Out In The Mountains : News - Vermont's Gay Representative Backs Dean for Governor

Vermont’s only gay state representative, who spearheaded passage of the state’s historic civil unions law, says that Gov. Howard Dean and legislators who voted for the measure will be fighting for their political futures in November’s elections.

Bill Lippert said in an Aug. 12 interview during the National Stonewall Democratic Federation convention in Palm Springs, Calif., that conservative Republicans and their allies are mounting an offensive to defeat Dean, whom he called the national gay community’s strongest ally among gubernatorial incumbents. And, because Vermonters are evenly divided in their opinions on civil unions, legislators who voted for passage are risking their seats.

“Howard Dean is facing the strongest challenge ever,” the Democrat from Hinesburg and to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles asserted. Republican gubernatorial candidate Ruth Dwyer is “trying to build a coalition of all the angry people in Vermont… that is becoming formidable.” They include the radical right and others opposed not only to civil unions but also to Act 60’s reform of education financing.

Further complicating Dean’s chances is Anthony Pollina’s third-party challenge, not unlike that of Green Party candidate Ralph Nader at the national level. The Progressive Party for the first time is running a candidate for governor who threatens to siphon off liberal votes.

“What I need to get across to the gay community and our allies is that Dean, although a centrist Democrat, has put himself on the line out there on civil unions and the community as a whole,” Lippert stressed. “He has steadfastly recognized civil unions as a civil rights issue. I absolutely support his re-election despite differences on other issues. This is not the time for gays and lesbians to turn our backs [Dean]. He has earned our support over and over.”

He warned that a vote for the Progressive Party “helps elect an angry woman Republican. She is not a friend of our community.”

Lippert is uncertain what Vermont’s sole congressman, Independent Bernie Sanders, will have on the campaign. Although a liberal, Sanders has not yet endorsed the Progressive ticket. In Congress, he usually votes with the Democrats, and according to Lippert, has been told he will receive a seat on the House Appropriations Committee if the Democrats win.

“I’ve talked to people here in Palm Springs from New Hampshire and other states that are thinking about civil-union legislation,” the legislator reported. “They tell me that if Dean takes a hit because of civil unions, civil unions won’t have a life elsewhere in the country. The entire country is watching what happens in Vermont.”

Lippert vowed to work for the re-election of Dean and all the lawmakers who voted for passage of civil unions, including 17 Republicans. They need all the help they can get, he said, because conservative Democrats and Republicans are also targeting their own party members who helped pass the law.

“During our fight for civil unions in the Legislature, I asked people from out of state not to interfere. We knew that was necessary to win, but there is a time now for them to help by contributing to our non-partisan political action committee. The same activists who created the Freedom to Marry Coalition founded Vermonters for Civil Unions, Inc. Contributions to the PAC will be used to fund campaigns of supporters of civil unions.

Peter Cassels, associate editor of Bay Windows, reported from the National Stonewall Democratic Federation convention. His work appears here courtesy of Bay Windows.