Sep 11th, 2006
Spear Endorses Ellison
When you are used to voting for the gay-friendly candidate, what are queer folks and allies to do when there are no clear pro-gay/anti-gay differences among candidates?
In response to this conundrum, Allan Spear, the first openly gay politician in the State of Minnesota (came out while is office in the 1970’s) is endorsing Keith Ellison in the Fifth District DFL Congressional primary. In his letter published on StarTribune.com, Spear states, “All four of the major candidates have good records on GLBT issues. Yet, in my judgment, and that of my colleagues Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Karen Clark, [Ellison] clearly stands out.”
He goes on:
As a newly elected legislator in 2003, he sharply confronted the efforts of the House leadership to deny health care benefits to the domestic partners and children of gay and lesbian state employees. He spoke out against Rep. Arlon Lindner’s attempt to repeal the 1993 GLBT rights bill, and he was the leading advocate of the ethics complaint against Lindner, who had denied that gay people had been victims of the Holocaust.
In the more recent struggle against the constitutional amendment to ban marriage, civil unions and other legal protections for same-sex partners, Ellison gave one of the most cogent and effective speeches ever given in three years of debate on this issue. And he reached out to faith leaders in his own black community, establishing the link between GLBT and black civil rights that others had denied.
Ellison, who is endorsed by the DFL party, is often described as “Wellstone-like,” based on his passionate presentation style and his commitment to social justice. No dishonor to the memory of our dear late Senator, but if Ellison is elected, emerging leaders with promise and conviction will soon earn the adjective “Ellison-like.”