Joe McDermott moves to Washington State Senate

Joe McDermott moves to Washington State Senate

Joins State Senator Ed Murray, appointed to replace Sen. Erik Paulson by Liz Meyer - SGN Staff Writer The Metropolitan King County Council appointed former State Rep. Joe McDermott to replace State Sen. Erik Poulsen as State Senator for the 34th Legislative District. With the appointment, Sen. McDermott, who served as the state representative for the 34th for the past seven years, becomes the third openly Gay state senator in Washington. By an 8-0 vote, with Councilmember Reagan Dunn excused, councilmembers approved the motion brought forth by Councilmember Dow Constantine to have Rep. McDermott fill Sen. Poulsen's seat. The motion was approved during the King County Council's Committee of the Whole on October 15. Sen. McDermott was one of three people nominated by the King County Central Democratic Committee. In interviews with councilmembers earlier in the day, the two other people put forth by Democrats, Precinct Committee Officers Lois Elenich and John Kennedy, voiced their support for Sen. McDermott. Before the motion was put to a vote, several councilmembers gave their endorsements of ?the appointment. "This is a fine nominee before us," said Democratic Councilmember Constantine, before joking that Sen. McDermott's 34th District was clearly the "finest" of all legislative districts. Constantine serves the 8th District within which Sen. McDermott's 34th District falls. Republican Councilmember Kathy Lambert, a longtime foe of pro-Gay LGBT legislation, added that Sen. McDermott's experience in the House would be an asset in working with the Senate. "In the Legislature, there is a comment that's called, 'The best Senators are the ones that are House-trained'." Democratic Councilmember Julia Patterson agreed. "Your appointment is good for the entire region and the entire state of Washington," she said. "You have been watched very carefully, and your commitment to education is extraordinary. You also have an innate ability, something that many people can't learn, to forge those relationships necessary in order to be successful within a legislative body." Democratic Councilmember Larry Phillips warned Sen. McDermott that he would miss "the extraordinary leadership in the House, and also the occasional food fight in the cafeteria" but wished Sen. McDermott luck in the transition process. Several councilmembers mentioned Sen. McDermott's connections to the area. A third generation resident of West Seattle, Sen. McDermott attended Seattle's Bishop Blanchett High School, and "knows everybody, and their parents, and their kids," said Constantine. After being sworn in by King County Superior Court Judge Richard Eadie, Sen. McDermott spoke. "I would particularly like to thank my partner, Michael, and my parents, Jim and Terri McDermott for their support, not only in the last couple weeks as I've sought this appointment, and in the last seven years that I've served in the Legislature, but for the support throughout my life that makes my work possible," said McDermott. I thank all of you. I've truly had the honor and privilege of representing the 34th District, and very much look forward to continuing that work in the Senate, using those relationships that Councilmember Patterson spoke about, building those bridges, working together with people across the state and across aisles."

The OutField - Defining Community: LGBT Athletes of Color

by Dan Woog "We're here. We're queer. We're gay student-athletes, and also people of color." OK, so that's not the jazziest sports slogan since "Just do it." But it's reality for more folks than anyone in either the gay or black community realizes. Lea Robinson's mission is to bring young gay athletes of color out of the closet and into what she hopes will be a better, more comfortable place for everyone. The pressures on African-American LGBT athletes are immense, and no one has felt them more strongly than Robinson. A basketball player at Western Kentucky University from 1990 to 1994, she spent the next 12 years coaching Divisions I and III women's hoops. She had few lesbian role models of any race, and struggled as a player and coach with both homophobia and racism. When Robinson was an assistant at one school, the head coach told her to "recruit thoroughbreds from across the track" - in other words, athletic black females. However, she was told, "Be sure they're not too manly." "Sometimes I felt I was there just to relate 'across the tracks,'" she says. "In many cases, coaches of color are hired primarily to recruit and relate to student-athletes of color. We're seldom in positions of power or positions in which we make crucial decisions." She felt she could not confront the head coach about the "thoroughbreds" comment. But after several years of coaching from the closet, Robinson met the woman who is now her partner. "Elizabeth was finishing her Ph.D., and totally out," Robinson recalls. "I thought it would be damaging to my young career to be out in women's basketball, but we both knew we had to figure out a way to make it work." Robinson came out at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, but at her next job - Morehead State University in Kentucky - the environment was tougher. Things were better at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, especially after Robinson found Helen Carroll and the National Center for Lesbian Rights' Sports Project. "I realized I could have a voice for LGBT people and people of color, in sports as well as academics," Robinson says. She spoke on panels and at workshops. Recently, she enrolled in an education program at Suffolk University in Boston. This fall she began studying for her master's degree, and thanks to a fellowship is working in Suffolk's Office of Diversity Services with LGBT students and students of color. "An amazing chapter of my life is opening up," she says. That chapter will include a significant project. One of Robinson's major goals is to develop a leadership program helping gay students of color make the transition from high school to college. Drawing on models like "It Takes a Team" - the Women's Sports Foundation kit that teaches athletes, coaches, and administrators about diversity - and "University 101" - which instructs college freshmen about academic, health, and time management - Robinson's leadership program will introduce African-American LGBT students to resource centers, wellness centers, and mentors. "If you're a person of color and you step onto a new campus, you may find not a lot of people look like you," she explains. "Finding communities of color may become very important to you. If you're also queer, you wonder: Will I alienate myself from these communities if I come out? In many cases, being queer is seen as a 'white thing.' Queer students of color may not know what resources are available, or how to find them." For athletes - often insulated from campus life by the demands and traditions of their teams - the issues are even thornier. "Student-athletes also need to be able to find community, and find the confidence to be open with their teammates and coaches in expressing themselves," Robinson says. "We as educators would like to help them work through those issues." Robinson acknowledges that male and female gay athletes of color face different challenges. "I think it's even more dangerous for men to come out," she notes. "But I'd like more young men of color to have the confidence and support to be out and visible in standing up for LGBT issues within their communities. Hopefully, this program will encourage dialogue surrounding the issues and defining the processes." Robinson points to herself as an example of someone who could have used such a program. "As a student-athlete, I found myself having to suppress a very important part of my identity. Even as a coach, I felt I was holding a certain part of myself back. We need more out people of color in athletics, so we can sit and talk about our families. "We lose too many queer people of color at the door," Robinson concludes. "Instead of being forced to choose, they must realize they can have a community, too. We just have to help them find it." Dan Woog is a journalist, educator, soccer coach, gay activist, and author of the "Jocks" series of books on gay male athletes. Visit his website at www.danwoog.com. He can be reached care of this publication or at OutField@qsyndicate.com.