Stewart has run away with the House 52nd District race. Congratulations, Mike.

TEP endorses Coriolanus

Last night the Nashville Shakespeare Festival held a house party at the home of Jon Glassmeyer featuring a "satellite uplink" with the candidate Coriolanus...who is running for consul, of course. One of Shakespeare's most political of plays, Coriolanus is being marketed creatively during this election season with yard signs and bumper stickers.

Coriolanus wasn't the only candidate with a presence that night. Mike Stewart, who is running for the Tennessee House 52nd District seat, also made an appearance.

Gay Newspaper Endorses Stansell and Stewart

Out & About Newspaper has taken the stance of endorsing both candidates in the District 52 race. The endorsement and a series of Q & A from each candidate is here.

TEP-PAC endorses Stewart and Richardson in first round

Here is the statement that will go out tomorrow about TEP-PAC's first endorsements in State House and Senate races.

This year's legislative races are important for the future of Tennessee's LGBT community. Today we announce our first endorsements for the Tennessee House of Representatives.

District 52 includes more people on our contact list than any other district in the state. As you would expect, issues important to our community are important to the candidates. In the Democratic primary, TEP-PAC endorses Mike Stewart. Mr. Stewart has shown his commitment to equality in his responses to questions about policy as well as his consistent outreach to our community. His opponent Eric Stansell has also shown a true commitment to issues of equality in response to questions about policy. We thank the candidates for their clear support. If you would like to help Mike Stewart's campaign, go to http://electmikestewart.org.

In District 89, we again endorse Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis). She is running unopposed, but we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge her strong defense of our community in the preceding legislative session. We are grateful for her leadership.

Yours,
Jenny Ford
Chair, TEP-PAC

TEP-PAC is a state political action committee registered in Tennessee. Joyce Peacock, treasurer. The endorsements of TEP-PAC do not necessarily reflect the views of the board of the Tennessee Equality Project.

House District 52 candidates support stronger hate crimes laws

This morning Democratic candidates for the 52nd House District Eric Stansell and Mike Stewart debated...or as some would have it, politely agreed about most of the issues that were put to them by a group of progressive organizations. Matt Pulle covered the event for the Scene and noted some of the questions and answers:

On the recent spate of violence against gays:

Stewart:
“I will support the expansion of the hate crimes statute.”
Stansell:
“Without question we have to strengthen the laws in this area.”

Randy Cox, president of the Tennessee Equality Project Foundation, asked the question. I spoke with Randy after the debate and he said that he actually asked the question in reference to the violence against transgender people. The current hate crimes law covers gays, lesbians, and bisexuals (sexual orientation), but it does not cover transgender people (gender identity).

Still, we're glad that Pulle was there covering the discussion and that Randy was able to ask his question. Even better is the fact that both candidates can be convinced of the need to strengthen the law so we can bring more attention to this issue.

Another Pride winding down

The Tennessean ran this piece about Saturday's Family Day event, which is part of the Nashville Pride celebration. Several of those in attendance were interviewed about their reactions to California Supreme Court's decision to recognize marriage rights for same-sex couples.

The main celebration took place in Centennial Park today where several organizations and businesses had set up booths. I was pleased to see Dell represented there. It's always a good opportunity to sign up new members for your group. TEP recruited several new members, surveyed over 250 on hate crimes incidents, and even registered about 40 voters. The overwhelming majority of people who stopped by our booth had already taken care of their registration or change of address prior to the Tennessee presidential primary and are eager to vote in November.

Mike Stewart, Democratic candidate for State House District 52, stopped by the TEP booth to talk for a few minutes. He had been campaigning door-to-door yesterday in the Green Hills portion of his district. I didn't happen to see any other candidates out in the park, but I wasn't exactly looking too hard.

The best part of Pride is seeing people you haven't seen in about a year. It's like a family reunion. The mood was upbeat as people from all over Middle Tennessee got reconnected.