The four candidates in the Democratic primary offered similar, strong responses to most of the issues in the Pride Agenda 's candidate questionnaire, with some differences that we note below in their profiles. While only one of the two candidates for the Republican nomination returned the questionnaire, he also would be considered attentive on lesbian/gay issues, though he has less of a public record in dealing with them.
 |
Fernando
Ferrer has been Bronx Borough President for 13 years and prior
to that was a member of the New York City Council. While he was on
the Council in 1986, Mr. Ferrer provided a critical vote in getting
the gay rights bill out of committee and onto the floor where it ultimately
passed and was signed into law. Mr.Ferrer supports a bill in the Council
to require companies doing business with the city to provide domestic
partner benefits to their employees. He also favors equal marriage
rights for gays and lesbians. As Borough President, he created an
LGBT advisory council and appointed a liaison to the community; helped
create the borough’s annual Pride parade; funded community groups;
and successfully opposed a recent decision by a private company to
pull health and wellness ads running on Bronx bus shelters on behalf
of the Bronx Lesbian and Gay Health Resource Consortium. In 1993,
he supported the successful effort to deny Rev. Ruben Diaz, a Bronx
minister, from being re-confirmed as a member of the Civilian Complaint
Review Board because of homophobic statements he made concerning the
Gay Games. Mr. Ferrer has stated that no city funds should go to the
Boy Scouts of America because of their antigay policies, and he has
refused to march in the St. Patrick ’s Day Parade because of
its exclusionary policies. Mr. Ferrer has been endorsed by the Out People of Color Political Action Club, and by City Councilmembers Margarita Lopez and Philip Reed. |
 |
Mark
Green was elected New York City Public Advocate in 1993. He was
the city’s Consumer Affairs Commissioner under Mayor David Dinkins,
having worked for many years as a nationally prominent public interest
lawyer, advocate, and writer. In the 1980’s, he testified several times in support of the bill that
eventually became the city ’s gay rights law. As Public Advocate,
he co-sponsored the law establishing a separate city Division of AIDS
Services (DAS), imposing statutory obligations for care for people
with HIV/AIDS. Mr. Green is an original co-sponsor of the bill to
amend the Human Rights Law to include explicit protections for transgender
persons. He also supports a bill in the City Council to require companies
doing business with the city to provide domestic partner benefits
to their employees. He supports equal marriage rights for gays and
lesbians. As Consumer Affairs Commissioner, he exposed price gouging
by a company producing an important HIV medication, which helped force
the company to reduce the price. He supported the successful 1993
effort in the City Council to deny Rev. Ruben Diaz re-confirmation
as a member of the Civilian Complaint Review Board. He has publicly
stated that no city funds should go to the Boy Scouts of America because
of their antigay policies, and he has refused to march in the St.
Patrick’s Day Parade because of its exclusionary policies. Mr. Green has been endorsed by the Stonewall Democratic Club. |
 |
Alan
Hevesi was elected New York City Comptroller in 1993. Prior to
that, Mr. Hevesi served in the New York State Assembly for 22 years,
representing Forest Hills, Rego Park, and a portion of Middle Village.
While in the Assembly, he was a sponsor of both the Sexual Orientation
Non Discrimination Act (SONDA) and hate crimes legislation. Mr. Hevesi
has used his control over city pension funds to file shareholder resolutions
calling upon Cracker Barrel to end its antigay policies and for ExxonMobil
to restore domestic partner benefits. He supports a bill in the City
Council to require companies doing business with the city to provide
domestic partner benefits to their employees. He also supports the
bill to amend the Human Rights Law to include explicit protections
for transgender persons. Mr. Hevesi’s two audits of the city’s
Division of AIDS Services (DAS) have been used to support successful
legal challenges to that agency’s practices. He supports marriage
rights for gays and lesbians, and has refused to march in the St.
Patrick’s Day Parade because of its exclusionary policies. He
was an early and vocal supporter of the successful 1993 effort in
the City Council to deny Rev. Ruben Diaz re-confirmation as a member
of the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Mr. Hevesi has stated that
no city funds should go to the Boy Scouts of America because of their
antigay policies. Mr. Hevesi has been endorsed by Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats, Lambda Independent Democrats, the Lesbian & Gay Democratic Club of Queens, and by State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, and City Councilmember Christine Quinn. |
 |
Peter Vallone has served in the New York City Council since 1974, and has led the Council as Speaker since 1990. Mr. Vallone provided the leadership to pass the city’s domestic partnership law in 1998-one of the most comprehensive in the nation. He now supports a bill to require companies doing business with the city to provide domestic partner benefits to their employees (while leaving open the possibility of an exemption for religious institutions, something the Pride Agenda opposes). As Speaker, he also helped pass the law establishing a separate city Division of AIDS Services (DAS), imposing statutory obligations for care. Speaker Vallone delivered increased city funding for nearly a dozen LGBT community organizations during his tenure, including $3 million recently for the renovation of the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan. An opponent of the gay rights bill in 1986, he has since become a supporter of the gay rights law and has said that no city funds should go to the Boy Scouts of America because of their antigay policies. He has called on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade to welcome gay people, and he himself also continues to march in the event. Mr. Vallone does not support a the bill to amend the Human Rights Law to include explicit protections for transgender persons because he supports the Giuliani Administration’s position that transgender persons already have protections under existing law (a position some advocates disagree with). But as speaker he has permitted hearings on that bill. He is the only Democratic candidate to oppose marriage rights for gay people, noting marriage rights cannot be granted by the Mayor or city government. |
 |
|
| Herman
Badillo has been in public service for nearly 40 years. He was
the city’s first Latino Borough President and the nation ’s
first Member of Congress of Puerto Rican descent. While in Congress
from 1971 to 1978, he supported amending the Civil Rights Act to ban
sexual orientation discrimination, and he sponsored the law amending
the Voting Rights Act to provide for ballots in languages other than
English. He served as Deputy Mayor (under Mayor Ed Koch) and since
1999, has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City University
of New York (CUNY). As Chairman, he led the move to change CUNY's
30-year old Open Enrollment policy. Mr. Badillo was the only major citywide candidate who did not respond to a candidate questionnaire on lesbian and gay issues from the Pride Agenda. |
|
 |
Michael
Bloomberg founded and now heads Bloomberg L.P., a financial information
and services firm that employs more than 7,000 people, including 2,500
in New York City. The company offers its employees domestic partnership
benefits. He has devoted significant time and resources to civic affairs
and philanthropic causes, and sits on the boards of 20 different civic,
cultural, educational and medical institutions. He is Chairman of
the Board Trustees of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Bloomberg has committed to supporting legislation to require companies
doing business with the city to offer benefits to domestic partner
or reciprocal beneficiaries; however, he supports exempting religious
institutions from this requirement. He also supports the bill to amend
the Human Rights Law to include explicit protections for transgender
persons. Mr. Bloomberg, a former Eagle Scout, used a recent speaking
opportunity at a Boy Scouts awards ceremony to criticize the organization’s
anti-gay policies. In 2001, he marched in the city’s Gay/Lesbian
Pride March. Mr. Bloomberg has been endorsed by Log Cabin Republicans. |
Return to Pride Agenda Home