My Speech At 2011 Broadway Beauty Pageant

My remarks from Monday, March 21st.

"It’s great to be back for our fifth year and we’re already looking ahead to 2012. I’d like to thank the literally hundreds of people who have helped make this event an annual reality.

Before I bring on Carl to tell you more about the outstanding work done by The Ali Forney Center, I wanted to say a few words on a fairly dry subject, The New York State Budget.

In 1984 New York Governor Mario Cuomo, in his famous keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, spoke of a tale of two cities. In one city, people were doing well and in another “people slept on the city streets,” while the youth slipped into hopelessness.

I’d invite the current Gov. Cuomo to read his father’s speech and learn from it. His latest budget guts funding to homeless organizations, like the one we’re supporting tonight.

When the first Gov. Cuomo spoke that the “struggle to live with dignity is the real story of this city,” he was talking about the youth who benefit from The Ali Forney Center.

Here to tell you more about those young people, it’s my honor to introduce my friend and hero Carl Siciliano."

CitizeNYC Podcast #13

Posting Two Beers In, the podcast I co-host, a few days late. I've been busy! Text from CitizeNYC.

Two Beers In! Taxing Soda, Ravitch's Budget Plan, and Yank, A Love Story

On this week's episode of New York's political talk show, hosts Ryan J. Davis and Greg Palmer discuss Ravitch's new budget plan, taxing soda, Mayor Bloomberg's public health efforts, and Yank The Musical.

Listen online right here!

We start with Lt. Governor Ravitch's plan to fix New York's longstanding budget problems and why legislators need to learn to do their jobs or face our wrath in this fall's elections. We wonder if the state is insolvent and when we're getting our tax returns, and we talk about how the state can generate more revenue.

Ryan thinks we should raise taxes, while Greg says we're already one of the highest taxed states in the country, but we agree that the proposed soda tax is a good idea. Unfortunately, Governor Paterson has gotten behind it, which probably means it's dead on arrival.

Which brings us to Mayor Bloomberg's public health efforts and why a soda tax needs to be partnered with hardcore nutritional education for parents throughout the city. Some kids' best meals are coming from their schools, where the food actually looks like food... unlike a lot of other school cafeterias across the country.

Ryan stops by Yank, a musical love story set in World War II, and thinks we should all go to Monday's equality rally in Brooklyn in response to the vicious gay-bashing that occurred in Carroll Gardens earlier this month. It'd also be a nice gesture to show some support for the 9 year old kid whose teacher taunted him as being "gay."

Coming up next week, loads more fun and a review of the Whitney Biennial. In the meantime, you can subscribe on iTunes and use Facebook Connect to discuss topics from this week's episode below!

Gillibrand For New York

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) filled up a large room with gay activists at New York’s LGBT Community Center yesterday for a 45-minute town hall meeting that touched on many issues important to the community. Questions ranged from gay persecution in Iraq to repealing “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Although she has been a vocal supporter of LGBT rights since her January appointment, this was the first time she faced an entirely gay audience for open questions. She did quite well.

An early question focused on her positive change of heart on gay marriage, but Gillibrand argued that she has always been “100 percent in favor of gay rights” and her gay congressional voting record is spotless. HRC actually gave her an 80 percent rating, but her current commitment seems passionate and real.

Gillibrand was very optimistic about what could be accomplished legislatively over the next year. She hopes to include gay couples in comprehensive immigration reform, which she believes could be voted on by March. She spoke of a “clear strategy” to end “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and pass an inclusive Employee Non-Discrimination Act. All great things, none very easy.

Over the last several months I’ve worried that Gillibrand was using gay issues primarily to excite the left and ward off a primary challenge. But that primary isn’t a concern anymore. New York Democrats’ main concern is recent polls showing Gillibrand trailing Republicans Giuliani and Pataki in general-election match-ups.

