National
U.S. Rep. from Maine comes out
Gubernatorial hopeful becomes eighth out member of Congress
Mike Michaud (Photo public domain)
U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine), who’s running for governor in the 2014 election, surprised his state’s political establishment on Monday by announcing he’s gay in an op-ed column released to three news outlets.
Michaud, 58, who’s serving his sixth term in Congress, is considered the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for governor next spring. He’s also considered to have a good chance of winning the general election against incumbent Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage.
In the op-ed column he submitted to the Associated Press, the Bangor Daily News and the Portland Press Herald, Michaud said he decided to come out in response to questions raised about his personal life through “whisper campaigns, insinuations and push-polls” orchestrated by people opposed to his candidacy.
“They want people to question whether I’m gay,” he wrote in his column.
“Allow me to save them the trouble with a simple, honest answer: ‘Yes, I am. But why should it matter?’” he said in the column.
“That may seem like a big announcement to some people,” he continued. “For me, it’s just a part of who I am, as much as being a third-generation millworker or a lifelong Mainer. One thing I do know is that it has nothing to do with my ability to lead the state of Maine.”
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a national advocacy group that helps elect openly LGBT candidates for public office, said Michaud is the first sitting member of Congress to come out as gay in 17 years. The group said he now becomes the eighth openly LGBT member of Congress.
“We applaud Congressman Michaud and look forward to working with him in the future,” said Chuck Wolfe, Victory Fund’s executive director. “As the eighth authentic LGBT voice in Congress, his example will promote understanding and show the importance of being open and honest about who you are.”
Fred Sainz, vice president of communications for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy group, called Michaud a “tireless fighter for Maine” over a period of decades.
“He has a tremendous story to tell,” Sainz said. “What he made clear today is that being gay is just one part of it. It’s a measure of our success that his sexual orientation going forward will be a non-issue.”
Ali Vander Zanden, interim executive director of the statewide LGBT rights group Equality Maine, said Michaud has been a longtime supporter of LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage, during his career as a congressman and a member of the Maine legislature.
“The reaction that I’ve seen from LGBT people in Maine has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive,” said Vander Zanden.
“People are delighted that we now have an openly gay congressman,” she said. “I think any openly gay elected official or candidate is good for Maine and good for the LGBT community.”
She said Michaud would be a strong contender for Equality Maine’s endorsement when the group begins its candidate endorsement process later this year and early next year.
So far, no other candidate has emerged to oppose Michaud in the Democratic primary for governor scheduled for next June. Political observers say the popular congressman would be the odds-on favorite to win his party’s primary.
The AP reported that a poll released in October showed that Michaud and LePage were running about even in the general election in November 2014. But observers note that LePage won his race for governor in 2010 after running against a Democrat and an independent candidate, Eliot Cutler, who’s running again this time. Some observers say LePage could win the race if two or more candidates divide the opposition vote.
Vander Zanden said Cutler has expressed strong support for LGBT rights, including support for marriage equality in a state whose voters approved a ballot measure last year legalizing same-sex marriage.
She said LePage, while expressing opposition to same-sex marriage, has not voiced an opinion on other LGBT issues in recent years.
“Growing up in a large Franco-American Catholic family, it’s never been in my nature to talk about myself,” Michaud [pronounced ‘me-show’] said in his op-ed column.
“I write this now merely to let my opponents and the outside interests who fund them know that I am not ashamed of who I am,” he said. “And if seeing someone from my background, in my position, openly acknowledge the fact that he’s gay makes it a little bit easier for future generations to live their lives openly and without fear, all the better.”
Michaud added, “I don’t plan to make my personal life or my opponents’ personal lives an issue in this campaign. We’ve had enough negativity in our politics and too many personal attacks over the last few years. We owe it to the people of Maine to focus on how we get our state back on track.”
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Gil Pontes III on his recent appointment to the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors, Fla. Upon being appointed he said, “I’m honored to join the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors at such an important moment for our community. In my role as Executive Director of the NextGen Chamber of Commerce, I spend much of my time focused on economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and the long-term competitiveness of emerging business leaders. I look forward to bringing that perspective to Wilton Manors — helping ensure responsible stewardship of public resources while supporting a vibrant, inclusive local economy.”
