Who was--and wasn't--at Gay Pride parade
St. Louis area politicians flocked to take part in what organizers called the biggest Gay Pride parade ever in St. Louis on Sunday.
In the spirited contest for the 4th District senate seat, all but one campaign had some representation in the parade, including two or three of the candidates. Frontrunners Jeff Smith and Amber Boykins appeared in the parade, and it was difficult to tell whether or not Yaphett El-Amin was in the car bearing her signs (a closed sedan containing two people waiving). While the campaign of Derio Gambaro (on record opposing gay rights) did not have an entry in the parade, a car carrying an alderman displayed his signs (more later). No presence was noted for the fifth candidate, former alderman Kenny Jones.
Mayor Francis Slay, Comptroller Darlene Green and Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury (wearing a Stonewall Democrats t-shirt) were all in the parade, as were License Collector and aspiring Collector of Revenue Gregg Daly and his aspiring replacement, Alderman Mike Millan. Other notables included State Sen. Maida Coleman, Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, and several aldermen and state reps.
No candidate for statewide office either appeared or was represented in the parade. While neither U.S. Senator Jim Talent nor his likely Democratic opponent, Democrat Claire McCaskill, made an appearance, a possible opponent of both was busy on the sidelines. Lydia Lewis, who is seeking the Progressive Party nomination for that office, was spotted on the east side of Grand collecting signatures to get her party on the ballot. No candidates for state auditor made a parade appearance.
The Smith campaign entourage had a little surprise for the audience. The passenger in a convertible with signage for Smith waived enthusiastically at the crowd, but the guy wasn’t Smith. The candidate himself trailed the car by about 30 feet, coming to the sidelines to shake hands with a visibly supportive crowd. It was a Jimmy Carter moment.
On the downside for Smith, the car bearing signage for Gambaro was courtesy of 23rd Ward Alderwoman Kathleen Hanrahan, whose ward organization headed by Francis Slay has endorsed Smith. One wonders whether and how serious a split may have developed in that ward’s organization, at least in this contest.
In the spirited contest for the 4th District senate seat, all but one campaign had some representation in the parade, including two or three of the candidates. Frontrunners Jeff Smith and Amber Boykins appeared in the parade, and it was difficult to tell whether or not Yaphett El-Amin was in the car bearing her signs (a closed sedan containing two people waiving). While the campaign of Derio Gambaro (on record opposing gay rights) did not have an entry in the parade, a car carrying an alderman displayed his signs (more later). No presence was noted for the fifth candidate, former alderman Kenny Jones.
Mayor Francis Slay, Comptroller Darlene Green and Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury (wearing a Stonewall Democrats t-shirt) were all in the parade, as were License Collector and aspiring Collector of Revenue Gregg Daly and his aspiring replacement, Alderman Mike Millan. Other notables included State Sen. Maida Coleman, Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, and several aldermen and state reps.
No candidate for statewide office either appeared or was represented in the parade. While neither U.S. Senator Jim Talent nor his likely Democratic opponent, Democrat Claire McCaskill, made an appearance, a possible opponent of both was busy on the sidelines. Lydia Lewis, who is seeking the Progressive Party nomination for that office, was spotted on the east side of Grand collecting signatures to get her party on the ballot. No candidates for state auditor made a parade appearance.
The Smith campaign entourage had a little surprise for the audience. The passenger in a convertible with signage for Smith waived enthusiastically at the crowd, but the guy wasn’t Smith. The candidate himself trailed the car by about 30 feet, coming to the sidelines to shake hands with a visibly supportive crowd. It was a Jimmy Carter moment.
On the downside for Smith, the car bearing signage for Gambaro was courtesy of 23rd Ward Alderwoman Kathleen Hanrahan, whose ward organization headed by Francis Slay has endorsed Smith. One wonders whether and how serious a split may have developed in that ward’s organization, at least in this contest.
posted by St. Louis Oracle | 6/26/2006 09:30:00 PM
22 Comments:
Smith was also all over the festival too. I saw him both days walking around, shaking hands, handing out stickers.
