The Connolly question (continued)
	A little history   You’ve heard the names: Pat Peard; former MLGPA president, Portland city councilor, former mayor, and lobbyist Karen Geraghty; first openly gay Portland city councilor Barb Wood; former Republican State Committee Chair Ted O’Meara; and a cabal of pro-gay stalwarts are all back on board for this campaign and they all say, without question, that this time, the No vote will prevail — or else. Perhaps they’re right; perhaps this is the last time that Mainers will be asked whether or not they support discrimination. To learn why this albatross is still lurking and how it can finally be released is to first look at the campaigns of the past. Many people quickly point out that this is the fourth time that Maine voters have been invited to the polls to vote on equal rights. They’re wrong, and the story behind the first Maine Won’t Discriminate campaign in 1995 may hold the key to why subsequent campaigns have failed. It was that year that housewife Carolyn Cosby and convicted thief and head of the Maine Christian Coalition Paul Volle joined forces to put a measure on the ballot that, if passed, would have banned any future efforts at attainting equal rights in Maine and nullify Portland’s 1992 gay-rights law. Geraghty recalls that she, Peard, and Jessica Mauer used the model of a successful and similar Oregonian campaign to canvass the state, form campaign chapters, and work with people like political hopeful Ethan Strimling to form MWD and fend off the effort. Mainers were asked to vote No, and they did so by a slim margin. Since then, many have thought that vote granted equal rights to gays and lesbians, but all it really did was set the stage for a series of legislative victories on gay rights and subsequent People’s Veto efforts headed by the Christian Civic League's Michael Heath and Volle. In 1998, MWD lost by 7000 votes in their attempt to save a 1997 equal rights law approved by the Legislature and then Governor Angus King. Why? Maine law mandated that the recall vote be held 120 days following the signature grab by Heath and Volle’s posse, so the election was held in February 1998, days after a devastating ice storm crippled the state (one can only imagine the rhetorical leverage the holy rollers gained from that natural act of God). "We didn’t get the turnout we needed," Geraghty recalls. "An important part of the field campaign was phone banking, and, at the time, 50 to 60 percent of the state was without power or phones. I just remember our volunteers feeling so demoralized. It was tough." It’s a well-known fact that gays and lesbians tend to eat their own in Maine, and MWD was widely blamed for that loss. A new group quickly formed with their eyes on the 2000 presidential election year. The effort was a mess from the very beginning. First, the only way organizers of what would become "Yes on 6" could convince Governor King to sign equal-rights legislation for a second time in two years was to insert a clause promising that even if the legislation was approved in Augusta, it would go out to a statewide referendum vote. That concession was viewed by many as complete lunacy, and from a law-making point of view, it was. Anger began to mount among supporters. Then, organizers went to work to convince the Catholic diocese to support the measure — which the church grudgingly did, but only if religious organizations could be exempt from abiding by the law. Organizers again conceded, and all hell broke loose, mostly in the gay community who, by now, was infuriated by the mounting concessions. Then, the steering committee for the campaign hired an out-of-state coterie (except for me, hired by the campaign manager Jeanette Fruen) of professional campaigners to do their bidding, but what was supposed to be a $1-million campaign, of which organizers were charged with raising much of the money themselves, barely topped the $500,000 mark, squashing what was to be a pivotal media buy, the crux of the campaign’s strategy. Despite a six-month circus, the campaign lost by less than 6000 of the more than 650,000 votes cast in Maine that year. "The margin of that loss was so small you could look back at a hundred different things that could have turned it into a win. Less than a one percent loss is pretty close, but if I had to identify one single reason we lost in 2000 it would be that it was too soon after the defeat in ’98 to push the issue again," says Rick Gowen, a Yes on 6 campaign insider and massive contributor, who adds that the steering committee at the time was completely disorganized. "That campaign was cursed with lots of well-meaning folks at the helm, folks with lots of ‘feelings’ and tons of passion as to how identity politics should look, but who had little or no practical experience in running or funding a statewide campaign. Furthermore, not many of those folks brought cash to the table and others were very high-maintenance personalities who didn’t interface well with our paid, professional staff. I really thought that campaign had a good chance of winning once professionals were hired to actually run things, but their job was made much more difficult than it had to be because of all the bullshit they were dealt by their governing committee. Man, thinking back on it now, the paid staffers on that campaign deserved combat pay. It was awful for them, I think." Alas. Fast forward to early 2005. The dust has had five years to settle, and, in fact, Maine has meanwhile become the envy of many other states because it boasts a potpourri of laws protecting gays and lesbians, from inheritance rights to domestic-partnership rights to over a dozen local protection laws. Maine has licked its wounds and thanks, mostly, to the lobbying work of Equality Maine (formerly Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance), a nice long break was taken from the 30-year Arthurian (some still say Quixotic) quest for a gay-rights measure. _TG

