This isn't going to be quite the diary I'd originally had in mind. I'd been fed a couple of very nice items yesterday afternoon that I'd thought of turning into a "happy news for gays in politics" item. Unfortunately for me, I'm not sufficiently quick on the draw sometimes. Something about having to work during the day when there's news to be had.
I was going to start off with news on an appointment within HUD and then move on to the DOJ's rehiring of Leslie Hagen. Hagen was fired at the behest of Monica Goodling based on rumors to the effect that Hagen was, God forbid, a lesbian.
Unfortunately (for me at least), BarbinMD scooped me on the front page. This left me groping for material (same as I'm doing here but bear with me over the fold).
So this left me with one item of interest. That would be the appointment of Ron Sims as Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Shaun Donovan was sworn in as HUD Secretary a week ago Monday. As we know, Secretaries are the high-profile types who tend to make the big appearances, announcing programs, doing ribbon-cuttings on projects that their agency has funded and, incidentally, sitting in Cabinet meetings with the President. Deputy Secretaries are the individuals responsible for day-to-day operations within their respective agencies.
I don't know all that much about Ron Sims, who was previously King County, Washington's County Executive. And it certainly doesn't seem, at first glance, that there'd be a gay angle in any of this, particularly as Sims is not gay (so far as I know). Sims does seem to be a very decent and well-liked guy with a strong record on the environment, among other things. However what HUD's official press release doesn't mention is that Sims has been a strong supporter of marriage equality. The Seattle Time's article on the Sims appointment doesn't contain any specifics within the text, but it does show him (fourth picture down; you'll have to follow the link to see it) addressing an undated rally on marriage equality in Seattle.
This is good news all around. There are, of course, limits to what can be done strictly at the agency level with respect to gay rights and marriage equality, thanks in part to DOMA. But on a day-to-day basis, having a deputy secretary in your corner can make a huge difference. Until recently, HUD had not been strong supporting it's LGBT employees (I happen to be one myself). Mel Martinez, W's first appointment as Secretary of HUD, left to for the Senate. He included a huge amount of gay-bashing in his campaign rhetoric. And there was little positive going on during the time of Martinez' replacement, Alfonso Jackson, to make those of us who ultimately work for him any more comfortable. Still, when Jackson left last year and was replaced by Steve Preston, things began to look up. During his brief time at the helm, Preston, who seemed to me to be more of a high level career civil servant than an actual political type, appeared to be genuinely interested in listening to the needs of his LGBT employees.
Having a true champion for our rights as the man in charge of agency operations not only gives me hope that there will be more interest in meeting the needs and concerns of LGBT staff, it also leads me to hope that HUD programs will be administered in a way that's more gay-inclusive. After all, it took a lawsuit back in the late-80's to make our program for the low-income disabled population accessible for people with AIDS.
Now on to the sad news. And it truly is sad. Today's NYT included an article announcing the March closing of the Oscar Wilde Bookstore. The Oscar Wilde Bookstore has been the oldest bookstore in the country catering to the gay community; it opened in 1967.
When I was a barely-out-of the closet 20-something, back in the mid-70's, I recall standing outside what was already something of a landmark, anxiously deciding whether or not to enter and perhaps be seen purchasing books that would speak directly to me. I purchased my very first gay-themed book, Christopher Isherwood's Christopher and His Kind at Oscar Wilde and was a regular patron there until I left New York in 1980. As with many non-chain stores, Wilde had been struggling for years and had been bailed out more than once previously.