At the HRC-Strickland fundraising event this past weekend here in Cincinnati -- where I hear Strickland impressed the crowd with a quick fire unscripted Q&A for the crowd -- the Governor said in no uncertain terms that he would not pick State Rep. Jennifer Garrison for his Lt. Gov. running mate. (The current Lt. Gov., Lee Fisher, is running for the empty Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Voinovich.)Why is this so interesting? In 2004, Garrison went ran against State Rep. Nancy Hollister (R -- who voted against the state Defense of Marriage Act) by touting her own opposition to same-sex marriage. She's also supported by the NRA and Ohio Right to Life -- making me wonder how is she a Democrat? (Joking. Social issues do not define your political affiliation.)
In short: Strickland is not going to welcome an anti-gay Democrat into the statehouse... even if she is local (Cincinnatian) and popular.
PS This event went out on Facebook to a lot of people going -- $250? No thanks! I am hoping that the Ohio LGBT Democratic Caucus and the Governor have an opportunity for others to speak to Strickland without just precipitous pricetag (though I understand there were a handful at the event who were offered tickets at reduced prices).
2 comments:
Kudos to Karen Aronoff for working hard to get people in who couldn't afford the full price. It's important to keep in mind that this was first and foremost a fundraising event for the Governor! I share your hope that someone like James Winnett can wrangle a free forum on LGBTQ issues somewhere nearby, however, since the way things currently stand it could look very much like Strickland is another politician who only shows up to queer stuff when he's asking for cash.
Maybe that's the truth, but I hope it isn't.
Oh and another tidbit worth noting is that he publicly stated his desire to re-open the issue of a comprehensive anti-bullying law in Ohio that included sexual orientation & gender identity. Needless to say, GLSEN's pretty darn excited :)
it's also worth pointing out that these intimate fundraising events for the governor are normally more like $1000 a head. So $250 was already a BIG reduction, again thanks to Karen Aronoff.
Was it affordable for the average queer? No. But "affordable for the average person" is not a normal goal for fundraisers.
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