It’s time for New Yorkers to rally around their new senator, regardless of their feelings on lame-duck Paterson. Gillibrand seems ready to provide us with progressive leadership. She has quickly engaged herself in important issues in the Senate, and the last thing we need is some regressive like Pataki taking the seat because voters didn’t feel confident in Kirsten.

Originally posted on The Hill. Photo taken on my iPhone.

Gay Marriage: Stunning -- Though Not Shocking -- Setbacks

Yesterday's decision by the California Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage is a sad, though expected, decision.

Now gay Californians have no way legally to protect themselves; they have zero legal recognition. All these couples have are California state domestic partnerships, which provide every single legal protection that marriage provides. The difference being the use of that dreaded (antiquated) "M" word.

The gay movement, seeing the Prop 8 decision as the end of the world, had rallies all around the country. These are the same type of reactionary rallies that have been staged by gay activists in the New York area over the last several months. I've expressed my view that these rallies were counterproductive and wouldn't change any hearts or minds. New polling in New York shows that I was right.

Over the last month, gay marriage support in New York has fallen 14 percent. This is a fairly stunning turnaround, with drops among independent voters, New York City voters, young voters, women and African-Americans.

Not that any of this is shocking, exactly. New York Gov. David Paterson's (D) job approval is a pathetic 18 percent. It's not helping gay marriage that Paterson has made it one of his major issues — it's actively hurting our chances at marriage equality in New York.

The gay movement needs proper focus and fresh ideas, not more rallies, if we want to keep our forward momentum.

Originally Posted on The Hill & The Huffington Post.

Watch Me Saturday Morning

I'm appearing on Backstage Live, a web only section of CBS' The Early Show, tomorrow from 9:45-10:15AM. I'll chat with host Cali Carlin about topics ranging from Gay Marriage in NY to the upcoming Broadway Beauty Pageant.

Watch on-line here, Saturday from 9:45-10:15AM.

Gay Marriage Reintroduced In New York

Earlier tonight, I appeared on Brooklyn News 12 to talk about Gov. Paterson's reintroduction of a gay marriage bill in New York. You can watch the interview here.

I'm writing a piece for The Huffington Post on the increasing use of gay marriage as a tool to garner leftist support, that should be posted on Monday. For now, I'll say that I'm always happy to see politicians advancing progressive legislation and I hope Paterson has some clue on how to get 32 votes in the Senate. I also hope this doesn't all blow up in our faces and set the NY gay rights movement back several years.

Flashback: Read my Huffington Post piece Gay Marriage In New York Unlikely in '09 or '10, from February 6th 2008.

Odds & Ends

-- Barack Obama hit a home run last night, with his hugely successful Joint Address to Congress. (Can I just call it a State of the Union?) He made promises from ending the war in Iraq, to major health care reform. Ezra has details on health care reform from the budget. What a difference it is having a President who knows how to communicate.

-- We'll know tomorrow if the California high school will get to perform RENT. The bigot Principal, Fal Asrani, is making her final decision after actually reading the script. It's amazing how a week of terrible press can make you reconsider decisions, huh Fal?

-- Conservative David Brooks thought Jindal was more of a disaster than I did.

-- The deal with honor killings.

-- Nobody likes New York Governor Paterson.

David Paterson: With Democrats Like These...

I was a fan of David Paterson when he became governor of New York. He seemed like an interesting, unique guy who would make a solid governor. Boy, was I wrong -- Paterson has been a total and complete failure who is in entirely over his head.

After weeks and weeks of whining about how "Saturday Night Live" treats him unfairly, Paterson defended the New York Post for its racist chimp-shooting carton. Paterson tells us to "move on." One doesn't need to be a genius to see how self-serving his defense of the Post is, after an op-ed of theirs supported the return of the tax-cheating ex-priest Charles O'Byrne as his chief of staff. Because what Albany needs are more cheats and con artists. (O'Byrne's lawyers claimed he had a condition known as "non-filer syndrome," which causes people to not be able to file their tax returns. Not a joke. That was really what they said.)

