2006 Primary Voter Guide

The Empire State Pride Agenda is the statewide, bi-partisan civil rights and political advocacy organization dedicated to equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers and our families.  We are committed to seizing all opportunities in the political and legislative processes to advance our public policy goals and pursue our public policy agenda.  Securing the election and appointment of LGBT supporters at all levels of government, educating political candidates and identifying, endorsing and providing campaign assistance to those who support our public policy agenda are important tools in our struggle.  We believe that by supporting candidates for elected office, we can increase the number of allies in government, solidify the commitment of current allies and hold opponents accountable.

When deciding whether to endorse in a particular race, the Pride Agenda considers a number of factors including whether the endorsement furthers our public policy agenda, contributes to the election of LGBT candidates, allows for coalition building with strategic allies, results in significant community or capacity building within the LGBT community, allows for specific public education on an issue of importance or has the potential to influence the outcome of an election.

We make our specific endorsement decisions based on responses to the Pride Agenda candidate questionnaire, an examination of a candidate's voting record (for those who have previously held elective office), a review of his or her public acts and statements and consultations with other organizations throughout New York State, including local LGBT organizations.  Non-incumbents are evaluated based upon the criteria above as well as the viability of their campaign.

The Pride Agenda did not endorse any candidate who took a position contrary to our public policy agenda.  For example, we did not endorseany candidats who said same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry, or who said they supported a so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that would limit marriage to one man and one woman.  In fact, every candidate endorsed for primary races stated their full support for issues at the top of our agenda including: prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and expression; protecting students from bias harassment; increasing the availability of state funding for community based organizations providing LGBT-specific health and human services; the unrestricted right to reproductive freedom including abortion; and family protections for same-sex couples including the ability to legally marry. 

The Empire State Pride Agenda has endorsed 12 candidates for the 2006 primary elections on September 12th.  Many elected officials who are friends of the LGBT community are not profiled in the voter guide because they have no primary opposition and are not on the September 12 primary ballot. These candidate races will be profiled in the Pride Agenda's General Election Voter Guide issued in October. The Pride Agenda reserves the right to endorse a different candidate in a general election from the one endorsed in the primary race.

The Pride Agenda urges everyone to volunteer, contribute to, and vote for these deserving candidates on Tuesday, September 12, 2006. Those wishing to volunteer their time with the Pride Agenda on Primary Day or on campaigns leading up to the primary should contact Chris Cormier at ccormier@prideagenda.org or 212-627-0305.

• Statewide
• Senate
• Assembly

Statewide Races

Governor, Democratic Primary – Eliot Spitzer
Lieutenant Governor, Democratic Primary – David Paterson

Eliot Spitzer, currently New York State Attorney General, has stood up for the LGBT community and fought vigorously for LGBT equality and justice.  He supports marriage equality for our families, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), the Dignity for All Students Act and funding for community based organizations that address the long-standing health and human services needs of our community. He has also taken the additional steps of joining the Pride Agenda’s “New Yorkers for the Freedom to Marry” initiative and promising to introduce a bill as governor to achieve equal access to marriage for all loving, committed couples regardless of gender.

During his tenure as Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer:

1. Reinstated the Department of Law non-discrimination policy that included sexual orientation, which had been rescinded by the previous Attorney General, Dennis Vacco; 
2. Proactively wrote and distributed to every District Attorney in New York a manual on the prosecution of hate crimes under the Hate Crimes Act of 2000 and also interpreted the law to cover crimes based on gender identity and expression; 
3. Filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Court of Appeals on a case that required Yeshiva University to allow a same-sex couple access to housing reserved for married couples. Experts feel his weighing in was instrumental in getting the Court of Appeals to hear the case; 
4. Co-signed a 2001 letter (with Governor Pataki, Mayor Giuliani, and Senators Clinton and Schumer) to President Bush asking for equal treatment of domestic partners under the federal government's 9/11 victims compensation fund and was the chief author of the law stating that it is the intent of the New York State legislature that domestic partners be treated as surviving spouses by the federal fund; 
5. Filed a friend-of-the-court brief in an appellate level case (Langan v. St. Vincent's Hospital) urging the court to recognize the civil union of a surviving partner suing for wrongful death; and
6. Issued an advisory opinion to local clerks about giving marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While he said current law did not allow such licenses to be issued, he said the restriction raised Constitutional concerns. He also said that current law requires that legal marriages of same-sex couples from other jurisdictions, like Canada, must be respected in New York State. This led the way for the NYS Comptroller, eight localities representing over half the state's population, NYC's five pension funds, the City University of New York, two Teamsters locals and four automobile insurance companies in New York State to honor the marriages of same-sex couples. Recently, Spitzer has declined to defend the NYS Department of Civil Service in a case where they refused to recognize the legal out-of-state marriage of a same-sex couple.

