Votin' gay

In a mayoral race between a black man and a white woman, it seems obvious that race is bound to be a factor. Much less obvious is the sizable role that sexual orientation and gender identity is likely to play in the Dec. 1 runoff between Kasim Reed and Mary Norwood.

Already long known for intense political activism, Atlanta's LGBT community has been newly energized by the events of the last year. Barack Obama's presidential campaign helped awaken LGBT progressives, while the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which took away marriage rights for same-sex couples, pissed them off. That passion and anger turned political neophytes into activists, and activists into politicians. A total of 16 LGBT candidates ran for office in local elections in 2009, most of them for the first time.

Then, on Sept. 10, the Atlanta Police Department stopped by local gay bar the Atlanta Eagle – not for a quick drink, but for a large-scale raid with assistance from the Red Dog Unit that resulted in questionable arrests and harassment complaints by dozens of innocent customers. Suddenly, the growing ranks of local LGBT activists were again bolstered and gay candidates were given fresh fuel for their campaigns.

And now, adding to its renewed clout and stronger voice, is the very real possibility that Atlanta's gay community could be the swing vote that determines who'll be the city's next mayor. That's because of two down-ticket races with gay candidates that are certain to spur droves of gay voters to the polls.

The District 6 Council race pits openly gay Alex Wan against community activist Liz Coyle, while the contest for House District 58 finds lesbian candidate Simone Bell opposing lawyer Asha Jackson. In those races, the straight candidates are making efforts to present themselves as pro-equality – and it was little surprise that both Norwood and Reed resumed their runoff campaigning by heading directly to District 6.

Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, predicts the gay vote will have a large influence on the mayoral election, even though statistics are a little hazy.

"It's hard to show the actual numbers, but it is not difficult to show the impact," he says. "Both candidates are fighting hard for the LGBT vote because they know how critical it is, especially in a runoff scenario. The impact of 15 or 20 or 25 percent of the vote, whatever impact we can end up having, that is enough to sway an election one way or another."

Georgia Equality, which had endorsed Lisa Borders for the general election, has decided not to take a position in the runoff.

Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory, agrees that polls don't accurately reflect the power of the gay vote.

"When you look at all the public opinion data, people aren't collecting data on sexual orientation, so it's hard to ascertain what's going on because no one's ever really asked that question," she says.

The question of which mayoral candidate carries the gay vote might come down to Reed's and Norwood's differing stance on an issue that City Hall has no formal role in deciding: same-sex marriage. Norwood is for full equality, but Reed stops short of that, instead favoring civil unions. It's an issue that many in the LGBT community view as a litmus test on LGBT rights.

"I've been with my partner for 16 years and it's very important to have same-sex marriage," says local LGBT activist Rick Westbrook. "Civil unions and domestic partnerships don't measure up."

Norwood is hitting hard on the marriage issue, including speaking at the "Prop 8: One Year Later" rally at the state Capitol last Saturday, where she repeatedly referenced the term "full marriage equality." A growing contingent of LGBT voters are throwing a fundraiser for Norwood at local gay bar Amsterdam as well.

Reed, meanwhile, is relying on his record in the state House and Senate to prove his mettle to the LGBT community, including his opposition to the 2004 state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, his support of a hate crimes bill in 1999, and his role in securing state funds for HIV treatment and prevention. But the marriage issue could be knotty for Reed, one not helped by his telling Southern Voice recently, "The position I have taken relates to me and my personal faith."

The LGBT community's impact on the election will only be as strong as its turnout, but local LGBT politicos seem to think they'll show up to the polls.

"A lot of my young friends who were excited about Obama's campaign, [but] who I wouldn't think would be as excited about the mayor's race and the City Council race actually are," says Kyle Bailey, former head of National Stonewall Democrats.

Another boost could come from Kyle Keyser's pending mayoral endorsement. The openly gay anti-crime activist energized a slew of young LGBT voters with his own campaign for mayor, but for now all he is saying is, "Stay tuned."

No matter how the mayor's race shakes out, leaders in the LGBT community already have their eyes on future elections, even statewide races, as an avenue to increase the clout of the gay voting bloc.

"Hopefully by the 2010 elections, we'll have a better idea of where we can really target," says Georgia Equality's Graham, who explains that the objective is not simply to elect gay-friendly straight candidates.

"It's very smart for people to focus in on municipal races. That's where we can really begin to groom candidates for higher office," he adds. "Eventually, the goal is to have viable openly LGBT candidates that are running in statewide elections. I believe we'll see that in the next 10 years."

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