Peard goes so far as to say that strong television serves another purpose, to invigorate people in the field. "Paid media is important because it really helps push the field effort, it brings much needed energy into the field," she says. "I think the field effort is doing a great job, and part of TV is us coming through to give them the push they need, not vice versa."

Connolly says that another crucial aspect to this campaign is a strong bi-partisan presence. To manage that, he and Maine Won’t Discriminate tapped influential Republican insider Ted O’Meara.

"I agreed [to work for the campaign] for two simple reasons: I support the issue, and they asked me to come on board," says O’Meara.

"When I ran for Congress in 1988, I was asked for my position on this issue and I said that I supported it. I think it was the first time that any candidate in either party running for major office had taken a public stand on this — my opposition to discrimination against gays and lesbians has been clear for almost 20 years now. For me, it is a bi-partisan issue, and should be."

But O’Meara concedes that the political tide has turned in Maine over the past few years; he says that the conservatives in the state, those truly opposed to any form of gay rights, have only become more conservative.

"For me, this issue is wholly consistent with why I am a Republican, I think we are a party that has a long and proud history of standing up for the rights of individuals," he says, though he’s not particularly confident that he can change the minds of true believers.

"The party has certainly become more conservative on issues like this since I first started getting involved. I don’t see my role as changing people’s minds, although I’d love to do that in some cases, but more to convince people that this is a bi-partisan issue about basic human rights."

Education, as usual, is the key. That’s why Connolly, Portland City Councilor and former Mayor Karen Geraghty, O’Meara, and Peard are delighted to boast about something that seems unique to this campaign: a very organic sprouting of young people who want to be involved.

From volunteers at the Maine Won’t Discriminate office, to well-organized efforts at colleges throughout the state, Geraghty says that the energy and involvement of young people in Maine, both gay and straight, is something that she hasn’t seen in other efforts; she says that youth may just be the lynchpin this time around.

"God, when you talk about a field effort, I have to say that I’ve never seen anything like this," says Geraghty. "Jocelyn Barrett and Andy Bossie who are heading up college efforts are two of the most amazing, professional, mature and smart people I have ever seen working on any campaign. This is something that we haven’t seen a lot of in the past, young people, gay and straight, who desperately want to be involved, who know the fabric of the state, and who, frankly, are disgusted that Maine doesn’t have protections in place for gays and lesbians. More than ever, young people are out of the closet, and they’re fighting hard for this, and I think that we all need to be grateful for that."

O’Meara adds that his reception at a debate with Heath at the University of Maine in Orono was overwhelming.

"There were over 400 people in the audience and I’d say 50 of them came up to me afterwards to speak to me," he says. "People always have high hopes for young people, but often times it doesn’t materialize in the way that you hope it would. This time, though, the overwhelming enthusiasm out there on the part of college kids is a good sign. It’s really quite outstanding."

So outstanding that the support has transcended kids holding signs on street corners. Last week, the Student Government Association at USM, which is chaired by Bossie, voted for a resolution that states their support for No on 1. What’s more, they charged school officials with voicing their own admonition of any effort aimed at overturning any protection laws.