Pontes is a nonprofit executive with years of development, operations, budget, management, and strategic planning experience in 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and political organizations. Pontes is currently executive director of NextGen, Chamber of Commerce. NextGen Chamber’s mission is to “empower emerging business leaders by generating insights, encouraging engagement, and nurturing leadership development to shape the future economy.” Prior to that he served as managing director of The Nora Project, and director of development also at The Nora Project. He has held a number of other positions including Major Gifts Officer, Thundermist Health Center, and has worked in both real estate and banking including as Business Solutions Adviser, Ironwood Financial. For three years he was a Selectman, Town of Berkley, Mass. In that role, he managed HR and general governance for town government. There were 200+ staff and 6,500 constituents. He balanced a $20,000,000 budget annually, established an Economic Development Committee, and hired the first town administrator.
Pontes earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Kansas
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
A new Kansas bill requires transgender residents to have their driver’s licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth, invalidating current licenses.
Transgender people across Kansas received letters in the mail on Wednesday demanding the immediate surrender of their driver’s licenses following passage of one of the harshest transgender bathroom bans in the nation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to block the ban and protect transgender residents from what advocates describe as “sweeping” and “punitive” consequences.
Independent journalist Erin Reed broke the story Wednesday after lawmakers approved House Substitute for Senate Bill 244. In her reporting, Reed included a photo of the letter sent to transgender Kansans, requiring them to obtain a driver’s license that reflects their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they identify.
According to the reporting, transgender Kansans must surrender their driver’s licenses and that their current credentials — regardless of expiration date — will be considered invalid upon the law’s publication. The move effectively nullifies previously issued identification documents, creating immediate uncertainty for those impacted.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 also stipulates that any transgender person caught driving without a valid license could face a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. That potential penalty adds a criminal dimension to what began as an administrative action. It also compounds the legal risks for transgender Kansans, as the state already requires county jails to house inmates according to sex assigned at birth — a policy that advocates say can place transgender detainees at heightened risk.
Beyond identification issues, SB 244 not only bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings — including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops — with the possibility for criminal penalties, but also allows for what critics have described as a “bathroom bounty hunter” provision. The measure permits anyone who encounters a transgender person in a restroom — including potentially in private businesses — to sue them for large sums of money, dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement beyond government authorities.
The lawsuit challenging SB 244 was filed today in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The complaint argues that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs, arguing that the order — followed by a temporary injunction — is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that would result from SB 244.
State Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday that “persecution is the point.”
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” said Monica Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
“SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police. Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
“SB 244 presents a state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences,” said Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr litigator working on the case. “Ballard Spahr is committed to standing with the ACLU and the plaintiffs in fighting on behalf of transgender Kansans for a remedy against the injustices presented by SB 244, and is dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights jeopardized by this new law.”
National
After layoffs at Advocate, parent company acquires ‘Them’ from Conde Nast
Top editorial staff let go last week
Former staff members at the Advocate and Out magazines revealed that parent company Equalpride laid off a number of employees late last week.
Those let go included Advocate editor-in-chief Alex Cooper, Pride.com editor-in-chief Rachel Shatto, brand partnerships manager Erin Manley, community editor Marie-Adélina de la Ferriére, and Out magazine staff writers Moises Mendez and Bernardo Sim, according to a report in Hollywood Reporter.
Cooper, who joined the company in 2021, posted to social media that, “Few people have had the privilege of leading this legendary LGBTQ+ news outlet, and I’m deeply honored to have been one of them. To my team: thank you for the last four years. You’ve been the best. For those also affected today, please let me know how I can support you.”
The Advocate’s PR firm when reached by the Blade said it no longer represents the company. Emails to the Advocate went unanswered.
Equalpride on Friday announced it acquired “Them,” a digital LGBTQ outlet founded in 2017 by Conde Nast.
“Equalpride exists to elevate, celebrate and protect LGBTQ+ storytelling at scale,” Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill said according to Hollywood Reporter. “By combining the strengths of our brands with this respected digital platform, we’re creating a unified ecosystem that delivers even more impact for our audiences, advertisers, and community partners.”
It’s not clear if “Them” staff would take over editorial responsibilities for the Advocate and Out.
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