Not only was Jeff Smith "among the people" as I kept telling people who mistakenly thought I was he, being in the front passenger seat of the car bearing his signs, but as mentioned above, he was talking to people in the park after the parade. His campaign shared a booth with PROMO, which has endorsed his campaign. And, although the Stonewall Democrats have yet to endorse any candidates in this race, the woman I spoke with from the organization was very impressed with Jeff Smith and said she "likes him very much."
Also interesting to note was that in addition to his signs being on Ald. Hanrahan's car, Derio Gambaro, on record opposing gay rights (yet another in his Republican-style positions), was in the crowd before the parade.
And, a funny thing happened on the way to the parade, or more correctly, as the parade started. Rep. Boykins tried to break-in on the parade succession. Jeff Smith's car, which was part of the Lambda Car Club, a gay classic car club, was to follow the car the Mayor was in, but Rep. Boykins in her own Mercedes (unsure if rented or owned) tried to cut in line behind the Mayor. Had she requested, the Lambda Car Club would have driven her, as they do all the other dignitaries.
Finally, it doesn't surprise me that Rep. El-Amin wouldn't be there, since she is in-line with the Republican thinking of Derio Gambaro on the issue of gay rights.
All I see that Nia knows is how to smugly try to pass herself off as an insider
Nia is obviously NOT in the know on this one. Jeff Smith was in the parade as a recognized dignitary and invited guest, as were all those that were driven by the Lambda Car Club (the Mayor, Aldermen, etc.). Those that drove themselves, such as Rep. Boykins in her Mercedes, were not a part of the official Lambda precession and were to follow after the Lambda group, although Rep. Boykins tried to squeeze her way into the Lambda group behind the Mayor, which was in very poor taste and ill-mannered.
As for lookers-on cheering, I was not near Rep. Boykins' car during the parade, but being in Jeff Smith's car, I can tell you that there were a great many cheers for Jeff, often misdirected to me, as he was busy among the people introducing them to their next State Senator rather than riding like a princess in a shiny black carriage.
I was in the crowd on the sidelines on the west side of Grand. I did not witness any of the alleged praises of Amber "Holly" Boykins to which Nia alludes; they didn't happen within earshot of me.
Also, Nia, as I pointed out to you once before on another blog (I think it was pubdef), even though "Gregory" F.X. Daly is spelled with one g, Daly spells "Gregg" stylistically with two gs. (Daly is, after all, Mr. Style in St. Lous.) It's the same stylish Gregg Daly who filed a frivilous lawsuit to try to remove the Green Party candidate (his only general election opponent) from the ballot in 2002, a bonehead move that caused the Post-Dispatch to compare his campaign to the politburo.
Haha, Nia is a joke. She clearly wasn't at the same Pride Fest that the rest of us were.
I heard no cheers for Amber, who showed how little respect she has for the gay community as she chatted on her cell phone during the parade. But I did hear a number of hisses for Derio, whose record on gay rights is stuck in the 12th century.
And as noted by Oracle, Jeff Smith didn't bumrush or bogart a single thing.
Nia, is the Boykins campaign so desperate that they need a minion like you to go around spreading pathetic lies?
One other thing-
If you saw that eyeroll from Alderman McMillan, it was probably toward Amber, since he is not so silently supporting Rep. El-Amin.
No one's picking on your women or trying to pit them against eachother, just stating the facts. However, as anyone who reads your comments knows, stating the facts is clearly not one of your strong points.
I do like, however, how you try to pit Derio and Jeff against eachother(while supporting Amber) but then cry foul if anyone ever mentions Amber and Yaphett in the same sentence.
"Do as I say, not as I do" - Nia
Nia's comment about jumping in line is completely backward. Jeff Smith was an invited guest of the Lambda Car Club to ride in their precession along with other dignitaries, such as several Aldermen and the Mayor. Those not hosted by the club were to follow the Lambda cars as individual entrants to the parade, although the princess in her black Mercedes tried to jump in line. Had she requested to be in the Lambda precession she would have been welcomed and a classic American car would have been provided. But she doesn't extend that level of courtousy to any group it seems. The Representative was the one seeking special treatment, not the other way around.