All of this new activism, says Geraghty, is indicative of a shift that has occurred in the state since the initial effort of the early ‘90s: Public perception of gay and lesbian people has changed. She’s right. Despite all the fracas over gay marriage, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that a September 2004 Pew Forum-University of Akron poll found that 57 percent of Americans agree with the statement, "Homosexuals should have the same rights as other Americans." Most people even approve of gays serving in the military. What’s more, gays are no longer just everywhere, they are everywhere and out, often living open lives with their partners and their children. They are now out to their families and friends, says Peard, and that will also make an enormous difference in November.

"Even since 2000, I think there are a lot more people who understand and know more gay people and that’s a good sign. For a lot of people, this issue has become much more personal, so our messages resonate with those people — they don’t want their friend, family or co-workers be at risk for discrimination," says Peard. "This is nothing like 1995 when we had to do massive education. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Pollyanna — it’s still going to be tough and I’m not suggesting we don’t have a hard road, but we’re doing a good job, and that has been helped by a shift in social perception."

COLLINS AND SNOWE

For all the positive aspects of this campaign, the do-gooders, the willing contributors, the students, and the growing sense of ease people have for their gay neighbors, campaigners and observers do have wish lists, namely support from some people who are remaining annoyingly mum on the issue of equal rights.

Potholm points out that one such individual has a unique opportunity to help in a big way: US Senator Susan Collins. And, to a lesser degree, Senator Olympia Snowe.

"In my polling, I’ve found that the most compelling voice for the 20 percent of undecided voters on issues such as this is Senator Susan Collins. If she made a statement, it would resonate," says Potholm. "Campaigners can’t just trot out the church leaders, and the do-good operators, they should have someone who has credibility with people who need to be swung."

Campaigners would like nothing more than for Collins to rubberstamp this effort, but the Senator sticks to an airtight policy of not commenting on state issues.

"I’m very surprised because I know in the past she’s openly opposed discrimination, so I’m surprised she won’t come out and make that statement again," says Peard.

"She has never said how people should vote, but I’m dumbfounded by the fact that she can’t make the simple statement that discrimination is wrong. She’s already made it clear that discrimination against gays is wrong in her offices, in terms of who she hires."

O’Meara counters that Maine voters need not be naïve, and he points to the fact that Collins’s voting record with the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay political organization and political watchdog, garnered her an impressive 88 percent approval rating. After all, Collins has instituted pro-gay policies in her DC office.

"[Collins and Snowe] will be casting their votes just like the rest of us and certainly their support of those issues in Washington would lead one to believe that they are certainly opposed to discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace and certainly the other categories covered by this law," O’Meara reveals. "I honestly don’t think [an endorsement] would make a huge difference — people will make up their own minds. That said, I would certainly welcome it, though."

THE END GAME

With or without Collins, this time Maine Won’t Discriminate is bent on winning, and they’re leaning on Connolly to rally the victory cry. Can this straight twentysomething deliver? Long-time activists say yes, because he understands the issue at hand.

"I think everyone can relate to bringing a paycheck home to feed their family," says Connolly. "When you listen to someone who says he was laid off after being seen kissing his partner in a parking lot despite a stellar work record, you know stories like that are true and hit home with most people. If your livelihood can be taken away from you because of who you love, there is something inherently wrong."

So, maybe this is the year it will happen, when the timing seems both unusual and perfect.

"Everything that I have seen about this campaign points to the fact that it is well run, well thought-out strategically, and, above all, well-staffed," says O’Meara, with a strong endorsement of Connolly, someone who, on any other battleground with O’Meara, would probably be a political enemy.

"This time, all the ingredients are here for a very successful campaign, and while I don’t want to make any predictions, I’m very, very optimistic."

On November 8, we’ll see if that optimism was well founded.

Tony Giampetruzzi can be reached at tony@giampetruzzi.com