His running mate, Senator David Paterson, is Senate Minority Leader.  In that role, he has been a similarly strong for the LGBT community. He supports marriage equality and transgender non-discrimination. He worked hard to enact the state's Hate Crimes Act and Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act. He believes that under the law all Americans deserve full and equal protection, and promises to stand with the LGBT community in a shared commitment to fairness and justice.

Attorney General Spitzer faces Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi in the Democratic primary.  Mr. Suozzi did not submit a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement.

The Pride Agenda is proud to endorse the Spitzer / Paterson ticket in the gubernatorial primary.

Attorney General, Democratic Primary – Sean Patrick Maloney

As an attorney (the only practicing, professional attorney in the Attorney General race), Mr. Maloney has specialized in criminal and institutional investigations. He was a senior advisor to President Clinton in the White House. He’s an openly-gay father of three who, with his partner, knows first-hand what it means to support a family without having access to the hundreds of prtoections and responsibilities New York provides to opposite-sex couples when they marry.  In fact, he is the only member of the LGBT community running for statewide office anywhere in the U.S.

Mr. Maloney faces Andrew Cuomo, former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Mark Green, former New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner and Public Advocate.  Both have been strong supporters of the LGBT community throughout their professional and personal lives and have staked out supportive positions on LGBT issues including marriage equality, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the Dignity for All Students Act.  The Pride Agenda believes, however, that Mr. Maloney is uniquely suited as a gay man and father to advocate in a very personal way for LGBT equality and justice.  As such, the Pride Agenda is proud to endorse him in the Democratic Primary for Attorney General.

Senate

Senate District 3 (Suffolk), Democratic Primary – David Ochoa

Mr. Ochoa is running to be the Democratic nominee against incumbent Republican State Senator Caesar Trunzo, who is a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) sponsor.  Mr. Ochoa is a local business owner and entrepreneur, and a Board member of the Dorsal Bank, Suffolk County Community College, Congregational Church and Urban League of Long Island.  He answered every question on the questionnaire correctly with the exception of saying that he would support public resources going to the Boy Scouts of America, Inc.  He said he would co-sponsor the marriage equality bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), the Dignity for All Students Act and ten other pieces of LGBT-affirmative legislation.  He has been endorsed by the Working Families and Integrity Parties, UFCW Local 1500, the ACORN PAC and elected officials including Congressmember Tim Bishop.  Mr. Ochoa is running against Jimmy Dahroug and Ricardo Montano, neither of whom submitted questionnaires seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement. The Pride Agenda is pleased to endorse David Ochoa in the Democratic primary for the 3rd Senatorial District.

Senate District 10 (Queens), Democratic Primary – Ada L. Smith

Senator Smith is the incumbent for this seat.  She has been a strong ally of the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of her and going the extra steps of co-sponsoring the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the Dignity for All Students Act.  She has also used the bully pulpit power of her office to highlight LGBT equality and justice, such as when she featured an overview of LGBT issues on her weekly cable show broadcast in her district.  She answered every question on the questionnaire correctly and agreed to be co-sponsor of a number of pieces of legislation.  She has been endorsed by DC37 and the UFT.  Senator Smith is being challenged by Shirley Huntley and Allan W. Jennings, Jr., neither of whom submitted a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement. The Pride Agenda is proud to endorse Ada L. Smith in the Democratic primary for the 10th Senatorial District.

Senate District 13 (Queens), Democratic Primary – John D. Sabini

Senator Sabini is the incumbent for this seat.  He has been a strong ally of the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of him.  He has taken the extra steps of co-sponsoring the marriage equality bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), and the Dignity for All Students Act, as well as joining the Pride Agenda’s “New Yorkers for the Freedom to Marry” initiative.  He answered every question on the questionnaire correctly, and has already been endorsed by the Independence Party, 1199, and elected officials including openly LGBT elected officials like State Senator Tom Duane and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Senator Sabini is being challenged by New York City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate.  On the City Council, Mr. Monserrate has been a strong supporter of the LGBT community, having co-sponsored every LGBT-affirmative piece of legislation passed by the NYC Council as well as funding Queens-based LGBT organizations and events.  He has been endorsed by numerous unions including locals from SEIU, UFCW, UAW, DC 37 and the Teamsters.  Mr. Monserrate answered every question on the questionnaire correctly and, if elected, agreed to co-sponsor the marriage equality bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), the Dignity for All Students Act and a dozen other pieces of legislation.