---
But on to more important things than princesses in Mercedes.
The local Republican Party has come out in support of Derio Gambaro, through 10th Ward Republican Committeewoman Judy Zakibe and others. So, it bears out what I've been saying all along that Derio Gambaro is a Republican in the Democratic primary. I think it is great that the Republican Party has a candidate in the race, I just wish their candidates would run in their primaries.
Travis, have you ever heard of "crossover" votes? That frequently occurs when a voter takes another party's ballot in a primary because there is no candidate running in his/her party's primary.
Some Republicans may choose to do that, not because Derio is one of their own, but because Jeff Smith's positions on the issues are so unpalatable to them that they feel they need to choose a lesser evil.
Do you realize that Derio was a Democratic state representative? Either he fooled an awful lot of Democrat voters or there is more room for diversity in your party than you think.
Jeff Smith, nice guy that he is, is a very, very liberal Democrat. What looks to you like a Republican is just a moderate Democrat, and there are more of those in the city than you realize.
So keep calling Derio a Republican. You don't have to worry about the handful of Republican votes he might get, but watch out for all those middle of the road Dems who are pretty sick of hearing that they're not welcome in the party unless they move a whole lot farther to the left.
Interesting reading. I was involved in the city republican party for a while, which was like swimming upstream. I still consider myself republican but realize in St Louis city all you have to do is vote for the conservative democrate. I consider Derio one as well as Mayor Slay. Bauer wasn't...didn't vote for him. I don't think I'm the only one either.
Anon #4:
I would actually classify myself as a moderate or centrist. The great strength of the Democratic Party is its embrace of diversity. Diversity is one thing, and time-and-again supporting the Republican agenda and positions, as Derio Gambaro does, is something totally else. I realize that Mr. Gambaro served in office as an elected Democrat, but is it his positions, not his party affiliation to which I write. It is, in fact, Derio Gambaro's anti-diversity that is distasteful, and has no place in the State Senate. Even though Rep. El-Amin shares Mr. Gambaro's uninclusive views, she otherwise supports Democratic principles. So, note that I've not asserted that she is a Republican-in-Democrat's-clothes, like Derio Gambaro is. The recent news that the Republican Party is endorsing Derio Gambaro merely proves the point I've raised over the last few weeks.
Travis, I saw Jo Mannies' column that indicated one or two city Republican committewomen are independently supporting Derio. Is that what you are calling an endorsement by the Republican Party? There may not be many Republicans in the city, but a statement by a couple of them that one Democrat candidate is more acceptable to them than another does not constitute a party endorsement.
Because the city has been controlled for so long by the Democrats, party loyalties sometime shift. Many voters who support Republican candidates on the national level vote for Democrats on the local level. Clarence Harmon and Francis Slay, for example, benefited from moderate Democrat and Republican crossover votes. Ignore them at your peril.
Anon:
You are exactly right. The national Democratic Party ignored the masses of cross-over voters that went for Reagan. Again, I am a moderate or centrist, and support an inclusive Democratic Party. It is merely an observation that Derio Gambaro should be running as a Republican, as he is more in-line with Republican ideology.
Nia:
I think where some of the confusion arises is that while Oracle, brian, and I post on various blogsites about various issues outside of the 4th district campaign, the only posts you make regard the 4th district campaign. So, it looks like you are on the blogs with a single agenda--to get Rep. Boykins the Senate seat. Now, you either may be new to blogging, as am I, or you may solely be concerned with this single issue, but it does appear that you are a hired gun for the campaign.
I personally don't care whether or not you are on the campaign's payroll. More voices to the discussion are always welcome in my point of view. So, this is not an attack on you, but merely a possible explanation as to why you do receive so much feedback on your posts. Another reason might be because of the "facts" you post.
Good health, and happy blogging!
Let me beat Nia to the punch in her defense (sorta). I have also seen a Nia post supporting a candidate in a state rep contest (I forget which one).
