ELECTIONS Gay Victories in Vermont Five Incumbents to Return to Statehouse BY PAUL OLSEN MONTPELIER - Verrnont’s Elec- tion Day results were not unex- pected. The Vermont Legislature will again see five openly gay men serving in the statehouse, incumbent politicians retained their seats, and the state’s Con- gressional delegation in Wash- ington will be represented by supporters of the GLBT com- munity. State Reps. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg), Robert Dostis (D-Waterbury), Steve Howard (D-Rutland), and Jason Lorber (D-Burlington) were re-elected to the House of Representatives; and state Sen. Ed Flanagan (D-Chittenden County) won re- election to the Senate. Progres-_ sive Jean Szilva, a lesbian from Winooski, fell short in her bid to serve in Montpelier. In an election night interview with OITM, state Rep. Jason Lorber said his sexual orienta- tion played no role in his re-elec- tion campaign. “I don’t think the gay issue was an issue in this race,” he said. “On my campaign literature I wrote that I am in fa- vor of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians, and we won overwhelmingly in our district.” Gay rights advocates were pleased with the results of leg- islative races in the state. “Here in Vermont, we picked up more friends in both the House and Senate,” Robyn Maguire, Field Director for the Vermont Free- dom to Marry Task Force, wrote in an email to supporters. “Our potential allies now outnumber those who oppose recognition of our relationships by a nearly 2- 1 margin in both chambers! And we’ve seen that support for mar- riage equality is not a political li- ability. Long-time supporter Rep. Mark Larson, who introduced . a marriage equality bill in 2006, won his race by a 2-1 margin!” In the race for Governor, in- cumbent Gov. Jim Douglas (R) defeated Democrat Scudder Parker, 57 percent to 41 percent of the votes. As Governor, Doug- las has not supported Vermont's GLBT community. He opposes gay marriage and civil unions, declines to issue a proclamation recognizing Vermont’s Pride Day celebration, and vetoed legisla- tion banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. ' Lieutenant Gov. Brian Dubie (R) also won re-election, nar- rowly defeating state Sen. Matt Dunne (D) and Progressive Mar- vin Malek. Like Douglas, Dubie opposes gay marriage and civil unions, and opposes legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity in Vermont. In her first run for statewide elective office, Progressive Mar- tha Abbott came in last in a three- way race for state Auditor. Ab- bott, who lives in Underhill with partner Barbara Brody, formerly served as chair of Vermont's Progressive Party. The outcome of the race to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. James, Jeffords (I) was good news for GLBT Vermonters. Independent U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders easily defeated GOP businessman Rich Tarrant, 65 percent to 32 percent of the ~ votes. In the U.S. House of‘ Repre- sentatives, Sanders consistently earned 100 percent ratings from the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington D.C.-based gay ad- vocacy group. He also received a , 100 percent rating from AIDS Ac- tion, a group representing more than 1,000 community-based AIDS service organizations. Throughout his campaign, Rich Tarrant sent mixed sig- nals regarding his support for gay rights. In an interview with OITM, Tarrant ‘said he would cosponsor the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA). However, in a subsequent in- terview with Vermont Woman newspaper, Tarrant offered only qualified support for the bill. Shortly after‘ being declared winner of the U.S. Senate race, Sanders promised to represent the underdog in Washington. “It is time for Congress to turn this nation around so that govern- ment represents all of us and not just wealthy and powerful spe- cial interests,” he told a group of supporters at Burlir1gton’s Wyndharn Hotel. “This state can lead the nation in a new direc- tion.” Having defeated Republican Martha Rajnville, state Sen. Pe-' ter Welch (D) will represent Ver- mont in the U.S. House of Rep- resentatives. Throughout his campaign, Welch promised to fight for gay and lesbian equality. He opposes the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment and plans to cosponsor ENDA, the Uniting American Families Act, and the Domestic Partner Health Ben- efits Equity Act.V Paul Olsen is the Vermont correspondent for Boston's In Newsweekly. Joanna Cole Comes in Fifth for JP; Incumbent Thom Fleury Takes Biggest Share of Votes BURLINGTON - Joanna Cole, in her second try for office, suc- cessfully won a justice of the peace slot for the city's New North End. Cole, a member of R.U.l.2‘?, came in fifth out of a field of 42 candidates for 15 JP seats. Cole, garnering 5,055 votes, said she received more votes than any other non-incum- bent. Thomas Fleury, a former MPM board member, 01 TM vol- unteer, and Burlington school board member, came in first in the field with 5,756 votes. Flu- ery, who is the associate prin- cipal at Hinesburg Community School, said he has served as JPl“off and on” since the ‘80s, in * both Burlington and Winooski. Cole launched her first bid for office this spring when she ran for City Council in Ward 7. She received 503 votes in the four-way race, coming close to upsetting incumbent Ellie Blais who took 534 votes in the March 7 election. J Ps are authorized to per- form marriages and civil unions, serve as election officials, and hear tax grievances. Justices of the Peace will take office on February 1, 2007.V -Ed. Your Comrnunity—Owned Grocery Store Open 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. every day ° 802-863-3659 82 South Winooski Avenue, Burlington We welcome EBT, CAT$cratch, Knight 8C CCCash Cards and manufacturers’ coupons. Thank You Out in the Mountains for 21 great years! R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center/Safespace . honors the contribution you have made to our ’ Vermont communities. We thank 0IT1l/I for helping give voice to our work for safety, health, equality and community. queer community ' center Sa espace www.ru12.org