While Mr. Monserrate has clearly been a friend of the LGBT community while a member of the New York City Council, Senator Sabini has been an equally strong supporter in the NYS Senate.  Both Senator Sabini and Councilmember Monserrate would be good state legislators who would further the fight for LGBT equality and justice.  However, since Senator Sabini has stood with our community, including being public about his support for marriage equality for same-sex couples, the Pride Agenda believes the LGBT community should stand with him and that he is fully deserving of our endorsement in the Democratic Primary for the 13th Senatorial District.  

Senate District 18 (Brooklyn), Democratic Primary – Velmanette Montgomery

Senator Montgomery is the incumbent for this seat.  She has been a strong ally of the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of her and going the extra steps of co-sponsoring the marriage equality bill and Dignity for All Students Act, and joining the Pride Agenda’s “New Yorkers for the Freedom to Marry” initiative.  She answered every question on the questionnaire correctly, although she did not answer the question about public funding to the Boy Scouts.  She did agree to be co-sponsor of a number of pieces of legislation including the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).  She has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, 1199 and Lambda Independent Democrats.  Senator Montgomery is being challenged by Tracy Boyland who did not submit a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement.  The Pride Agenda is proud to endorse Velmanette Montgomery in the Democratic primary for the 18th Senatorial District.

Senate District 21 (Brooklyn), Democratic Primary – Kevin Parker

Senator Parker is the incumbent for this seat.  He has been a strong ally of the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of him and going the extra step of sponsoring the marriage equality bill and joining the Pride Agenda’s “New Yorkers for the Freedom to Marry” initiative.  He answered every question on the questionnaire correctly and also agreed to be co-sponsor of GENDA, Dignity for All Students and a dozen other pieces of legislation.  He has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, numerous elected officials including openly LGBT State Senator Tom Duane, numerous unions including DC 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, DC 9, 32BJ, 1199 and CSEA, NARAL and Planned Parenthood, and Lambda Independent Democrats and Stonewall Democrats.  Senator Parker is being challenged by Noach Dear, a conservative New York City Councilmember who has often voted against LGBT issues.  Mr. Dear did not submit a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement.  The Pride Agenda is proud to endorse Kevin Parker in the Democratic primary for the 21st Senatorial District.

Senate District 25 (Brooklyn), Democratic Primary

At the time the Pride Agenda met to make our primary endorsements, it was uncertain which candidates would be legally eligible to run in this race.  Therefore, we did not make an endorsement in the 25th Senatorial District.  We did receive questionnaires from two extremely well qualified candidates seeking our endorsement.

Senator Martin Connor is the incumbent for this seat.  He has been a strong ally of the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of him and given member item funding to community based LGBT organizations.  When he served as Senate Minority Leader, Senator Connor was an important partner in the fight to pass hate crimes legislation.  More recently he has continued his proactive work on LGBT issued by co-sponsoring the marriage equality bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the Dignity for All Students Act.  He answered every question on the questionnaire correctly.  He has been endorsed by elected officials including openly LGBT elected officials like State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and New York City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, as well as the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC and Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.

Senator Connor is being challenged by Ken Diamondstone.  Mr. Diamondstone is an openly gay man who develops affordable housing for working families and seniors.  He has served as Vice Chair of Community Board #2 and Chair of the Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board.  He has been endorsed by the Working Families and Green Parties, numerous unions including UAW Region 9A and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500, elected officials including Congressman Major Owens, , and Lambda Independent Democrats.  Mr. Diamondstone answered every question on the questionnaire correctly and, if elected, agreed to co-sponsor the marriage equality bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), the Dignity for All Students Act and over a dozen other pieces of legislation.

Senate District 60 (Buffalo), Democratic Primary – Antoine Thompson

Antoine Thompson is a Buffalo City Councilmember who co-sponsored and actively pushed a transgender-inclusive fair housing ordinance for Buffalo.  He has been endorsed by the NYS Stonewall Democrats.  He answered every question on the questionnaire correctly and also agreed to be co-sponsor of a bill to require equal health insurance coverage for transgender New Yorkers.  He has been endorsed by the Working Families and Green Parties, AFSCME, CSEA, Citizen Action NY and the NY Stonewall Democrats. 