Travis is as devoted to the Smith campaign as Nia is to the Boykins campaign. He discloses in Comment #2 above that he was in fact the person seated in the Jeff Smith car that many mistook for Smith himself. Riding in the campaign car is pretty close to the campaign.
But thanks to both of you for sharing your thoughts on this blog.
Nia:
After I posted that comment, I saw your post about bagels over at ACC. So, I was wrong that you are a single issue poster. You and I obviously share a love for bagels, as well.
Oracle:
Here is the scoop about why I was in the "Smith" car this year.
For the last few years, I have been in the parade as a rider in a Lambda Car Club car. A good number of my friends are members of the club, as well as my accountant and photographer. Two years ago, I rode in the same car as Ald. Gregali, but had no clue who he was at the time. This year, I did not know, in fact, that the car in which I was to ride was the "Smith" car. I ride with a friend of mine each year, and having heard me speak about Jeff Smith, he sought to drive that car without forewarning me. Now, I am certainly glad I was in the "Smith" car, as I obviously support his candidacy, but I had nothing to do with arranging the car for his campaign, and I am not actually associated with his campaign.
Nia, now you join the chorus against Gambaro but only a couple weeks ago on Pub Def you had this to say:
"All gloves off in this battle...Derio is a much superior candidate in all areas except fundraising than Smith."
Did you forget the Boykins' campaign talking points? To be honest, your recent "change of heart" is preferable to the laughable statement above.
Out of all the candidates, Gambaro is clearly the most deficient in speaking and connecting with people. He gesticulates wildly and never offers anything more concrete than "NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL!" A few of my friends have said that he has accosted them after ward meetings with unwanted hugs and kisses. A casting director could not have cast a more politicianny-politician.
Even though I do not support Amber, I actually think she comes across quite well in person. She's more articulate that Gambaro and more likeable than El-Amin and I think that will help her down the line.
Brian:
You got it! Derio Gambaro is as slick as a coat of light sweet crude on a baby harp seal.
Just a prospective voter looking for some information . . . does Boykins have a website? If so, where is it? I like the idea of a woman representing me, but when my husband can produce tons of info about Jeff Smith's positions with the click of a button and I'm searching political blogs (not my normal evening activity) to find any info about Boykins, I do waver. I haven't received any mailings, calls, or knocks on the door from Boykins campaign--if I don't get something I'll probably vote for Jeff Smith. Nia--where's your candidate?
The Gay Pride parade, planned for Friday, touched a raw
nerve in the holy city, unifying fundamentalist Jews,
Christians and Muslims in a common anti- young gay twinksagenda.
In the end the gathering was reduced to a rally in a
closed stadium - because of concerns of gay nude 18 year old boys
retaliatory attacks because of a bloody Gaza incident
as much as threats of violence by anti-gay opponents.
Then last week, the U.S. Supreme Court made its 6-3 decision that apparently
swept away laws in a dozen states banning oral and twink anal sex for everyone,
or for homosexuals in particular.
Both supporters and critics of the decision were quick to suggest
it could lead to other legal advances for gays and lesbians -- including
the right to gay marriage -- and organizers said a feeling of hope would
carry over to the marches and celebrations this weekend.
One participant in the St. Louis PrideFest said this year's parade seemed
more vibrant, more celebratory than previous years. She attributed the
large crowd in part to the Supreme Court ruling, but that wasn't all.
"We're becoming more comfortable in our own skin," said Robin Hanson,
41, a doctoral candidate at Saint Louis University. "I've been 'out' for
20 years and there have been a lot of changes in acceptance since then."
St. Louis police had no crowd estimates, but organizers predicted as many
as 15,000 to 50,000 twink guyswould attend the weekend of activities.
Speaking through a megaphone at the New York parade, Sen. Charles Schumer,
D-New York, took note of how much the political landscape for gays and
lesbians had changed with a few short days.
"Let's hear it for gay pride," Schumer shouted. "Let's even hear it for
gay black twinks- who ever thought we'd say that!"
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