New Yorkers are aghast at the miserable budget Paterson has proposed. A majority support a progressive millionaire tax, but Paterson would rather put the burden on the middle class. Does he know anything about tax policy? Who is making these terrible decisions for him?

While Illinois's Senate replacement disaster has gotten the most press, Paterson completely bungled finding a replacement for Clinton's Senate seat. He picked an unpopular, Sarah Palin-esque figure from upstate who actually keeps rifles under her bed. I'm serious, it's not a joke. Kirsten Gillibrand's appointment is so un-serious that she's already down 10 points in 2010 primary election polls.

Paterson's poll numbers make congressional Republicans look popular. The same poll showing the weakness of his Senate pick shows him down an astonishing 32 points to New York's popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

If another Hudson Miracle happens and Paterson somehow manages to get the nomination again, he'll almost certainly be beaten in the general by Rudy Giuliani. Paterson may single-handedly revive the New York Republican Party.

Thankfully, he doesn't have nearly enough political skill to actually be elected governor. At this point, it's unlikely he could win a middle-school race for Student Council.

Originally posted on The Hill.

David Paterson: SNL Insensitive To Bad Governors

David Paterson is complaining about SNL's treatment of him again. He says the show's continued parodies hurt disabled people not in a position to fight back.

What Paterson doesn't understand is the show isn't making fun of him for being blind. It's making fun of him for being a lame governor. From his bizarre pick of Annie Oakley to represent New York in the Senate to his regressive, terrible budget. Also, it's references to your past of youthful drug use and womanizing are historically unchallenged.

SNL doesn't hurt disabled people not in a position to fight back, it hurts lame Governors who are facing increasingly tough reelection bids. So stop complaining, you're starting to remind me of Sarah Palin.

Huffington Post: Gay Marriage In New York Unlikely in '09 or '10

Daniel Squadron, the twenty-nine year old freshman New York State Senator, is ready to take the lead on gay marriage in New York. Squadron said his goal was, "making this a law as quickly as possible," last night at a meeting of the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn. He came to discuss strategy with leading activists and received plenty of feedback.

However, Squadron is not optimistic about passing gay marriage in the 2009 Senate session and believes that 2010 will be even tougher, due to the election year. "Looking at the members, it's hard to get to thirty-two votes," he admitted. Thirty-two is the magic number to pass a bill in the New York State Senate.

Squadron is not opposed to attempting in 2009, but said their were basically two strategies. Either, put the bill up in 2009 and risk a defeat or lay the ground work for passage later. "Just making the Senate Democratic is not enough, we need a fundamental change in Senate culture," Squadron explained. He believes that while the Senate is progressing, we aren't there yet.

Laying the ground work for victory, Squadron believes, involves showing marriage opponents "the ways it (gay marriage) leads to a traditional family structure." As well as explaining to members of the Senate the economic benefits Squadron added that, "real resources" need to be spent on changing people's minds in key districts and in the Senate.

Earlier this year I met with New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at his Manhattan office. He assured us that he'd have the votes to pass marriage again. The Assembly passed marriage in 2007, largely due to member Daniel O'Donnell, an Upper West Side Democrat. O'Donnell, a gay man, personally plead his case to members of the Assembly.

Squadron revealed that the heads of many New York gay political groups are urging caution. One even suggesting that an attempt in 2009 would "kill us."

I believe that ultimately, it's not worth risking defeat in 2009. A major defeat in the Senate would set us back five years or more. We could have those votes as early as 2011 or '12, the way the public support continues to move toward marriage. If we keep winning the hearts and minds.

Outside of LGBT issues, Squadron truly impressed me tonight with his knowledge and support of progressive taxation and affordable housing. He spoke out directly against the change in the term limits law, calling it "obviously undemocratic." I supported his opponent in the primary, but it looks like we may have a rising star on our hands.

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Ryan J. Davis is on the Board of Directors of the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn. All views reflected are his own. This was originally written for The Huffington Post.