Councilmember Thompson is challenging Senator Mark Coppola, the incumbent for this seat.  Senator Coppola has been an ally of the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of him.  He answered every question on the questionnaire correctly with the exception of saying that he would support public resources going to the Boy Scouts of America, Inc.  He has been endorsed by the Independence Party, 1199 and UNITE HERE.

While Senator Coppola has voted to further LGBT equality and justice whenever the opportunity came to him, he has not been proactive in cosponsoring legislation for the LGBT community. Councilmember Thompson has professed a commitment to LGBT issues equal to, and in some places surpassing Senator Coppola, such as his willingness to sponsor the transgender insurance equity bill. Councilmember Thompson also has a record demonstrating this commitment to proactive advocacy for the LGBT community in the form of his diligent work to pass a transgender fair-housing ordinance in Buffalo. The Pride Agenda, therefore, is proud to endorse Antoine Thompson in the Democratic primary for the 60th Senatorial District.

Assembly

Assembly District 39 (Queens), Democratic Primary – Jose Peralta

Assemblymember Peralta is the incumbent for this seat.  He has been a strong ally of the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of him and going the extra steps of co-sponsoring the marriage equality bill and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).  He answered every question on our candidate questionnaire correctly and additionally expressed his willingness to co-sponsor over a dozen pieces of LGBT-affirmative legislation.  He has already been endorsed by the Working Families Party, many labor unions and civic groups, and the Stonewall Democratic Club.  He is being challenged by Carmen Enriquez who did not submit a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement.  The Pride Agenda is proud to endorse Jose Peralta in the Democratic primary for the 39th Assembly District.

Assembly District 69 (Manhattan), Democratic Primary

 At the time the Pride Agenda met to make our primary endorsements, it was uncertain which candidates would be legally eligible to run in this race.  Therefore, we did not make an endorsement in the 69th Senatorial District.  Based on his outstanding record of achievement for the LGBT community, however, the Pride Agenda is pleased to reiterate our support of incumbent Assemblymember Daniel J. O’Donnell.

As the first openly gay man to serve in the New York State Assembly, Assemblyman O’Donnell has been a consistent supporter of the LGBT community, having voted correctly for every piece of LGBT legislation that has come in front of him.  He has gone the extra step of sponsoring a number of important bills for our community, including a law addressing hate crimes on college campuses, a bill requiring health insurance providers to offer coverage to domestic partners if they make such coverage available for spouses and the Dignity for All Students Act.  He is also a co-sponsor of the marriage equality bill and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).  Assemblyman O’Donnell has been endorsed by the Stonewall Democrats New York City and Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.

Assemblymember O’Donnell is being challenged by Francisco Spies who did not submit a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement.

Assembly District 95 (Rockland), Democratic Primary – Ellen C. Jaffee

Ms. Jaffee is running for the open Assembly seat vacated by Ryan Karben.  She is currently an eight-year member of the Rockland County Legislature and has been previously endorsed by the Pride Agenda previously for that office.  As a County Legislator, she initiated and authored successful legislation extending health insurance to domestic partners of Rockland County employees.  That led the way to the creation of a domestic partner registry in Rockland as well as equal housing legislation.  She also sponsored a resolution calling on the state legislature to pass the Dignity for All Students Act.  She has been a visible presence in the Rockland LGBT community, including speaking at town meetings and Pride events.  She answered every question on the questionnaire correctly and has been endorsed by the Working Families and Independence Parties, and numerous elected officials including openly gay Nyack Mayor John Shields.  Ms. Jaffee is running against David Fried who did not submit a questionnaire seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement.  The Pride Agenda is proud to endorse Ellen C. Jaffee in the Democratic primary for the 95th Assembly District.

Assembly District 121 (North Syracuse), Democratic Primary

This seat has been vacated by Republican Jeffrey Brown, a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) sponsor, who is now running for the State Senate. Both Democrats running for this Assembly seat, Chris Fowler and Albert A. Stirpe, Jr., filled out questionnaires seeking the Pride Agenda’s endorsement. 

Neither Mr. Fowler nor Mr. Stirpe has held elected office and both profess similarly supportive positions on their candidate questionnaires, including support for marriage equality, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the Dignity for All Students Act.  Mr. Fowler is endorsed by the Onondaga County Democratic Committee and the Teamsters 1149.  Mr. Stirpe is endorsed by the Green and Working Families Parties and the UAW.

Since both candidates hold views that would make them strong legislative allies of the LGBT community, the Pride Agenda is unable to endorse one or the other in the primary. Instead, we look forward to considering an endorsement of the primary winner later this fall in the general election.