For Jamie Pedersen,
being gay an asset
in 43rd District race
By CHRIS MCGANN,
seattlepi.nwsource.com from the Web, August 28, 2006
Of the many qualities and
qualifications Jamie Pedersen brings to the race to take Seattle's open seat in
the state House of Representatives, one may carry more weight than all the rest.
Pedersen is gay.
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Grant M. Haller / P-I
Jamie
Pedersen, who is vying for the 43rd Legislative District seat, is
competing against five other Democrats in next month's primary. |
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A successful lawyer with Seattle law
firm Preston Gates and Ellis, Pedersen has untangled complex legal and financial
issues in health care. As the son of public school teachers he promises to
champion education as well as public transit and environmental protection.
He says he's made more than 12,000 doorbelling stops around the 43rd District
and, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission, he's raised far more
campaign money than any of the other five Democrats vying for the seat.
As Seattle voters evaluate the field -- Pedersen, Lynne Dodson, Dick Kelley,
Bill Sherman, Jim Street and Stephanie Pure -- all provide a variety of skills
and styles to promote the urban Democratic agenda.
Pedersen's Yale degrees and public service accomplishments, including work that
brought PacMed Clinics from the brink of bankruptcy, could be lost in the wash
of prestigious schools and good works touted by the others.
However, his sexual orientation is unique among the candidates.
The 43rd District is smack in the middle of the metropolitan area with the
nation's third-highest concentration of same-sex couples in the nation,
according to 2004 data from The Gay and Lesbian Atlas.
So, being the only gay candidate could matter a lot.
Early in the campaign, the editor of one of Seattle's weekly alternative
newspapers criticized Pedersen when his volunteers apparently promoted him as
the only candidate who supported gay marriage, given that the other five
candidates do as well.
Pedersen said he was not simply in support of marriage equality but uniquely
qualified to advance the issue in the Legislature, given his long history of
work with the national civil rights organization Lambda Legal, which has led the
battle to legalize gay marriage.
Pedersen was Lambda's lead volunteer lawyer on the state's gay marriage case and
has served as co-chairman of the board for the group.
"I have been working on the marriage issue for more than 10 years and have built
effective coalitions with faith communities, communities of color, women's
groups, organized labor, businesses, Republicans and Libertarians, mental health
professionals and others to support this work," Pedersen said.
Nonetheless, immediately after the criticism, the blogosphere was filled with
comments from people who identified themselves as gay and said orientation
should not be a deciding factor in choosing a House representative.
But last month, the State Supreme Court upheld the state's Defense of Marriage
Act, which prohibits gay marriage, and as a consequence went a long way toward
buffering that sentiment.
Political observers say the anger in the gay community generated by the court
ruling could mobilize gay voters. That alone could influence the outcome
of the September primary, which, in the solidly Democratic district will almost
certainly determine the winner.
Speaking on behalf of Lambda Legal, Pedersen quickly renewed his vow to continue
the fight.
"We're going to have to do a lot of soul-searching over the right tactics, but I
want to be clear: The end goal is marriage equality," Pedersen said
immediately after the ruling.
Historically older women make up the largest segment of voters in the primary --
but that could shift if gay voters rally around the marriage issue and express
their feelings at the polls.
Within the community the sentiment seems to be shifting more toward that
expressed by Beau Burriola of the Seattle Gay News, who wrote: "Many folks
in the community -- including local journalists -- have said that it doesn't
matter if the candidate for the 43rd District is gay. These folks believe
that if the candidate fights for marriage equality and believes in the
principles of fair treatment for all, it shouldn't matter what sexual
orientation they are," Burriola wrote.
"After all, they say, there are many other reasons to vote for a candidate
besides whether or not they are gay -- education, health care, transportation.
... We are not a district of people who agrees to a solution to these problems,
but this is still the gayest district in our state. Without our gay voice
speaking for our gay community, we become just another avoidable issue to
sideline. We become people who are talked about instead of people doing
our own talking. Having a gay face in the House of Representatives has put
our issues front and center and it should stay that way."
Burriola said the 43rd District should continue to elect gay lawmakers.
"When Cal Anderson became the first openly gay lawmaker in this state, he set an
example. When Ed Murray continued this and expanded it to create an
awareness of gay issues simply by his presence, he created a tradition. If
Jamie Pedersen is chosen as our candidate, we can be sure this tradition will
continue and grow."
The court's ruling may have helped illustrate that the state's next battle over
gay marriage will be won or lost in the Legislature and without a persistent
lawmaker to keep the issue at the forefront, that battle might be a long time
coming.
Even without an overwhelming turnout from the gay community, Pedersen will
likely make a substantial splash when the votes are tallied next month. As
of Sunday, he has raised more than $142,000 for his campaign, according to the
state Public Disclosure Commission.
Yard signs, handouts and direct mailings will make it difficult for Seattle
voters to miss at least some reminder that Pedersen is running for office.
And while many will know he is the only gay candidate, Pedersen wants them to
know that he brings much more to the table.
"I've often encountered and wrestled with problems that people said could not be
solved," Pedersen said. "Each time, I dived in, tried to learn everything
I could about the issue and then, with a lot of hard work, have managed to solve
those problems."
ELECTION 2006
JAMIE PEDERSEN
Age: 37
Occupation: Lawyer with Seattle law firm Preston Gates and Ellis
Running for: Seattle's 43rd District state House seat, which includes
Capitol Hill, Wallingford and the University District
Web site:
www.peopleforpedersen.org
P-I reporter Chris McGann can be reached at 360-943-3990 or
chrismcgann@seattlepi.com.
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