‘S .0971 x Political Preview Part Two u?grasst'a,ad on LGBTQ Issues? As noted in last month’s issue, Vermont’s governor's race is wide open, with Howard Dean seeking higher office. In what has become a four-way race, it seems likely that no candidate will receive more than 50 percent of the vote. if that happens, the nevyly.electe'd legislature will decide which candidate will become governor. Last month, we pub- lished Paul Olsen’s exclusive interview with Independent candidate Con Hoga“n\We continue our political preview series with his inten/iews with Democrat Doug Racine and Republican Jim Douglas. All the interviews were conducted in July and none offhe candidates had access to the others’ answers prior to his own interview. emocrat Doug Racine, 50, has served as DVermont’s Lieutenant Governor since 1997. Prior to this role, he represented Chittenden County in the State Senate for 10 years. Racine graduated from Princeton University in 1974 and works with his farnily- owned automobile dealership in South Burlington. OITM: Why should gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Vermonters support your candidacy for Governor? Doug Racine: I have made real strong efforts as a legislator and as the Senate [president] to be supportive of issues that are of concern to the community. I have taken a lead- ership role on some issues such as the anti—dis- crimination bill that was passed in the early l990’s and civil unions. Now as a candidate I have been making a real strong effort to be in touch with leaders and members of the commu- nity to better understand the issues of concern and how they would like state government to respond. So I feel that my record is one of sen- sitivity and I am committed to remaining sup- portive of the issues that are of concern. OITM: Were you in the Senate when Verrnont’s Gay Rights Bill passed in 1992? Did you vote for it? Racine: Yes. I recall at the time saying that I never took as many nasty phone calls as I did on that issue — until civil unions. OITM: As Governor would you.appoint openly gay men and lesbians to the Legislature, state commissions, and/or your Cabinet? Racine: Absolutely. That has been part of the discussion that I have had with gay and lesbian Vermonters, to put openly gay Vermonters in positions that go against type — not just things like civil rights commissions — [but] to have Douglas A. Racine gay and lesbian Vermonters in positions. of ' authority in state government. When I will be looking for people to appoint, I want to be sen- sitive to that issue and make sure that my administration represents Vermont and all the , diversity of Vermont. OITM: What changes, if any, would you sup- port to Verrnont’s civil union law? Racine: Barring the need for technical changes that I might not know about, I do not see any need to change the civil union legislation. It is a good law and those who are affected by it are happy with it and people who aren’t directly affected, I think, are becoming more accepting of it. I’d leave it the way it is. . OITM: Legislation has been introduced that continued on page 8 James H. Douglas epublican Jim Douglas, 51, graduated I from Middlebury College in 1972 and as served Vermont in a variety of roles for the past 30 years. He represented Middlebury in Verrnont’s House of Representatives, was an aide to former Gov. Richard Snelling, served as Secretary of State for 12 years, and has been State Treasurer since 1994. OITM: Why should gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Vermonters support your candidacy for Governor? Douglas: My answer is why all Vermonters should support my candidacy. I don't want to think of Vermonters in categories. I want to think of us as a community. That’s the advan- tage of a small state. We can all work together to solve our common problems. The biggest issue, I believe, confronting the state is the weakness in our economy and the erosion of 8,000 jobs over the last year or so. It doesn’t matter what anyone’s sexual orientation is, it is a serious problem that we all need to work on all together. The goals that I have for the state apply to all Vermonters and I encourage every- one to join me. OITM: As Governor would you appoint open- ly gay men and lesbians to the Legislature, state commissions, and/or your Cabinet’! Douglas: I wouldn’t rule anyone out. I want the most qualified people to serve in positions of responsibility and that would not be a factor in any appointment decisions I make. OITM: What changes, if any, would you sup- port to Vermont's civil union law? Douglas: 1 don’t know. I won’t propose any changes to the law. This was a very difficult period forvour state. It was ayery ‘divisive issue that brought out tremendous emotions on both sides of the debate. It is not an experience that I want to revisit so I’m not going to propose any changes. And I’ll go so far as to say that I’m not going to sign a bill that repeals it. On the other hand, I would be amenable to consid- ering legal recognition of other types of loving family relationships. There has been discussion of family members having various types of benefits that might be helpful and I’m certainly willing to consider those. OITM: Would you have signed H.502, the so- called “repeal and replace” bill that passed Verrnont’s House of Representatives? Douglas: I think there is a lot of sensitivity about what that [H.502] did. Some say it is a repeal bill and focus on that part of it, others continued on page 8 A-HA? Anti-Gay Homosexuals Anonymous Listed Under ‘GLB Social Services’ BY STACEY Honu open your Burlington-Middlebury phonebook to the social services « section of the yellow pages, and you will find three organizations listed under “Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Organizations and Services”: Homosexuals Anonymous (HA), Outright Vermont, and SafeSpace. Dial the number for Homosexuals ‘Anonymous, and you will hear this message delivered by a friendly male voice: “Thank you for calling Homosexuals Anonymous. Nobody’s here at the moment to answer your call, but your call is important to us. Please leave your name, your number, and a brief message at the tone. We will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you for calling. God bless and have a good day.” After repeated messages, a call was returned late one night by ‘Andre,’ the founder of Burlington’s HA chapter. Because of the organiza- tion’s insistence on anonymity, Andre asked to be identified by his first name only. Andre is currently working toward a counseling degree and aspires “to do Christian counseling with lesbians and gays.” He says he would like to con- centrate on HA full-time, but work demands keep him away from the HA phone during the day, so callers will generally get the machine. Andre affirmed that the Burlington chapter of HA, which he founded a little over a year ago, aligns itself with the national organization’s mission as stated on its ' website (http://members.aol.com/I-Iawebpage): “Homosexuals Anonymous (HA) is a Christian fellowship of men and women who have chosen to help each other to live free from homosexuality. The purpose of HA is to ‘support indi- viduals seeking that freedom. Group I support is available through weekly HA meetings. Guidance is received through the shared experiences and growth of continued on page 2 9 r i i,