Columnists :: Pressing The Flesh
The Michlewitz fan club, Sen. Walsh hits the road for marriage equality by Laura Kiritsy
Editor-in-chiefFriday Apr 24, 2009 Aaron Michlewitz: gay to play?
Move over Boston City Council President Mike Ross, it looks like the gays have a new political heartthrob: Aaron Michlewitz, a candidate in the May 19 special election Democratic primary for the 3rd Suffolk District seat formerly held by Sal DiMasi. At an April 21 fundraiser for Michlewitz at Sage restaurant in Boston’s South End, host David Goldman, a 3rd Suffolk resident and openly gay man who was instrumental in drumming up LGBT support during Niki Tsongas’s successful special election bid for Congress in 2007, offered this honest assessment of when asked why he’s backing Michlewitz: "First of all, look how cute he is," said Goldman, gesturing to the candidate, who was engaged in conversation with another guest a few feet out of earshot. That’s not to say Goldman didn’t offer up a host of other reasons why he likes the North Ender, who spent four-plus years as DiMasi’s director of constituent services: He keeps his word, he’s effective and his follow through is terrific, said Goldman, who also credited Michlewitz with helping on the revitalization of the South End’s Peters Park, a project near and dear to Goldman’s heart. "He’s a hard worker, he’s smart, he’s young, he’s energetic and I also think that because he’s got a history of working in the State House he doesn’t need any on the job training," added Goldman.
But despite the long list attributes that Goldman admires in the candidate, he couldn’t resist returning to Michlewitz’s pretty face when he introduced him to the crowd about 40, which included gay and straight supporters, later in the evening. Goldman disclosed our earlier conversation about why he was a Michlewitz supporter. "My answer was, because he’s really cute," Goldman said, to much laughter from the crowd, prompting Michlewitz to join in the fun: "Whatever it takes to get elected," he sheepishly said over the guffaws.
Alas, Goldman apparently isn’t the only one who’s been playing "Hot or Not" with the 3rd Suffolk candidate pool. At a Michlewitz campaign event at his Washington Street headquarters back on April 17, we overheard a middle-aged male campaign volunteer make this critique of Michlewitz’s campaign literature: "He’s a good looking candidate, but nobody knows what he looks like," the guy griped as he and a couple other volunteers cut up sheets of faceless Michlewitz campaign stickers. "He should put his picture on everything."
Sen. Walsh hits the road for marriage equality
State Sen. Marian Walsh was among thousands who traveled to Augusta, Maine, on April 22 to testify at a hearing on a marriage equality bill currently pending in the Maine Legislature. Walsh, you’ll recall, is the West Roxbury Democrat who emerged as a forceful advocate of marriage equality in the 2004 constitutional convention despite her strong ties to the Catholic Church and the fact that her position put her at odds with a large swath of her socially conservative district. Her thoughtful and eloquent speech in support of the Goodridge decision, during which she stated that her personal discomfort with the court’s ruling was not an appropriate gauge for reversing it, marked a turning point in the battle to preserve marriage equality in Massachusetts.
In her testimony, a copy of which was provided to us by Walsh’s office, the senator recounted how, in the aftermath of the Goodridge decision she was forced to examine both her religious beliefs and her role as a legislator in determining how she would vote on the issue and she arrived at "a rather unexpected and precarious place" in deciding that homosexuality was morally neutral and biologically based. As such, she testified before the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, "I learned that to objectify anyone, based on their God given sexual orientation, is immoral, and to deny an American their civil rights is unconstitutional."
Walsh also shared her belief that legislators need to take an active role in deciding the issue. "My view at the time," she said of the votes she cast during the constitutional conventions, "... is that we as legislators after a thorough review are to make a decision on the merits - what is our best recommendation for the citizens or our state. This role is not ministerial, and our founders did not intend nor wish for us to punt, take a poll or not participate in the substance of the discussion." In other words, lawmakers who say "let the people vote," are shirking their duties.
She also offered assurance to lawmakers who may be in fear for their jobs should they support marriage equality, sharing the story of her 2004 and 2006 re-elections, when she was targeted for defeat by anti-equality opponents looking to capitalize on the outrage Walsh’s support for marriage equality provoked within her district. "We won with 65 percent and then with 68 percent in the two elections," Walsh stated. "We had one long conversation - we all grew - my constituents became more comfortable with me when they saw I was comfortable with myself. With hard work and a positive outlook - it is true - that the truth will set us free and provide victory on election night."
Indeed. Let’s hope Maine legislators get the message.
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