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Andrew
Cuomo is a former U. S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
in the Clinton Administration (1998 - 2001)and was one of the youngest Cabinet
Secretaries ever. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of the department
(1993-97). Mr. Cuomo says his work with the lesbian and gay community dates
back to 1987, when he worked on developing the nation's first AIDS health
care facility, located in the Bronx. As HUD Secretary, he funded community-based
as well as national programs and services, including the awarding of $57
million in HOPWA (Housing Opportunity for People With AIDS) grants to the
state of New York. As Secretary, he provided a total of $225,000 over four
years (1998 to 2001) in program monies to the New York City Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Community Services Center. Under Secretary Cuomo's
tenure, HUD created and funded a national task force to fight hate and discrimination
on the Internet, including that directed at the lesbian and gay community.
As of the
printing of this guide, Mr. Cuomo has not been endorsed by any openly
lesbian or gay elected officials or political clubs.
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H.
Carl McCall is serving his second term as New York State Comptroller,
the first African-American elected to statewide office in New York. Mr.
McCall's record of public service includes Commissioner of the New York
State Division of Human Rights and three terms as New York State Senator.
He also served as president of the New York City Board of Education, where
he says he supported controversial Rainbow Curriculum policies designed
to be more inclusive of family diversity, including LGBT families. As Comptroller,
Mr. McCall initiated and co-sponsored a shareholder resolution that attempted
to get ExxonMobil to add sexual orientation to the company's anti-discrimination
policy. He says he also used his power as sole trustee of the State's pension
fund in several instances to pressure other corporations to cease anti-gay
policies and include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies.
Upon election in 1994, Mr. McCall signed an order barring discrimination
against gay men and lesbians working in the Comptroller's office.
Mr. McCall
has been endorsed by Nyack Mayor John Shields, State Senator Tom Duane,
Assemblymember Deborah Glick, NYC Council members Phil Reed and Margarita
Lopez, Rochester City Councilman Tim Mains and NYS Democratic Party vice
chair Emily Giske. He also has the endorsements of Stonewall Democrats
(NYC), the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (NYC), the Guillermo
Vazquez Independent Democratic Club (Queens), the Stonewall Democrats
of Westchester County, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, the Out
People of Color Political Action Club (NYC) and the Stonewall Democrats
of Western New York.
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questionnaires that both candidates answered did not reveal any obvious
differences on the issues. Both candidates for the Democratic nomination
for governor offered mostly supportive responses. Neither candidate was
willing to support the legalization of same-sex marriages at this point,
but both also say they would oppose anti-marriage legislation targeted at
gays and lesbians. Each said he supports civil unions for same-sex couples.
Both also answered that he supports legislation that would require businesses
that have contracts with the State of New York to offer benefits to domestic
partners on the same basis as benefits to spouses of employees.
Both said
they support and would as Governor sign the current proposed Sexual Orientation
Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) that provides comprehensive civil rights
protections for lesbians and gay men; support legislation to protect students
from anti-gay harassment in schools, the Dignity for All Students Act;
support funding of LGBT health and human service needs in the Governor's
Executive budget, in addition to increasing AIDS-specific funds; support
expanding definitions of family so that same-sex couples can, for example,
gain access to family court and obtain workers compensation survivor benefits
for domestic partners killed on the job. Both say they support comprehensive
civil rights protections based upon a person's gender identity and expression
and would add specific protections for the transgender community to the
state's human rights law.
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