WILB QUARTO HQ g .0971 E 75 BY PAUL OLSEN e results of Verrnont’s September 10 pri- ‘ mary mean there will be no openly gay or transgender statewide candidates on the ballot this year. “I believe ga_y..an'd lesbian Vermonters share the. same hopes and concerns about the uture as all Vermonters.” Democratic nominee for Treasurer Jeb Spaulding In a contentious Democratic primary for Treasurer, openly gay former Vermont Auditor Ed Flanagan lost to former state Sen. Jeb Spaulding by more than 7,500 votes. “It was really a victory that he [Spaulding] should be proud of,” Flanagan said “After the Primary, MOUNTAINS pridemedia-ore the Political Deluge when conceding the race. “If democracy is thriving and working well then there should be sparks and there should be tension [in cam- paigns]. If there isn’t, then democracy is too whispered and is probably not doing its job.” As the Democratic nominee for Treasurer, Spaulding welcomes the gay commu- nity’s support. “I believe gay and lesbian Vermonters share the same hopes and concerns about the future as all Vemronters and I hope they will support me,” he said. As Treasurer, Spaulding would “actively vote our proxies and co-sponsor shareholder resolutions on corporate policies to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to ensure domestic partner benefits.” Spaulding faces retiring state Rep. John LaBarge (R-Grand Isle), a civil union opponent, on Election Day. In the GOP congressional primary, moderate Rutland lawyer Bill Meub soundly defeated two conservative challengers: Gregory Parke, a former Air Force pilot, and Karen Ann Kerin, a transgender engineer from South Royalton. Kerin attributes her loss to being “outspent and shunned by the media._” “'-I7he_;’resjr1l_ts are very/"disheartening because conservatives did not turn out,” she said. “I thought a primary was a good thing because it brought early attention to the party. That was an opportunity that seems to have gone awry because the rhetoric coming from all parties is very much the same.” Bill Meub now faces incumbent U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I), a longtime supporter “basher,” Meub believes gay and lesbian Vermonters should support his candidacy. “Prejudice and discrimination against the GLBT community is wrong,” he said. In the race for Governor, Republican Treasurer James Douglas, Independent Con Hogan, and Democrat Lt. Governor Douglas Racine will face off on November 5. While Douglas, Hogan and Racine all say they would appoint openly gay men and lesbians to state commissions, and/or their Cabinet, they differ on the future of Vermont’s landmark civil union law. Both Douglas and Hogan are open to expanding Vermont’s civil union law to include other types of families including “spinster aunts.” This move is seen by many members of Vermont’s gay community see as an attempt to undermine the significance of the landmark law. “I would be amenable to considering legal recognition of other types of loving family relationships,” Douglas said. “There has been discussion of family members having various types of benefits that might be helpful and I’m certainly willing to consider those.” Hogan agrees with Douglas but doesn’t feel now is the time to revisit law. “I think there will come a day when people, will examine what has been created and say simply that these privileges and opportunities should be available to others who live together for other kinds of reasons," he said. For his part, Douglas Racine says he would leave the civil union law alone. “I'd leave it the way it is,” he said. “It is a good law and those who are affected by it are happy with story on page 3). of the gay and lesbian community (see related Saying he is not an anti-gay verbal it and people who aren’t directly affected, I think, are becoming more accepting of it.” continued on page VT CARES Continues Needle Exchange Despite Opposition Bv STACEY Honu ermont Cares Director Kendall Farrell, responding to the opposi- tion of the St. Johnsbury Selectboard to its needle exchange program, said that the needle exchange program would continue until the Department of Health completes its review. Complicating that picture is a report in the Caledonian Record that the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital Board of Trustees may consider evicting the program. The selectboard is requesting that the DOH rescind the organization’s permit to run its needle exchange pro- gram in St. Johnsbury, saying the group had violated the Department’s guideline I I Inside this issue’s contents V Raceforcongess requiring a showing of “cooperation” from the community in which an exchange program would be located. “There are a couple of issues that the selectboard has with the pro- gram,” said Farrell. “There’s a discrep- ancy about whether we contacted local goverrnent. But Vermont CARES has really put forth an effort to participate in a process with members of the com- munity. We are and have been willing to meet with whoever we need to meet with, go where we need to go.” Farrell said the St. Johnsbury needle exchange program has been operating over a month. “A majority of the folks we’ve come into contact with — from the selectboard and at a forum in the community — have been in favor V I-iedGtnComes Home V of the program,” Farrell said. “When only a handful of people show up at the widely publicized forum we held in the community, you have to assume that there’s some support. There are a few loud voices in opposition,” Farrell con- V neadylvladesamiy tinued. “We didn’t expect to have con- sensus on a program as controversial as this.” _ One question the CARES director said needed to be answered was whether a vote by any local select- board could supercede the law allowing establishment of the needle exchange programs under the auspices of the Department of Health. “Nowhere in the guidelines does it say the programs have to have a yay vote from the select board of the community,” Farrell point- ed out. “Right now, we’re focusing our energies on continuing the pro- gramming and serving folks who need our help,” Farell concluded. “Our mis- sion is to stop the spread of HIV, and Vfiliiest 4444444444444 because it involves sex and drugs, it’s controversial. We’re an easy target, something tangible they can latch onto. Our job is not to weigh the moral implications. we’re not here to judge people’s behaviors, but to give people . the tools to stop the spread of the virus.” Vermont CARES will contin- ue to work with the DOH, looking to them for guidance on how to proceed. Farrell noted that needle exchange pro- grams have been going on in_ Burlington and Brattleboro for over a year, without official objections or appeals to the Department of Health. The lack of prior appeals means the ’ procedure is untested and could, poten- tially, end up in court. V News 1-3 Editorial 4 Letters 5 Features 6 - 9 Views 11 - 13 columns 14 - 17 Arts 18 - 23 Community Compass 25 Calendar 26 - 27 The Source 28 - 30 Classifieds 31 Les B. Frank 32 Gayity 33 - 35